Irvine Air Quality in Summer
Across 2019–2025, Irvine's summer (June–August) air quality had a median AQI of 119 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) over 644 monitored days in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area. 65.7% of summer days (423 of 644) reached Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or worse, and ground-level ozone set the daily AQI on 89.8% of days. The cleanest summer on record here was 2023 (median AQI 112, 52 days above 100) and the worst was 2024 (median 145, 77 days above 100, peak AQI 230).
- Good: 1.4%
- Moderate: 32.9%
- Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups: 38.2%
- Unhealthy or worse: 27.5%
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How is the air in Irvine in summer?
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups on a typical day: median AQI 119 across 2019–2025, with 65.7% of summer days above AQI 100. Ground-level ozone is the main driver.
- ✓1.4% of summer days were Good (AQI 0–50), 32.9% Moderate (51–100).
- ✓423 days of 644 reached AQI 101+; the summer peak was 250.
- ✓Cleanest month: June; worst month: July.
Frequently asked questions
What is the air quality like in Irvine in summer?▾
Across 2019–2025, the median daily AQI in Irvine in summer was 119 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). 1.4% of days were Good, 32.9% Moderate, and 65.7% reached Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or worse, based on 644 monitored days in EPA's Air Quality System.
Is summer a good time for outdoor exercise in Irvine?▾
A typical summer day in Irvine is already Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (median AQI 119): people with asthma or heart disease, children and older adults should reduce prolonged outdoor exertion on most days, and about 66% of summer days (65.7%) were at that level or worse.
Which pollutant causes Irvine's summer air quality problems?▾
Ground-level ozone set the daily AQI on 89.8% of summer days in Irvine. The highest summer AQI recorded in 2019–2025 was 250 (Very Unhealthy), in 2024.
Irvine summer air quality, year by year
Irvine summer air quality by year (Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, EPA AQS daily AQI)
| Year | Days monitored | Median AQI | Days above 100 | Peak AQI | Main pollutant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 92 | 119 | 60 | 201 | O3 |
| 2020 | 92 | 115 | 60 | 250 | O3 |
| 2021 | 92 | 117 | 57 | 195 | O3 |
| 2022 | 92 | 112 | 59 | 182 | O3 |
| 2023cleanest | 92 | 112 | 52 | 210 | O3 |
| 2024worst | 92 | 145 | 77 | 230 | O3 |
| 2025 | 92 | 119 | 58 | 201 | O3 |
What summer air means in Irvine
A typical summer day in Irvine is already Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (median AQI 119): people with asthma or heart disease, children and older adults should reduce prolonged outdoor exertion on most days, and about 66% of summer days (65.7%) were at that level or worse.
Summer's median AQI of 119 is above Irvine's whole-year median of 74, making it one of the area's dirtier periods. Nationally, the median Summer AQI across every EPA metro area (308,645 metro-days, 2019–2025) is 46, so Irvine runs above the national Summer norm; 65.7% of its Summer days topped AQI 100 versus 3.6% nationally (above average).
Within the season, June is the cleanest month (median AQI 100, 48.6% of days above 100) and July the worst (median 129, 76.1% above 100).
Activity-specific thresholds: running, cycling, kids' sports.
Right now in Irvine
The latest EPA AirNow observation puts Irvine's AQI at 48 (PM2.5). The figures above are multi-year season statistics, not today's reading.
View current Irvine air quality →Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) pre-generated Daily AQI by CBSA files — daily AQI by CBSA (Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA), 2019–2025. Daily AQI per CBSA is the highest AQI reported by any monitor in the area that day; the defining parameter is the pollutant that set it. Month and season statistics pool every such day in the period across all years listed. Retrieved 2026-09-09.