Bad Air Days in Sedgwick County, Kansas: 2 a Year
2 bad air days a year
About the middle of monitored US counties. Ranked 481 of 996 monitored counties, where 1 is worst.
What makes them bad: a mix of particles and ozone (45% particle days).
When the bad days come in Sedgwick
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
Most bad days here fall in June and August and July and April. 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 13 bad days a year; in 2016 to 2025, 2. The air has improved. The worst recent year was 2021, with 5 bad days on 365 monitored days.
| Date | AQI | Main pollutant |
|---|---|---|
| 2016-04-04 | 195 | Ozone |
| 2025-03-14 | 192 | PM10 |
| 2024-04-05 | 180 | PM2.5 |
| 2023-09-06 | 157 | PM2.5 |
| 2021-08-02 | 141 | PM2.5 |
The air on a normal day
Across 3,653 monitored days from 2016 to 2025, the air in Sedgwick County rated Good on 67% of them, less often than the 72% typical of monitored counties, and Moderate on 33%. The median day sat at AQI 45; one day in ten went above 63.
The pollutant setting the AQI on an ordinary day here:
- ozone59%2,141 days
- fine particles (PM2.5)35%1,270 days
- coarse dust (PM10)5%190 days
- nitrogen dioxide1%52 days
Year by year
| Year | Days monitored | Good | Moderate | Over 100 | Over 150 | Median AQI | Highest AQI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025* | 365 | 210 | 154 | 1 | 1 | 48 | 192 |
| 2024 | 366 | 275 | 88 | 3 | 1 | 43 | 180 |
| 2023 | 365 | 207 | 153 | 5 | 1 | 48 | 157 |
| 2022 | 365 | 183 | 178 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 119 |
| 2021 | 365 | 224 | 136 | 5 | 0 | 46 | 141 |
| 2020 | 366 | 296 | 67 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 114 |
| 2019 | 365 | 282 | 83 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 97 |
| 2018 | 365 | 238 | 127 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 100 |
| 2017 | 365 | 236 | 129 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 100 |
| 2016 | 366 | 284 | 81 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 195 |
| 2015 | 365 | 281 | 84 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 95 |
| 2014 | 365 | 247 | 114 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 150 |
| 2013 | 365 | 258 | 101 | 6 | 0 | 43 | 115 |
| 2012 | 366 | 210 | 127 | 29 | 3 | 47 | 157 |
| 2011 | 365 | 186 | 158 | 21 | 0 | 50 | 150 |
| 2010 | 365 | 234 | 119 | 12 | 0 | 44 | 122 |
*2025 may be a partial year in EPA's file.
Kansas compared
- Wyandotte County5/yr
- Shawnee County2/yr
- Trego County2/yr
- Sumner County2/yr
- Johnson County2/yr
- Neosho County1/yr
- Douglas County1/yr
- Leavenworth County1/yr
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.