Louisiana air quality

Richland Parish, Louisiana Air Quality

Richland Parish32.418, -91.763

The nearest monitor to Richland Parish, at Monroe, 18 miles away, measured an index of 56 at Tue, 3:00 PM CDT, which is Moderate for fine particles (PM2.5). Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality forecasts Good for Monroe today and Moderate tomorrow. NOAA’s analysts drew light wildfire smoke over the town today.

Measured now
56 · Moderate
Today
50 · Good
Tomorrow
53 · Moderate
Pollutant
PM2.5

Fine particles on the map

Forecast fine particulate matter from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability over Richland Parish, Louisiana. Open it for the live map, where it pans and zooms.

Forecast fine particulate matter from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability over Richland Parish, Louisiana 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 near Richland Parish right now. All Louisiana warnings.

Now

Moderate

Nearest monitor
Monroe, 18 miles away (site 220730004)
Index measured
56 · Moderate
Measured at
Tue, 3:00 PM CDT
Fine particles
11.8 µg/m³
Ozone
54 ppb
Reporting area
Monroe, LA, 18 miles away
Reported by
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
Area index
56 · Moderate

Measured, not modeled. AirNow observations are preliminary until the operating agency certifies them, which happens months later.

Today and tomorrow

Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality's own forecast for Monroe, written by a forecaster rather than read off a model.

DayCategoryIndexPollutant
TodayGood50PM2.5
TomorrowModerate53PM2.5
Thursday, September 24Moderate53PM2.5

The forecaster’s discussion

Written by Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality for Monroe and filed with AirNow.

Tuesday, widely scattered showers and thunderstorms will aid atmospheric mixing during the afternoon and evening. However, periods of sun and highs in the mid- to upper-90s will continue to promote ozone formation. Additionally, light northeasterly winds will allow thin smoke to linger over the region. These conditions will yield high-Good to mid-Moderate AQI levels. Wednesday and Thursday, as a weak front departs to the south, increasing northeasterly winds will aid dispersion. However, these winds will also transport thin regional smoke into the state, keeping particle levels elevated. Furthermore, increasing sunshine and temperatures in the low- to mid-90s will be conducive to ozone development. Thus, AQI levels will range from high-Good to mid-Moderate on both days.

Hour by hour

NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability, bias-corrected against monitors, for this town’s own coordinate. The worst hour ahead is an index of 56, Moderate, around Wed, 10:00 AM CDT, from the run issued Tue, 7:00 AM CDT. This is a model, not a measurement.

