Bad Air Days in Kings County, New York: under 1 a Year

under 1 bad air day a year

Rare: among the cleanest-air counties EPA monitors. Ranked 787 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 July. 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.

The record for Kings

In 2000 to 2009 this county averaged 4 bad days a year; in 2016 to 2025, under 1. The air has improved. The worst recent year was 2023, with 5 bad days on 364 monitored days.

Date	AQI	Main pollutant
2023-06-07	249	PM2.5
2023-06-08	182	PM2.5
2023-06-06	171	PM2.5
2023-06-30	160	PM2.5
2021-07-20	154	PM2.5

Most days, not the worst ones

Across 3,629 monitored days from 2016 to 2025, the air in Kings County rated Good on 70% of them, close to the 72% typical of monitored counties, and Moderate on 30%. The median day sat at AQI 38; one day in ten went above 59.

The pollutant setting the AQI on an ordinary day here:

fine particles (PM2.5)100%3,629 days

Kings County by year

Year	Days monitored	Good	Moderate	Over 100	Over 150	Median AQI	Highest AQI
2025*	365	233	132	0	0	39	99
2024	366	253	113	0	0	39	98
2023	364	207	152	5	4	46	249
2022	364	240	124	0	0	43	85
2021	365	233	131	1	1	42	154
2020	365	300	65	0	0	30	80
2019	365	280	85	0	0	36	78
2018	365	271	94	0	0	34	82
2017	344	253	91	0	0	38	75
2016	366	262	104	0	0	38	83
2015	365	226	139	0	0	42	88
2014	365	246	119	0	0	40	88
2013	365	227	137	1	0	41	108
2012	357	173	184	0	0	51	85
2011	365	165	199	1	0	52	111
2010	364	190	173	1	0	49	106

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

New York compared

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.