New Orleans, Louisiana Air Quality
New Orleans air quality today — the AQI, the main pollutant, and whether it’s safe to exercise outside right now
New Orleans, LA · Air quality right now
The air quality index in New Orleans, LA is 49 (Good) right now — safe for outdoor activity.
Is it safe to be outside in New Orleans today?
AQI 49 Yes — air quality is Good
Air is clean — great for outdoor activity.Main pollutant: PM2.5Observed 1:00 AM CDT
Pollutants right now
- PM2.58.9 µg/m³Main pollutantfine particles — smoke, exhaust, soot
- PM1011 µg/m³coarse particles — dust, pollen, ash
- Ozone75 µg/m³smog — builds on hot, sunny days
- NO₂17 µg/m³nitrogen dioxide — traffic, combustion
ExerciseOK to run — no air-quality limits on outdoor exercise.
How to read New Orleans’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 New Orleans
Across the EPA’s county records from 2020 to 2025, New Orleans’s cleanest year was 2020 (median AQI 33) and its most polluted was 2025 (median AQI 42); the typical (median) day has trended more polluted since 2020.
| Year | Median AQI | Unhealthy+ | Main pollutant | USG | Moderate | Good |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 33 | 0 | PM2.5 | 0 | 69 | 297 |
| 2021 | 33 | 0 | PM2.5 | 0 | 49 | 308 |
| 2022 | 35 | 0 | PM2.5 | 2 | 77 | 286 |
| 2023 | 41 | 0 | PM2.5 | 0 | 117 | 248 |
| 2024 | 41 | 0 | PM2.5 | 1 | 108 | 257 |
| 2025 | 42 | 0 | PM2.5 | 0 | 106 | 259 |
“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 New Orleans?
- In the EPA's 2020–2025 county records, 2022 had the most days above AQI 100: 2 days (2 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, 0 Unhealthy or worse). The highest median AQI came in 2025 (42; 2022's was 35).
- How many unhealthy air days does New Orleans have?
- Across 2020–2025, under 1% of the days reported for New Orleans's county had an AQI above 100 (3 of 2184), about 1 day a year. 2025 had 0 days.
- What's the main air pollutant in New Orleans?
- PM2.5: it drove New Orleans's county AQI on the most days in every year of the EPA's 2020–2025 records.