HourIndexCategoryPM2.5Ozone
Tue, 9:00 AM CDT43Good8.1
Tue, 10:00 AM CDT44Good8.3
Tue, 11:00 AM CDT42Good7
Tue, 12:00 PM CDT39Good6.1
Tue, 1:00 PM CDT37Good6.1
Tue, 2:00 PM CDT37Good6.5
Tue, 3:00 PM CDT37Good6.838.1
Tue, 4:00 PM CDT39Good7.142.6
Tue, 5:00 PM CDT44Good7.447.7
Tue, 6:00 PM CDT46Good7.750.3
Tue, 7:00 PM CDT47Good8.151.4
Tue, 8:00 PM CDT46Good8.650.5
Tue, 9:00 PM CDT44Good8.448.7
Tue, 10:00 PM CDT43Good7.746.9
Tue, 11:00 PM CDT42Good6.844.9
Wed, 12:00 AM CDT40Good6.642.5
Wed, 1:00 AM CDT41Good7.538.8
Wed, 2:00 AM CDT43Good8.835.5
Wed, 3:00 AM CDT46Good9.331.8
Wed, 4:00 AM CDT49Good10.129.9
Wed, 5:00 AM CDT52Moderate10.328.4
Wed, 6:00 AM CDT52Moderate10.627.1
Wed, 7:00 AM CDT53Moderate11.125.5
Wed, 8:00 AM CDT54Moderate11.224
Wed, 9:00 AM CDT55Moderate11.623.8
Wed, 10:00 AM CDT56Moderate12.324.5
Wed, 11:00 AM CDT55Moderate11.426.4
Wed, 12:00 PM CDT54Moderate1028.8
Wed, 1:00 PM CDT54Moderate9.431.7
Wed, 2:00 PM CDT53Moderate9.134.6
Wed, 3:00 PM CDT52Moderate8.438.2
Wed, 4:00 PM CDT51Moderate8.442.6
Wed, 5:00 PM CDT50Good8.846.9
Wed, 6:00 PM CDT50Good949.7
Wed, 7:00 PM CDT48Good850.9
Wed, 8:00 PM CDT46Good7.950.5
Wed, 9:00 PM CDT44Good7.449
Wed, 10:00 PM CDT44Good7.847.7
Wed, 11:00 PM CDT45Good8.545.9
Thu, 12:00 AM CDT47Good9.643.6
Thu, 1:00 AM CDT51Moderate10.640.6
Thu, 2:00 AM CDT52Moderate1137.4
Thu, 3:00 AM CDT53Moderate11.234.5
Thu, 4:00 AM CDT54Moderate11.232.8
Thu, 5:00 AM CDT54Moderate11.131.5
Thu, 6:00 AM CDT54Moderate10.529.8
Thu, 7:00 AM CDT54Moderate11.228
Thu, 8:00 AM CDT54Moderate1126
Thu, 9:00 AM CDT54Moderate10.524.6
Thu, 10:00 AM CDT54Moderate10.225
Thu, 11:00 AM CDT53Moderate9.327
Thu, 12:00 PM CDT53Moderate8.829.9
Thu, 1:00 PM CDT52Moderate8.833.5
Thu, 2:00 PM CDT51Moderate8.237.5
Thu, 3:00 PM CDT48Good7.941.7
Thu, 4:00 PM CDT47Good846.2
Thu, 5:00 PM CDT47Good8.550.4
Thu, 6:00 PM CDT49Good9.153.5
Thu, 7:00 PM CDT50Good9.154.9
Thu, 8:00 PM CDT51Moderate10.653.8
Thu, 9:00 PM CDT52Moderate10.252
Thu, 10:00 PM CDT52Moderate10.750.1
Thu, 11:00 PM CDT53Moderate10.847.7
Fri, 12:00 AM CDT53Moderate11.145
Fri, 1:00 AM CDT54Moderate10.741.9
Fri, 2:00 AM CDT53Moderate9.638.5
Fri, 3:00 AM CDT52Moderate9.135.7
Fri, 4:00 AM CDT52Moderate9.234.5
Fri, 5:00 AM CDT52Moderate933.5
Fri, 6:00 AM CDT51Moderate8.332.1
Fri, 7:00 AM CDT50Good8.630.2

Fine particles in micrograms per cubic meter, ozone in parts per billion as an 8-hour average. The index for each hour is EPA’s: the ozone figure is already the 8-hour average the ozone index is defined on, and the particle figure is run through EPA’s NowCast, which is how an hourly PM2.5 concentration becomes an index.

Smoke

NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System analysts drew light smoke over Richland Parish in satellite imagery today (Tue, 8:00 AM CDT to Tue, 10:00 AM CDT). That is smoke seen from above; it is not always smoke at ground level.

NOAA’s model forecasts near-surface smoke peaking at 1.3 µg/m³ around Wed, 12:00 AM CDT.

Smoke on the radar over Richland Parish

What this means

Moderate

Air quality is acceptable. There may be a risk for some people, particularly those who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.

Who is affected
People who are unusually sensitive to ozone or fine particles.
What to do
If you are unusually sensitive, consider making long or intense outdoor activity shorter or easier.
Index range
51 to 100

Category descriptions are the Environmental Protection Agency’s own.

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.

Nearby

The nearest towns with a page of their own, closest first.

Weather forecast for Richland ParishWarnings in Richland ParishLive radar over Richland ParishLouisiana air quality

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.