Albuquerque Best & Worst AQI Days: Air Quality Guide
The worst air quality day on record for Albuquerque (Albuquerque, NM area) was April 22, 2022, when the daily AQI reached 825 (Hazardous), set by coarse dust (PM10). Across 2,557 monitored days in 2019–2025, 10 of the 10 worst days were Unhealthy (AQI 151+) or worse; 10 of the 10 were driven by coarse dust (PM10), and 4 of them fell in 2022. The cleanest day was September 9, 2020 at AQI 22 (Good); the 10 best days span 4 different years.
Reduce Indoor Ozone in Albuquerque
Today's main pollutant in Albuquerque is ground-level ozone (AQI 39). Important: standard HEPA filters do NOT remove ozone — only a purifier with a substantial activated-carbon bed adsorbs it. The biggest wins are cutting indoor sources (gas appliances, certain "ionizer" purifiers) and ventilating when outdoor ozone is low (early morning). A high-carbon unit helps with the gases and VOCs that linger indoors.
Recommended: Levoit Core 300 — True HEPA + activated carbon · CADR ~141 CFM · rooms up to 219 sq ft
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When were Albuquerque's worst and best air quality days?
Worst: April 22, 2022, AQI 825 (Hazardous, PM10). Best: September 9, 2020, AQI 22 (Good). Based on 2,557 EPA-monitored days in the Albuquerque, NM area, 2019–2025.
- ✓10 of the 10 worst days were Unhealthy (AQI 151+) or worse; the 10th-worst was AQI 173 (Unhealthy).
- ✓Coarse dust (PM10) drove 10 of the 10 worst days.
- ✓2022 accounts for 4 of the 10 worst days.
Frequently asked questions
What was the worst air quality day in Albuquerque?▾
April 22, 2022: the Albuquerque, NM area's daily AQI hit 825 (Hazardous), driven by coarse dust (PM10). That is the highest of 2,557 monitored days in 2019–2025.
What was the best air quality day in Albuquerque?▾
September 9, 2020, with a daily AQI of 22 (Good). The daily AQI is the highest reading from any monitor in the area, so even the cleanest day reflects the area's worst monitor.
What was Albuquerque's worst air quality day in 2025?▾
March 18, 2025, AQI 204 (Very Unhealthy), set by coarse dust (PM10).
Which pollutant causes Albuquerque's worst air days?▾
Coarse dust (PM10) set the AQI on 10 of the 10 worst days. The tables above list the defining pollutant for every day.
Albuquerque's 10 worst air quality days, 2019–2025
Highest daily AQI recorded for the Albuquerque, NM area (EPA AQS). The daily AQI is the highest reading from any monitor in the area that day.
| # | Date | AQI | Category | Defining pollutant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (2022 page) | 825 | Hazardous | PM10 — coarse dust (PM10) |
| 2 | (2024 page) | 443 | Hazardous | PM10 — coarse dust (PM10) |
| 3 | (2022 page) | 328 | Hazardous | PM10 — coarse dust (PM10) |
| 4 | (2022 page) | 297 | Very Unhealthy | PM10 — coarse dust (PM10) |
| 5 | (2020 page) | 214 | Very Unhealthy | PM10 — coarse dust (PM10) |
| 6 | (2023 page) | 207 | Very Unhealthy | PM10 — coarse dust (PM10) |
| 7 | (2025 page) | 204 | Very Unhealthy | PM10 — coarse dust (PM10) |
| 8 | (2020 page) | 198 | Unhealthy | PM10 — coarse dust (PM10) |
| 9 | (2024 page) | 173 | Unhealthy | PM10 — coarse dust (PM10) |
| 10 | (2022 page) | 173 | Unhealthy | PM10 — coarse dust (PM10) |
Worst day of each year in Albuquerque
The single highest-AQI day in each year on record. Click a year for its full month-by-month statistics.
| Year | Worst day | AQI | Category | Defining pollutant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 108 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | O3 — ground-level ozone | |
| 2020 | 214 | Very Unhealthy | PM10 — coarse dust (PM10) | |
| 2021 | 171 | Unhealthy | PM2.5 — fine particulate matter (PM2.5), in wildfire smoke season | |
| 2022 | 825 | Hazardous | PM10 — coarse dust (PM10) | |
| 2023 | 207 | Very Unhealthy | PM10 — coarse dust (PM10) | |
| 2024 | 443 | Hazardous | PM10 — coarse dust (PM10) | |
| 2025 | 204 | Very Unhealthy | PM10 — coarse dust (PM10) |
Albuquerque's 10 best air quality days, 2019–2025
Lowest daily AQI recorded for the Albuquerque, NM area. Ties are listed most recent first.
| # | Date | AQI | Category | Defining pollutant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (2020 page) | 22 | Good | O3 — ground-level ozone |
| 2 | (2020 page) | 26 | Good | PM2.5 — fine particulate matter (PM2.5) |
| 3 | (2025 page) | 29 | Good | O3 — ground-level ozone |
| 4 | (2025 page) | 30 | Good | O3 — ground-level ozone |
| 5 | (2020 page) | 30 | Good | O3 — ground-level ozone |
| 6 | (2019 page) | 30 | Good | O3 — ground-level ozone |
| 7 | (2024 page) | 31 | Good | O3 — ground-level ozone |
| 8 | (2020 page) | 31 | Good | O3 — ground-level ozone |
| 9 | (2019 page) | 31 | Good | O3 — ground-level ozone |
| 10 | (2025 page) | 32 | Good | PM2.5 — fine particulate matter (PM2.5) |
Right now in Albuquerque
The latest EPA AirNow observation puts Albuquerque's AQI at 39 (O3). The days above are historical records, not today's reading.
View current Albuquerque air quality →Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) pre-generated Daily AQI by CBSA files — daily AQI by CBSA (Albuquerque, NM), 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.