Bad Air Days in Etowah County, Alabama: under 1 a Year

under 1 bad air day a year

Fewer bad air days than most monitored US counties. Ranked 689 of 996 monitored counties, where 1 is worst.

What makes them bad: mostly particles: smoke and dust (100% particle days).

Which months to watch

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

Is a purifier worth it 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.

Better or worse than it was

In 2000 to 2009 this county averaged 11 bad days a year; in 2016 to 2025, under 1. The air has improved. The worst recent year was 2016, with 6 bad days on 352 monitored days.

Date	AQI	Main pollutant
2016-12-19	190	PM2.5
2016-12-20	180	PM2.5
2016-12-18	175	PM2.5
2017-06-23	168	PM2.5
2018-01-27	154	PM2.5

An ordinary day in Etowah

Across 3,326 monitored days from 2016 to 2025, the air in Etowah County rated Good on 58% of them, less often than the 72% typical of monitored counties, and Moderate on 42%. The median day sat at AQI 47; one day in ten went above 62.

The pollutant setting the AQI on an ordinary day here:

fine particles (PM2.5)63%2,099 days
ozone37%1,227 days

Etowah County by year

Year	Days monitored	Good	Moderate	Over 100	Over 150	Median AQI	Highest AQI
2025*	363	223	140	0	0	45	87
2024	362	212	150	0	0	47	93
2023	365	182	183	0	0	51	100
2022	359	224	135	0	0	46	93
2021	286	235	51	0	0	38	80
2020	276	239	37	0	0	36	93
2019	279	201	78	0	0	44	90
2018	324	169	154	1	1	48	154
2017	360	155	203	2	1	53	168
2016	352	77	269	6	3	58	190
2015	365	132	226	7	3	54	176
2014	281	212	69	0	0	40	97
2013	281	217	64	0	0	41	90
2012	277	196	81	0	0	43	87
2011	275	180	95	0	0	44	99
2010	363	69	293	1	0	59	104

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

Elsewhere in Alabama

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.