Lee Vining, California Air Quality
Lee Vining air quality today — the AQI, the main pollutant, and whether it’s safe to exercise outside right now
Lee Vining, CA · Air quality right now
The air quality index in Lee Vining, CA is 100 (Moderate) right now — acceptable for most people.
Is it safe to be outside in Lee Vining today?
AQI 100 Yes — air quality is Moderate
Fine for most; unusually sensitive people can take it easy.Main pollutant: PM2.5Observed 12:00 AM PDT
Pollutants right now
- PM2.587 µg/m³Main pollutantfine particles — smoke, exhaust, soot
- PM1089 µg/m³coarse particles — dust, pollen, ash
- Ozone64 µg/m³smog — builds on hot, sunny days
- NO₂15 µg/m³nitrogen dioxide — traffic, combustion
ExerciseOK to run for most; sensitive athletes can ease the intensity.
Wildfire smoke & fire weather in Lee Vining
Smoke checkFine-particle (PM2.5) level right now: 87 µg/m³ Unhealthy on the EPA PM2.5 scale. PM2.5-based; smoke is one possible source — traffic, industry, and dust raise the same number.
Wildfire smoke shows up in air-quality data as fine-particle (PM2.5) pollution — it’s the number that climbs when smoke moves in. A Fire Weather Watch from the National Weather Service means critical fire-weather conditions — dry fuels, low humidity, gusty wind — are possible in the next day or two; a Red Flag Warning means they’re happening or imminent. On smoky days, EPA and AirNow guidance is to limit time outdoors, keep windows closed, run filtration if you have it, and wear an N95 if you must be outside. See where smoke and storms sit right now on the live weather map.
How to read Lee Vining’s air quality
Air quality is reported as the EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), a 0–500 scale set by whichever pollutant is worst at the moment — where an AQI under 100 is a safe day for outdoor activity in Lee Vining and above 100 people with asthma, heart conditions, the very young, and older adults should start to scale back.
For the full six-category scale — every band, its color, and the pollutants behind the number — see the AQI scale guide.
Air quality over time in Lee Vining
Across the EPA’s county records from 2020 to 2025, Lee Vining’s cleanest year was 2024 (median AQI 19) and its most polluted was 2020 (median AQI 51); the typical (median) day has trended cleaner since 2020.
| Year | Median AQI | Unhealthy+ | Main pollutant | USG | Moderate | Good |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 51 | 53 | PM2.5 | 13 | 117 | 183 |
| 2021 | 27 | 14 | PM2.5 | 12 | 78 | 260 |
| 2022 | 27 | 23 | PM2.5 | 5 | 61 | 276 |
| 2023 | 24 | 4 | PM2.5 | 1 | 35 | 325 |
| 2024 | 19 | 0 | PM2.5 | 0 | 25 | 341 |
| 2025 | 21 | 4 | PM2.5 | 3 | 29 | 329 |
“USG” is Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (AQI 101–150); “Unhealthy+” combines the Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy, and Hazardous days. In 2024 the EPA tightened the annual fine-particle (PM2.5) standard to 9 µg/m³ from the previous 12 µg/m³, so counties near the old limit read worse against the new one. Source: EPA AQS annual summaries, 2020–2025.
Frequently asked
- What was the worst year for air quality in Lee Vining?
- In the EPA's 2020–2025 county records, 2020 had the most days above AQI 100: 66 days (13 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, 53 Unhealthy or worse). It also had the highest median AQI, 51.
- How many unhealthy air days does Lee Vining have?
- Across 2020–2025, 6% of the days reported for Lee Vining's county had an AQI above 100 (132 of 2191), about 22 days a year. 2025 had 7 days.
- What's the main air pollutant in Lee Vining?
- PM2.5: it drove Lee Vining's county AQI on the most days in every year of the EPA's 2020–2025 records.