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Tucson air right now

GoodAQI 11

Tucson’s five-day smoke forecast shows the current index and the clearest time ahead.

11
AQI now
2
PM2.5 · µg/m³
Look farther for cleaner air

Where are you?

Search covers Canada and the United States.

The better move within a 3-hour drive

Dates

Dates follow you into hotel searches. Live inventory is confirmed by the provider.

You may already have the cleanest nearby air.No meaningfully cleaner place has a verified road route within 3 hours. Widen the range or show worse air for context.

Every town is also available in the ranked list.
Tucson Clean · PM2.5 0–5 Good · 5–9 Elevated · 9–15 Polluted · 15–35 Unhealthy · 35–55 Severe · 55+
Top pick
Bisbee
Cel-shaded illustration of Bisbee
AQI 18
#1Bisbee~2 h drive

Arizona· Good

Mile-high former copper town in the Mule Mountains of southern Arizona, cooler and clearer than the desert floor, with quirky historic hotels.

Worse air than home. Don't bother.

PM2.5 is 3.2 µg/m³ here vs 2 back home.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.A week at these levels: 3.2/22 × 7 = 1.0 here; 2/22 × 7 = 0.6 at home.A long-term health-risk equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →
60% worse airChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

Observed Aug 23, 6:12 p.m. EDT

PM2.5 is estimated for this town.

Directions
Still smoky
Tombstone
Cel-shaded illustration of Tombstone
AQI 19
#2TombstoneChecking road route

Arizona· Good

Historic Old West town near 4,500 feet in southern Arizona's high desert, cooler than the lower valleys.

Worse air than home. Don't bother.

PM2.5 is 3.5 µg/m³ here vs 2 back home.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.A week at these levels: 3.5/22 × 7 = 1.1 here; 2/22 × 7 = 0.6 at home.A long-term health-risk equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →
75% worse airChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

Observed Aug 23, 6:27 p.m. EDT

PM2.5 is estimated for this town.

Directions
Still smoky
Patagonia
Cel-shaded illustration of Patagonia
AQI 44
#3PatagoniaChecking road route

Arizona· Good

Grasslands town near 4,000 feet in the Sonoita Valley, ringed by sky-island mountains south of Tucson.

Worse air than home. Don't bother.

PM2.5 is 7.9 µg/m³ here vs 2 back home.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.A week at these levels: 7.9/22 × 7 = 2.5 here; 2/22 × 7 = 0.6 at home.A long-term health-risk equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →

Air is currently worse here than in Tucson

295% worse airChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

Observed Aug 23, 5:00 p.m. EDT

PM2.5 from the Nogales Post Office monitor.

Directions
Still smoky
Valencia West
Cel-shaded illustration of Valencia West
AQI unavailable
#4Valencia WestChecking road route

Arizona

Arizona community with a cached air reading available when it appears in a nearby escape search.

Air comparison pending.

Air comparison pendingChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

PM2.5 is modelled for this town.

Directions
Still smoky
Summit
Cel-shaded illustration of Summit
AQI unavailable
#5SummitChecking road route

Arizona

Arizona community with a cached air reading available when it appears in a nearby escape search.

Air comparison pending.

Air comparison pendingChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

PM2.5 is modelled for this town.

Directions
Still smoky
Oro Valley
Cel-shaded illustration of Oro Valley
AQI unavailable
#6Oro ValleyChecking road route

Arizona

Arizona community with a cached air reading available when it appears in a nearby escape search.

Air comparison pending.

Air comparison pendingChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

PM2.5 is modelled for this town.

Directions
Still smoky
Tortolita
Cel-shaded illustration of Tortolita
AQI unavailable
#7TortolitaChecking road route

Arizona

Arizona community with a cached air reading available when it appears in a nearby escape search.

Air comparison pending.

Air comparison pendingChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

PM2.5 is modelled for this town.

Directions
Still smoky
Tanque Verde
Cel-shaded illustration of Tanque Verde
AQI unavailable
#8Tanque VerdeChecking road route

Arizona

Arizona community with a cached air reading available when it appears in a nearby escape search.

Air comparison pending.

Air comparison pendingChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

PM2.5 is modelled for this town.

