South Carolina air quality

Saint Andrews, South Carolina Air Quality

Richland County34.043, -81.101

The nearest monitor to Saint Andrews, at Irmo DJJ, 3 miles away, measured an index of 55 at Tue, 10:00 AM EDT, which is Moderate for fine particles (PM2.5). South Carolina DES forecasts Good for Columbia today.

Measured now
55 · Moderate
Today
39 · Good
Tomorrow
Not forecast
Pollutant
PM2.5

Fine particles on the map

Forecast fine particulate matter from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability over Saint Andrews, South Carolina. Open it for the live map, where it pans and zooms.

Forecast fine particulate matter from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability over Saint Andrews, South Carolina 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 Saint Andrews right now. All South Carolina warnings.

Now

Moderate

Nearest monitor
Irmo DJJ, 3 miles away (site 840450790022)
Index measured
55 · Moderate
Measured at
Tue, 10:00 AM EDT
Fine particles
10.4 µg/m³
Reporting area
Columbia, SC, 12 miles away
Reported by
South Carolina DES
Area index
55 · Moderate

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

Today and tomorrow

South Carolina DES's own forecast for Columbia, written by a forecaster rather than read off a model.

DayCategoryIndexPollutant
TodayGood39Ozone

The forecaster’s discussion

Written by South Carolina DES for Columbia and filed with AirNow.

As of Monday afternoon, the Upstate region is trending toward code yellow territory, while all other forecast regions are trending toward a code green finish. The weather pattern will begin to change across South Carolina on Tuesday afternoon as the persistent high pressure that has dominated the region gradually weakens. Temperatures will remain above normal, with afternoon highs reaching the upper 80s to lower 90s across much of the state. Increasing moisture, along with an approaching weather disturbance and cold front, will support scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening - commencing initially across the Upstate region and propagating southeast’ward across the state through the evening. Increasing cloud cover and thunderstorm activity should help limit ozone formation during the latter half of the day. Cooler and drier conditions are expected to gradually arrive by mid to late week. Overall, the Upstate and Catawba regions are forecast to peak in CODE YELLOW, while all other forecast regions are expected to peak CODE GREEN.

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 54, Moderate, around Tue, 8:00 AM EDT, from the run issued Tue, 2:00 AM EDT. This is a model, not a measurement.

HourIndexCategoryPM2.5Ozone
Tue, 4:00 AM EDT53Moderate10.6
Tue, 5:00 AM EDT53Moderate10.6
Tue, 6:00 AM EDT53Moderate10.4
Tue, 7:00 AM EDT53Moderate10.4
Tue, 8:00 AM EDT54Moderate10.8
Tue, 9:00 AM EDT53Moderate9.8
Tue, 10:00 AM EDT53Moderate10.812.2
Tue, 11:00 AM EDT54Moderate10.713.6
Tue, 12:00 PM EDT53Moderate1016.2
Tue, 1:00 PM EDT53Moderate8.919.5
Tue, 2:00 PM EDT52Moderate8.523.2
Tue, 3:00 PM EDT51Moderate8.327.3
Tue, 4:00 PM EDT49Good8.130.9
Tue, 5:00 PM EDT50Good9.433.7
Tue, 6:00 PM EDT51Moderate9.834.7
Tue, 7:00 PM EDT51Moderate8.934
Tue, 8:00 PM EDT51Moderate9.532.5
Tue, 9:00 PM EDT44Good6.431.3
Tue, 10:00 PM EDT41Good6.330
Tue, 11:00 PM EDT33Good528.5
Wed, 12:00 AM EDT31Good5.227.8
Wed, 1:00 AM EDT31Good5.627.4
Wed, 2:00 AM EDT36Good7.427.6
Wed, 3:00 AM EDT39Good7.828.2
Wed, 4:00 AM EDT39Good7.228.3
Wed, 5:00 AM EDT41Good7.527.7
Wed, 6:00 AM EDT41Good7.527
Wed, 7:00 AM EDT37Good5.925.9
Wed, 8:00 AM EDT36Good5.924.4
Wed, 9:00 AM EDT34Good5.922.7
Wed, 10:00 AM EDT34Good6.321.3
Wed, 11:00 AM EDT34Good6.220.4
Wed, 12:00 PM EDT37Good7.420.9
Wed, 1:00 PM EDT36Good6.622
Wed, 2:00 PM EDT38Good822.9
Wed, 3:00 PM EDT40Good824.1
Wed, 4:00 PM EDT41Good8.125.8
Wed, 5:00 PM EDT42Good826.9
Wed, 6:00 PM EDT41Good6.827.3
Wed, 7:00 PM EDT40Good6.827.2
Wed, 8:00 PM EDT40Good7.126.1
Wed, 9:00 PM EDT40Good7.224.4
Wed, 10:00 PM EDT39Good6.423.4
Wed, 11:00 PM EDT38Good6.222.9
Thu, 12:00 AM EDT37Good6.622.3
Thu, 1:00 AM EDT37Good6.622.6
Thu, 2:00 AM EDT38Good7.723
Thu, 3:00 AM EDT41Good8.623.2
Thu, 4:00 AM EDT44Good8.923.3
Thu, 5:00 AM EDT45Good8.623.4
Thu, 6:00 AM EDT44Good7.823.4
Thu, 7:00 AM EDT41Good5.922.8
Thu, 8:00 AM EDT38Good6.321.7
Thu, 9:00 AM EDT37Good6.220.3
Thu, 10:00 AM EDT37Good6.819.5
Thu, 11:00 AM EDT38Good7.119.4
Thu, 12:00 PM EDT39Good7.619.7
Thu, 1:00 PM EDT40Good7.620.2
Thu, 2:00 PM EDT42Good8.120.5
Thu, 3:00 PM EDT42Good7.821.4
Thu, 4:00 PM EDT41Good7.323.2
Thu, 5:00 PM EDT41Good7.325.3
Thu, 6:00 PM EDT42Good8.326.9
Thu, 7:00 PM EDT43Good8.527.8
Thu, 8:00 PM EDT44Good8.428.7
Thu, 9:00 PM EDT44Good7.929.2
Thu, 10:00 PM EDT42Good6.630
Thu, 11:00 PM EDT39Good5.930.6
Fri, 12:00 AM EDT39Good730.8
Fri, 1:00 AM EDT40Good7.630.6
Fri, 2:00 AM EDT42Good8.630.8

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 analysts have not drawn smoke over Saint Andrews in satellite imagery today.

NOAA’s model forecasts near-surface smoke peaking at 0.4 µg/m³ around Wed, 9:00 PM EDT.

Smoke on the radar over Saint Andrews

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 Saint AndrewsWarnings in Richland CountyLive radar over Saint AndrewsSouth Carolina 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.