AQI Health Advice Calculator
The air quality number is on every weather app, but what to actually do about it isn't. Enter today's reading and your sensitivity profile to get plain-language advice on whether it's safe to go outside. Nothing uploaded.
Result
ModerateWhat to do
Normal outdoor activity - no restrictions.
Learn more: AQI bands and what the advice changes
The six bands
The US Air Quality Index runs from 0 to 500 across six bands: Good (0-50), Moderate (51-100), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150), Unhealthy (151-200), Very Unhealthy (201-300), and Hazardous (301-500). The American Lung Association's guide to the index lists the same breakpoints and notes that values at or below 100 are considered satisfactory for almost everyone.
This tool starts from an AQI number you already have, off a monitor or a forecast, and looks up the band it falls in. Readings are clamped to the 0 to 500 range, so a number above 500 is treated as Hazardous rather than refused.
The general-public advice runs one band behind
Switching the profile changes the advice line and nothing else. The band, its name, and its colour stay put, because it is the same air either way.
The two profiles agree at the ends of the scale and split in the middle. Good is unrestricted for everyone and Hazardous tells everyone to stay indoors, while from Moderate through Very Unhealthy the sensitive-group advice is always a step ahead of the general-public advice.
From 101 upward that gap is exactly one band wide. Sensitive groups are told to reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion at 101-150, and the general public gets that same instruction at 151-200. Sensitive groups are told to avoid that exertion at 151-200, and the general public reaches it at 201-300.
Using it sensibly
This is a lookup against published category guidance, not an assessment of you. It does not know your history, your medication, or how hard you were planning to work.
If you have asthma, a heart or lung condition, or any other reason to be careful about air quality, treat the band as a starting point and follow your own healthcare provider along with your local air-quality agency.
FAQ
Who counts as a sensitive group?
People more likely to feel effects at lower AQI readings than everyone else, which covers children, older adults, people who are pregnant, and people with heart or lung conditions such as asthma. If you are unsure, the sensitive-group advice is the more cautious of the two.
Why did switching to the sensitive profile not change the category?
The profile only selects which advice line to show. The number and its band come from the reading itself, and at Good and at Hazardous both profiles get word-for-word the same advice anyway.
Does this tool give medical advice?
No. It maps an AQI reading to the plain-language activity guidance published for that band, and it is not a substitute for a doctor or your local air-quality authority.