Directions
Still smoky
Picture Rocks
Cel-shaded illustration of Picture Rocks
AQI unavailable
#9Picture RocksChecking road route

Arizona

Arizona community with a cached air reading available when it appears in a nearby escape search.

Air comparison pending.

Air comparison pendingChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

PM2.5 is modelled for this town.

Directions
Still smoky
Sahuarita
Cel-shaded illustration of Sahuarita
AQI unavailable
#10SahuaritaChecking road route

Arizona

Arizona community with a cached air reading available when it appears in a nearby escape search.

Air comparison pending.

Air comparison pendingChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

PM2.5 is modelled for this town.

Directions
Still smoky
Vail
Cel-shaded illustration of Vail
AQI unavailable
#11VailChecking road route

Arizona

Arizona community with a cached air reading available when it appears in a nearby escape search.

Air comparison pending.

Air comparison pendingChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

PM2.5 is modelled for this town.

Directions
Still smoky
Catalina
Cel-shaded illustration of Catalina
AQI unavailable
#12CatalinaChecking road route

Arizona

Arizona community with a cached air reading available when it appears in a nearby escape search.

Air comparison pending.

Air comparison pendingChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

PM2.5 is modelled for this town.

Directions
Still smoky
Mesa
Cel-shaded illustration of Mesa
AQI 26
#13MesaChecking road route

Arizona· Good

A major Arizona city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.

Worse air than home. Don't bother.

PM2.5 is 4.6 µg/m³ here vs 2 back home.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.A week at these levels: 4.6/22 × 7 = 1.5 here; 2/22 × 7 = 0.6 at home.A long-term health-risk equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →

Air is currently worse here than in Tucson

130% worse airChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

Observed Aug 23, 5:00 p.m. EDT

PM2.5 from the Mesa - Brooks Reservoir monitor.

Directions
Still smoky
Phoenix
Cel-shaded illustration of Phoenix
AQI 36
#14Phoenix~2 h drive

Arizona· Good

A major Arizona city with broad lodging options and live air-quality readings for comparison when smoke shifts across the region.

Worse air than home. Don't bother.

PM2.5 is 6.5 µg/m³ here vs 2 back home.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.A week at these levels: 6.5/22 × 7 = 2.1 here; 2/22 × 7 = 0.6 at home.A long-term health-risk equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →

Air is currently worse here than in Tucson

225% worse airChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

Observed Aug 23, 5:00 p.m. EDT

PM2.5 from the Durango Complex monitor.

Directions
Still smoky
Pima
Cel-shaded illustration of Pima
AQI unavailable
#15PimaChecking road route

Arizona

Arizona community with a cached air reading available when it appears in a nearby escape search.

Air comparison pending.

Air comparison pendingChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

PM2.5 is modelled for this town.

Directions
Still smoky
Swift Trail Junction
Cel-shaded illustration of Swift Trail Junction
AQI unavailable
#16Swift Trail JunctionChecking road route

Arizona

Arizona community with a cached air reading available when it appears in a nearby escape search.

Air comparison pending.

Air comparison pendingChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

PM2.5 is modelled for this town.

Directions
Still smoky
Miami
Cel-shaded illustration of Miami
AQI unavailable
#17MiamiChecking road route

Arizona

Arizona community with a cached air reading available when it appears in a nearby escape search.

Air comparison pending.

Air comparison pendingChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

PM2.5 is modelled for this town.

Directions
Still smoky
Jemez Springs
Cel-shaded illustration of Jemez Springs
AQI 7
#18Jemez SpringsChecking road route

New Mexico· Good

Hot-springs village in a red-rock canyon of the Jemez Mountains, cooler and clearer than Albuquerque.

About the same air — still smoky.

PM2.5 is 1.3 µg/m³ here vs 2 back home.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.A week at these levels: 1.3/22 × 7 = 0.4 here; 2/22 × 7 = 0.6 at home.A long-term health-risk equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →
35% cleaner airChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

Observed Aug 23, 6:27 p.m. EDT

PM2.5 is estimated for this town.

