Bad Air Days in Palo Alto County, Iowa: 4 a Year
4 bad air days a year
About the middle of monitored US counties. Ranked 309 of 996 monitored counties, where 1 is worst.
What makes them bad: a mix of particles and ozone (53% particle days).
The bad-air season here
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
Most bad days here fall in June and May and July and September. Averaged over 2016 to 2025.
What to buy, and what not to
- 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 Palo Alto
In 2000 to 2009 this county averaged 2 bad days a year; in 2016 to 2025, 4. It has got worse. The worst recent year was 2023, with 18 bad days on 364 monitored days.
| Date | AQI | Main pollutant |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-07-30 | 167 | PM2.5 |
| 2021-07-29 | 163 | PM2.5 |
| 2023-07-15 | 161 | PM2.5 |
| 2023-06-28 | 157 | PM2.5 |
| 2023-07-16 | 157 | PM2.5 |
The air on a normal day
Across 3,644 monitored days from 2016 to 2025, the air in Palo Alto County rated Good on 66% of them, less often than the 72% typical of monitored counties, and Moderate on 33%. The median day sat at AQI 44; one day in ten went above 63.
The pollutant setting the AQI on an ordinary day here:
- fine particles (PM2.5)67%2,445 days
- ozone33%1,197 days
Every recent year on file
| Year | Days monitored | Good | Moderate | Over 100 | Over 150 | Median AQI | Highest AQI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025* | 364 | 263 | 92 | 9 | 0 | 40 | 134 |
| 2024 | 363 | 268 | 95 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 96 |
| 2023 | 364 | 211 | 135 | 18 | 4 | 46 | 161 |
| 2022 | 365 | 271 | 94 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 79 |
| 2021 | 362 | 250 | 108 | 4 | 2 | 43 | 167 |
| 2020 | 366 | 273 | 93 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 87 |
| 2019 | 364 | 246 | 118 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 93 |
| 2018 | 365 | 188 | 175 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 115 |
| 2017 | 365 | 193 | 171 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 115 |
| 2016 | 366 | 238 | 126 | 2 | 1 | 42 | 155 |
| 2015 | 365 | 190 | 174 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 102 |
| 2014 | 356 | 188 | 168 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 95 |
| 2013 | 365 | 220 | 144 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 101 |
| 2012 | 357 | 198 | 156 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 119 |
| 2011 | 365 | 195 | 170 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 100 |
| 2010 | 306 | 183 | 121 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 105 |
*2025 may be a partial year in EPA's file.
Nearby counties on file
- Webster County8/yr
- Scott County4/yr
- Linn County3/yr
- Harrison County3/yr
- Clinton County3/yr
- Polk County2/yr
- Bremer County2/yr
- Woodbury Countythin data
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.