Bad Air Days in Fulton County, Georgia: 6 a Year

6 bad air days a year

More bad air days than three quarters of monitored counties. Ranked 179 of 996 monitored counties, where 1 is worst.

What makes them bad: mostly ozone: summer smog (12% particle days).

Which months to watch

Most bad days here fall in June and July and September and August. Averaged over 2016 to 2025.

What to buy, and what not to

Ozone drives many bad days here. Purifiers and filters do not remove ozone, so do not buy one for that. Ozone peaks on hot afternoons: exercise outside in the morning.

The worst days on file

In 2000 to 2009 this county averaged 39 bad days a year; in 2016 to 2025, 6. The air has improved. The worst recent year was 2016, with 13 bad days on 366 monitored days.

Date	AQI	Main pollutant
2019-09-09	172	Ozone
2023-06-29	172	Ozone
2022-06-20	169	Ozone
2016-06-10	156	Ozone
2023-08-24	156	Ozone

An ordinary day in Fulton

Across 3,653 monitored days from 2016 to 2025, the air in Fulton County rated Good on 41% of them, less often than the 72% typical of monitored counties, and Moderate on 57%. The median day sat at AQI 53; one day in ten went above 69.

The pollutant setting the AQI on an ordinary day here:

fine particles (PM2.5)78%2,842 days
ozone19%712 days
nitrogen dioxide3%96 days

Every recent year on file

Year	Days monitored	Good	Moderate	Over 100	Over 150	Median AQI	Highest AQI
2025*	365	198	163	4	0	49	129
2024	366	186	176	4	0	50	129
2023	365	155	198	12	2	53	172
2022	365	162	200	3	1	52	169
2021	365	147	214	4	0	53	150
2020	366	166	198	2	0	52	125
2019	365	122	236	7	1	55	172
2018	365	153	208	4	0	52	133
2017	365	123	236	6	0	55	136
2016	366	101	252	13	1	55	156
2015	365	113	242	10	2	55	172
2014	364	163	194	7	0	52	140
2013	365	199	163	3	1	47	177
2012	366	109	241	16	4	55	190
2011	365	117	222	26	3	56	169
2010	365	87	261	17	2	58	161

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

Elsewhere in Georgia

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.