Directions
Still smoky
Bluff
Cel-shaded illustration of Bluff
AQI 9
#19BluffChecking road route

Utah· Good

Small red-rock town beside the San Juan River, remote from urban sources with inns and cabins.

About the same air — still smoky.

PM2.5 is 1.6 µg/m³ here vs 2 back home.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.A week at these levels: 1.6/22 × 7 = 0.5 here; 2/22 × 7 = 0.6 at home.A long-term health-risk equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →
20% cleaner airChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

Observed Aug 23, 6:27 p.m. EDT

PM2.5 is estimated for this town.

Directions
Still smoky
Gallup
Cel-shaded illustration of Gallup
AQI 10
#20GallupChecking road route

New Mexico· Good

High-desert city near 6,500 feet on the Colorado Plateau, with a broad hotel base and dry mountain air.

About the same air — still smoky.

PM2.5 is 1.8 µg/m³ here vs 2 back home.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.A week at these levels: 1.8/22 × 7 = 0.6 here; 2/22 × 7 = 0.6 at home.A long-term health-risk equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →
10% cleaner airChecking trip easeChecking nearby staysChecking today's weather

Observed Aug 23, 6:27 p.m. EDT

PM2.5 is estimated for this town.

Directions
Bad week ahead? Check the 7-day outlook — if it won’t clear, book the trip

7-day outlook

Plan the next seven days

Pick a day, or compare the whole week. Weather is forecast; air quality is the latest available reading.

Loading the week…

Finding the nicest days and reachable cities.

Observed Aug 23, 5:00 p.m. EDTLast scan Aug 23, 6:27 p.m. EDT · 49 min ago

Why live rankings? Smoke plumes are patchy and shift with the wind, so no direction is reliably cleaner. This list is recalculated from live PM2.5 every hour — and if everything nearby is smoky, it says so.

How we work this out →

Browse all 200 cities by province & state →

More air-quality pages in Arizona →
Mesa air qualityPhoenix air qualityYuma air quality
Air quality in nearby cities →
El Paso air qualityAlbuquerque air qualityHenderson air qualityLas Vegas air qualitySan Diego air qualitySan Bernardino air qualityRiverside air qualityAnaheim air qualityLos Angeles air qualityBakersfield air qualityLubbock air qualityProvo air quality

What this means · Tucson

Good

AQI 11

AQI = Air Quality Index

Typical person. Air quality is satisfactory for most outdoor plans.

Kids, seniors, heart or lung conditions. Unusually sensitive people can still enjoy the outdoors.

The AQI on this page follows fine particles (PM2.5). Particles here are 2 µg/m³ (Natural), so the headline and the particle scale below tell the same story.

Act two · Fine particles only

Where PM2.5 lands

This bar is smoke and fine particles (PM2.5) only. Left is cleaner air; right is heavier particle pollution. Today's particles sit in Natural.

2 µg/m³
Clean · 0Smoky · 40Severe · 80+

Act three · Particle ladder

What each PM2.5 rung feels like

  • 0–3µg/m³Natural. About as clean as outdoor air realistically gets.
  • 3–5µg/m³Clean. Crisp, destination-worthy air.
  • 5–9µg/m³Good. Clean city air; most people will not notice anything today.
  • 9–15µg/m³Elevated. Usually no big deal today; sensitive lungs may notice hard exercise.
  • 15–35µg/m³Polluted. Smoke or traffic pollution is now worth acting on.
  • 35–55µg/m³Unhealthy. Symptoms become more likely, especially with asthma or heart disease.
  • 55+µg/m³Severe. Everyone should reduce exposure and clean the indoor air.

Act four · Felt number

Cigarettes a week

A secondary feel for the particle load only — not a medical claim, and not a substitute for AQI.

0.6/wk

What is PM2.5?

Fine particles about 30× thinner than a human hair — small enough to slip through your lungs and into your bloodstream. We measure them inµg/m³: micrograms of particle mass in a cubic metre of air.

The math

PM2.5 here is 2 µg/m³.Berkeley Earth: 22 µg/m³ for 24 h ≈ 1 cigarette.A week at this level: 2/22 × 7 = 0.6 cigarettes.A long-term health-risk equivalence, not literal smoking.See how we work it out →
See the full method →