Source: NC CLIMATE OFFICE, 3/24/22


That feeling of spring in the air will soon be joined by powdery puffs of pollen, some sniffs of smoke, and potentially even occasional unhealthy air pollution as the weather continues to warm up.

March marks not only the start of meteorological spring, but also the beginning of ozone season, which runs from March 1 through October 31. As we’ve discussed before, the North Carolina Division of Air Quality (NC DAQ) issues daily Air Quality Index forecasts during ozone season for ground-level ozone, which can cause adverse health effects at high concentrations, in addition to year-round forecasts for fine particulate matter.

2021 Air Quality in Review
Last year, North Carolina continued to enjoy clean air quality on the vast majority of days. During ozone season in 2021, there were only two days (May 24 and July 30) on which any monitors in the state measured daily ozone concentrations that exceeded the standard set by the EPA for healthy air quality.

Two other days (July 4 and July 21) had air quality impacts from fine particulates due to smoke from very different origins, as discussed in a previous post that introduced our newest air quality tool, the Ambient Information Reporter.

Most notably, smoke from wildfires over the western US and central Canada was carried by the upper-level winds into North Carolina in late July. That largely reflects the recent evolution of our air quality: locally, conditions have gotten much better, but we still have to be wary of the air we share with other regions.

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