Montana Air Quality
Great Falls is the worst air in Montana right now at an index of 48, which is Good, from fine particles (PM2.5). AirNow carries 18 reporting areas in the state. No air quality alert is in force.
- Reporting areas
- 18
- Worst index now
- 48
- Alerts in force
- 0
- Towns under smoke
- 0
Fine particles on the map
Forecast fine particulate matter from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability over Montana. 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 Montana right now. All Montana warnings.
By city, now and the days ahead18
Every AirNow reporting area in Montana: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Falls | 48 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Flathead Valley | 43 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Thompson Falls | 43 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Libby | 32 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Lewistown | 31 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | Ozone |
| Yellowstone National Park | 31 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | Ozone |
| Missoula | 29 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | Ozone |
| Glacier National Park | 26 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | Ozone |
| Billings | 24 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Helena | 23 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Cut Bank | 22 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Butte | 20 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Seeley Lake | 18 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Choteau | 16 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Dillon | 16 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Havre | 16 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Malta | 7 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Hamilton | 5 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
Smoke
NOAA’s analysts have not drawn wildfire smoke over any town in Montana today.
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 Montana: what is measured nearby, the category forecast for today and tomorrow, and NOAA’s model hour by hour. Largest first.
- Billings117,116 people
- Missoula71,022 people
- Great Falls59,638 people
- Bozeman43,405 people
- Butte34,190 people
- Helena32,091 people
- Kalispell22,052 people
- Havre9,834 people
- Anaconda9,417 people
- Miles City8,796 people
- Helena Valley Southeast8,227 people
- Belgrade8,029 people
- Helena Valley West Central7,883 people
- Evergreen7,616 people
- Livingston7,302 people
- Whitefish7,073 people
- Laurel6,943 people
- Sidney6,828 people
- Lockwood6,797 people
- Lewistown5,874 people
- Glendive5,490 people
- Orchard Homes5,197 people
- Columbia Falls5,093 people
- Polson4,707 people
- Hamilton4,602 people
- Bigfork4,270 people
- Dillon4,210 people
- Lolo3,892 people
- Hardin3,800 people
- Helena Valley Northwest3,482 people
- Malmstrom Air Force Base3,472 people
- Glasgow3,414 people
- Shelby3,268 people
- Four Corners3,146 people
- Cut Bank3,002 people
- Warm Springs3,000 people
- Helena Valley Northeast2,995 people
- Deer Lodge2,965 people
- Wolf Point2,850 people
- Montana City2,715 people
- Lakeside2,669 people
- Libby2,645 people
- Conrad2,593 people
- North Browning2,408 people
- Colstrip2,336 people
- Big Sky2,308 people
- Pablo2,254 people
- Red Lodge2,222 people
- East Missoula2,157 people
- East Helena2,057 people
- Lame Deer2,052 people
- Columbus2,042 people
- Baker2,011 people
- Ronan1,981 people
- Malta1,963 people
- Townsend1,959 people
- West Glendive1,948 people
- Three Forks1,926 people
- Plentywood1,923 people
- Stevensville1,922 people
- Forsyth1,892 people
- Roundup1,836 people
- Frenchtown1,825 people
- South Browning1,785 people
- Choteau1,696 people
- Bonner-West Riverside1,663 people
- Clancy1,661 people
- Seeley Lake1,659 people
- Big Timber1,648 people
- Helena West Side1,637 people
- Manhattan1,631 people
- Sun Prairie1,630 people
- Crow Agency1,616 people
- Fort Benton1,460 people
- West Yellowstone1,339 people
- Thompson Falls1,332 people
- Fort Belknap Agency1,293 people
- Chinook1,228 people
- Boulder1,207 people
- Absarokee1,150 people
- Somers1,109 people
- Whitehall1,094 people
- Eureka1,074 people
- Clinton1,052 people
- Plains1,051 people
- Scobey1,033 people
- Browning1,027 people
- Lincoln1,013 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.