Bad Air Days in Dawson County, Georgia: 2 a Year

2 bad air days a year

Fewer bad air days than most monitored US counties. Ranked 561 of 996 monitored counties, where 1 is worst.

What makes them bad: mostly ozone: summer smog (0% particle days).

The bad-air season here

Most bad days here fall in May and April and June. Averaged over 2016 to 2025.

What actually helps here

Bad air days are rare here. A standard furnace filter is enough; no purifier needed for outdoor air.
On the odd bad day, check AirNow and keep windows shut.

The worst days on file

In 2000 to 2009 this county averaged 18 bad days a year; in 2016 to 2025, 2. The air has improved. The worst recent year was 2017, with 2 bad days on 242 monitored days.

Date	AQI	Main pollutant
2024-06-26	154	Ozone
2022-05-18	136	Ozone
2016-05-25	126	Ozone
2019-04-17	126	Ozone
2023-06-10	126	Ozone

The air on a normal day

Across 2,443 monitored days from 2016 to 2025, the air in Dawson County rated Good on 93% of them, more often than the 72% typical of monitored counties, and Moderate on 7%. The median day sat at AQI 36; one day in ten went above 48.

The pollutant setting the AQI on an ordinary day here:

ozone100%2,443 days

Every recent year on file

Year	Days monitored	Good	Moderate	Over 100	Over 150	Median AQI	Highest AQI
2025*	244	232	12	0	0	34	97
2024	245	225	19	1	1	39	154
2023	244	222	20	2	0	38	126
2022	245	238	6	1	0	35	136
2021	245	230	15	0	0	36	87
2020	245	239	6	0	0	31	74
2019	244	225	18	1	0	37	126
2018	245	222	21	2	0	35	108
2017	242	224	16	2	0	36	112
2016	244	216	26	2	0	42	126
2015	227	212	14	1	0	38	101
2014	245	218	26	1	0	37	101
2013	245	229	15	1	0	35	105
2012	242	220	22	0	0	40	93
2011	239	195	44	0	0	44	93
2010	244	187	49	8	1	43	151

*2025 may be a partial year in EPA's file.

Nearby counties on file

How this is counted

A bad air day is a day the county's daily AQI from EPA AirData went above 100, the level where EPA tells children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease to cut back outdoors. Monitors do not run every day, so yearly counts are scaled to 365 days. This is the record, not today's air: for that, check AirNow. More on the method in how the county numbers are made, on the AQI 100 line in what counts as a bad air day, and on why a purifier does not touch ozone in smoke vs ozone.