North Dakota Air Quality
Bismarck is the worst air in North Dakota right now at an index of 31, which is Good, from fine particles (PM2.5). AirNow carries 4 reporting areas in the state. No air quality alert is in force.
- Reporting areas
- 4
- Worst index now
- 31
- Alerts in force
- 0
- Towns under smoke
- Unavailable
Radar
Reflectivity now over North Dakota. 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 North Dakota right now. All North Dakota warnings.
By city, now and the days ahead4
Every AirNow reporting area in North Dakota: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bismarck | 31 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Beulah | 24 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Fargo | 19 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | PM2.5 |
| Theodore Roosevelt National Park | 19 | Good | Not forecast | Not forecast | Ozone |
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 North Dakota: what is measured nearby, the category forecast for today and tomorrow, and NOAA’s model hour by hour. Largest first.
- Fargo118,523 people
- Bismarck75,092 people
- Grand Forks57,011 people
- Minot49,450 people
- West Fargo33,597 people
- Williston26,977 people
- Dickinson23,765 people
- Mandan21,382 people
- Jamestown15,422 people
- Wahpeton7,899 people
- Devils Lake7,351 people
- Watford City6,708 people
- Valley City6,669 people
- Minot Air Force Base5,521 people
- Grafton4,243 people
- Lincoln3,519 people
- Beulah3,393 people
- Rugby2,846 people
- Stanley2,721 people
- Horace2,545 people
- Casselton2,521 people
- New Town2,521 people
- Hazen2,488 people
- Grand Forks Air Force Base2,367 people
- Bottineau2,343 people
- Lisbon2,145 people
- Belcourt2,078 people
- Carrington2,072 people
- Mayville1,829 people
- Oakes1,797 people
- Langdon1,787 people
- Harvey1,779 people
- Bowman1,744 people
- Tioga1,643 people
- Hillsboro1,580 people
- Garrison1,538 people
- Crosby1,408 people
- New Rockford1,390 people
- Park River1,375 people
- Surrey1,358 people
- Rolla1,325 people
- Larimore1,313 people
- Washburn1,309 people
- Ellendale1,299 people
- Parshall1,263 people
- Velva1,260 people
- Hettinger1,257 people
- Killdeer1,254 people
- Cavalier1,244 people
- Fort Totten1,243 people
- Shell Valley1,197 people
- Burlington1,181 people
- Cando1,122 people
- Beach1,115 people
- Kenmare1,083 people
- Belfield1,055 people
- Linton1,039 people
- Thompson1,005 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.