Long Beach, California Air Quality
Long Beach air quality today — the AQI, the main pollutant, and whether it’s safe to exercise outside right now
Long Beach, CA · Air quality right now
The air quality index in Long Beach, CA is 49 (Good) right now — safe for outdoor activity.
Is it safe to be outside in Long Beach today?
AQI 49 Yes — air quality is Good
Air is clean — great for outdoor activity.Main pollutant: PM2.5Observed 5:00 AM PDT
Pollutants right now
- PM2.510 µg/m³Main pollutantfine particles — smoke, exhaust, soot
- PM1015 µg/m³coarse particles — dust, pollen, ash
- Ozone82 µg/m³smog — builds on hot, sunny days
- NO₂12 µg/m³nitrogen dioxide — traffic, combustion
ExerciseOK to run — no air-quality limits on outdoor exercise.
How to read Long Beach’s air quality
Guides: The AQI Scale, Explained · Air Quality Alerts, Decoded · How to Read a Wildfire Smoke Map · Why Wildfire Smoke Travels 1,000 Miles.
Air quality over time in Long Beach
Across the EPA’s county records from 2020 to 2025, Long Beach’s cleanest year was 2023 (median AQI 67) and its most polluted was 2020 (median AQI 85); the typical (median) day has trended cleaner since 2020.
| Year | Median AQI | Unhealthy+ | Main pollutant | USG | Moderate | Good |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 85 | 60 | Ozone | 77 | 194 | 35 |
| 2021 | 79 | 27 | PM2.5 | 70 | 259 | 9 |
| 2022 | 74 | 29 | Ozone | 65 | 254 | 17 |
| 2023 | 67 | 35 | PM2.5 | 52 | 237 | 41 |
| 2024 | 80 | 55 | Ozone | 78 | 195 | 38 |
| 2025 | 74 | 32 | Ozone | 66 | 228 | 39 |
“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 Long Beach?
- In the EPA's 2020–2025 county records, 2020 had the most days above AQI 100: 137 days (77 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, 60 Unhealthy or worse). It also had the highest median AQI, 85.
- How many unhealthy air days does Long Beach have?
- Across 2020–2025, 29% of the days reported for Long Beach's county had an AQI above 100 (646 of 2192), about 108 days a year. 2025 had 98 days.
- What's the main air pollutant in Long Beach?
- Ozone drove Long Beach's county AQI on the most days in 4 of 6 years (2020–2025); PM2.5 in 2021, 2023.