Delaware Air Quality
Kent County is the worst air in Delaware right now at an index of 41, which is Good, from fine particles (PM2.5). AirNow carries 4 reporting areas in the state. No air quality alert is in force. Wildfire smoke has been drawn over 20 of the state’s towns today.
- Reporting areas
- 4
- Worst index now
- 41
- Alerts in force
- 0
- Towns under smoke
- 20
Fine particles on the map
Forecast fine particulate matter from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability over Delaware. Open it for the live map, where it pans and zooms.
Open the live map with the particulate forecast
Map layer from 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 Delaware right now. All Delaware warnings.
By city, now and the days ahead4
Every AirNow reporting area in Delaware: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent County | 41 | Good | Good | Good | PM2.5 |
| Wilmington Area | 37 | Good | Good | Good | PM2.5 |
| Sussex County | 33 | Good | Good | Good | Ozone |
| Greater New Castle County | 32 | Good | Good | Good | PM2.5 |
The forecaster’s discussion
Written by Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources and Environment for Kent County and filed with AirNow.
Monday, September 21 through Wednesday, September 23: As strong surface high pressure builds to the north and a low pressure system develops off the Carolina Coast, moderate and gusty northeasterly winds will usher a clean, cool air mass into the First State. Additionally, clouds and rain showers will continue to inhibit ozone formation. As a result, AQI levels are anticipated to be Good for ozone and PM2.5 on all three days.
Smoke
Where NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System analysts have drawn wildfire smoke over Delaware in today’s satellite imagery. Smoke drawn overhead is not always smoke at ground level; each town’s page carries the near-surface forecast.
- Light Wilmington, Dover, Newark, Middletown, Bear, Brookside, Glasgow, Hockessin, Smyrna, Pike Creek Valley, Milford, Claymont, North Star, Pike Creek, Wilmington Manor, Seaford and 4 more
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 Delaware: what is measured nearby, the category forecast for today and tomorrow, and NOAA’s model hour by hour. Largest first.
- Wilmington70,898 people
- Dover39,403 people
- Newark33,817 people
- Middletown20,372 people
- Bear19,371 people
- Brookside14,353 people
- Glasgow14,303 people
- Hockessin13,527 people
- Smyrna11,319 people
- Pike Creek Valley11,217 people
- Milford10,252 people
- Claymont8,253 people
- North Star7,980 people
- Pike Creek7,898 people
- Wilmington Manor7,889 people
- Seaford7,586 people
- Georgetown7,051 people
- Elsmere6,146 people
- Edgemoor5,677 people
- New Castle5,382 people
- Millsboro4,216 people
- Laurel4,075 people
- Nassau3,699 people
- Harrington3,691 people
- Camden3,505 people
- Highland Acres3,459 people
- Dover Base Housing3,450 people
- Rising Sun-Lebanon3,391 people
- Clayton3,123 people
- Lewes3,010 people
- Milton2,824 people
- Riverview2,456 people
- Selbyville2,397 people
- Greenville2,326 people
- Woodside East2,316 people
- Bridgeville2,256 people
- Townsend2,177 people
- Ocean View2,035 people
- Long Neck1,980 people
- Kent Acres1,890 people
- Delaware City1,741 people
- Delmar1,730 people
- Rodney Village1,487 people
- Wyoming1,465 people
- Rehoboth Beach1,458 people
- Cheswold1,415 people
- Felton1,402 people
- Blades1,354 people
- Bellefonte1,193 people
- Bethany Beach1,170 people
- Greenwood1,066 people
- Newport1,058 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.