Alaska Air Quality
Fairbanks is the worst air in Alaska right now at an index of 18, which is Good, from fine particles (PM2.5). AirNow carries 5 reporting areas in the state. No air quality alert is in force.
- Reporting areas
- 5
- Worst index now
- 18
- Alerts in force
- 0
- Towns under smoke
- Unavailable
Radar
Reflectivity now over Alaska. Open it to see the particulate forecast on the map.
Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS and NOAA National Air Quality Forecast Capability. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
Alerts in force
An Air Quality Alert is issued by the National Weather Service on behalf of a state or local agency when pollution is expected to reach a level that harms health. An Air Stagnation Advisory means the air will not move enough to clear what is already in it.
None are in force in Alaska right now. All Alaska warnings.
By city, now and the days ahead5
Every AirNow reporting area in Alaska: what its monitors measured this hour, and what the state or local agency that forecasts for it expects today and tomorrow. Each area links to the nearest town’s page.
| Reporting area | Now | Category now | Today | Tomorrow | Pollutant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks | 18 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Eagle River | 6 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM10 |
| Juneau | 3 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Anchorage | 2 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM10 |
| Butte | 1 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
Smoke
NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis could not be read just now.
What this means
The index runs from 0 to 500. Good is 0 to 50, Moderate to 100, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups to 150, Unhealthy to 200, Very Unhealthy to 300, and Hazardous above that. The figure reported for a place is the highest index among the pollutants measured there, and the pollutant that produced it is named beside it.
What these numbers are. An index beside a monitor’s name is a measurement, published hourly by AirNow and preliminary until the operating agency certifies it. A category for today or tomorrow is a state or local agency forecaster’s own forecast for a reporting area. An hourly index is NOAA’s air quality model on a five-kilometer grid, not a reading from any instrument. Where a town has no monitor within reach, only the model figures appear, and the page says so.
Towns
Air quality for any town in Alaska: what is measured nearby, the category forecast for today and tomorrow, and NOAA’s model hour by hour. Largest first.
- Anchorage289,600 people
- Fairbanks32,325 people
- Juneau31,555 people
- Eagle River24,793 people
- Badger19,482 people
- Knik-Fairview14,923 people
- College12,964 people
- Wasilla9,284 people
- Sitka8,863 people
- Lakes8,364 people
- Ketchikan8,197 people
- Tanaina8,197 people
- Kalifornsky7,850 people
- Kenai7,661 people
- Meadow Lakes7,570 people
- Palmer6,788 people
- Elmendorf Air Force Base6,621 people
- Bethel6,450 people
- Kodiak6,253 people
- Sterling5,617 people
- Gateway5,552 people
- Homer5,515 people
- Farmers Loop4,853 people
- Fishhook4,679 people
- Soldotna4,544 people
- Nikiski4,493 people
- Unalaska4,491 people
- Utqiagvik4,384 people
- Dutch Harbor4,376 people
- Valdez3,870 people
- Nome3,806 people
- Big Lake3,350 people
- Kotzebue3,277 people
- Butte3,246 people
- Petersburg2,948 people
- Seward2,790 people
- Eielson Air Force Base2,647 people
- Ester2,422 people
- Dillingham2,404 people
- Wrangell2,382 people
- Deltana2,251 people
- Girdwood2,250 people
- Houston2,206 people
- Cordova2,196 people
- North Pole2,189 people
- Prudhoe Bay2,174 people
- Willow2,102 people
- Ridgeway2,022 people
- Bear Creek1,956 people
- Fritz Creek1,932 people
- Anchor Point1,930 people
- Haines1,713 people
- Lazy Mountain1,479 people
- Sutton-Alpine1,447 people
- Metlakatla1,405 people
- Cohoe1,364 people
- Kodiak Station1,301 people
- Susitna North1,260 people
- Tok1,258 people
- Craig1,248 people
- Skagway1,240 people
- Hooper Bay1,187 people
- Diamond Ridge1,156 people
- Funny River1,103 people
- Salcha1,095 people
- Sand Point1,064 people
- Akutan1,040 people
- Farm Loop1,028 people
- Healy1,021 people
- Chevak1,018 people
- King Cove1,009 people
Smaller places have pages too; search for one on the air quality landing page.
Sources
Observations and daily forecasts from AirNow, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s program with NOAA, the National Park Service, NASA, tribal, state and local agencies. Hourly forecasts from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability. Smoke analysis from NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System. Alerts from the National Weather Service. Index categories and breakpoints are EPA’s, as revised in 2024.