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

under 1 bad air days a year

Rare: among the cleanest-air counties EPA monitors. Ranked 871 of 996 monitored counties, where 1 is worst.

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

When the bad days come in Russell

Most bad days here fall in March. 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.

Better or worse than it was

In 2000 to 2009 this county averaged 9 bad days a year; in 2016 to 2025, under 1. The air has improved. The worst recent year was 2021, with 3 bad days on 364 monitored days.

Date	AQI	Main pollutant
2021-03-08	142	PM2.5
2021-03-14	122	PM2.5
2021-03-13	104	PM2.5
2016-04-18	100	Ozone
2018-04-05	99	PM2.5

The air on a normal day

Across 3,264 monitored days from 2016 to 2025, the air in Russell County rated Good on 64% of them, less often than the 72% typical of monitored counties, and Moderate on 36%. The median day sat at AQI 45; one day in ten went above 62.

The pollutant setting the AQI on an ordinary day here:

fine particles (PM2.5)65%2,129 days
ozone35%1,135 days

Russell County by year

Year	Days monitored	Good	Moderate	Over 100	Median AQI	Highest AQI
2025*	281	223	58	0	40	88
2024	277	223	54	0	42	98
2023	318	233	85	0	43	93
2022	364	208	156	0	46	97
2021	364	214	147	3	47	142
2020	365	236	129	0	44	99
2019	363	195	168	0	48	84
2018	364	199	165	0	48	99
2017	311	184	127	0	46	88
2016	257	165	92	0	45	100
2015	337	110	225	2	54	141
2014	284	192	91	1	43	108
2013	284	201	83	0	43	93
2012	284	173	110	1	46	101
2011	278	145	131	2	49	126
2010	287	146	139	2	50	108

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

Alabama 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.