Nashville Best & Worst AQI Days: Air Quality Guide
The worst air quality day on record for Nashville (Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN area) was July 22, 2022, when the daily AQI reached 147 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups), set by ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season. Across 2,557 monitored days in 2019–2025, 0 of the 10 worst days were Unhealthy (AQI 151+) or worse; 10 of the 10 were driven by ground-level ozone, and 4 of them fell in 2024. The cleanest day was January 9, 2024 at AQI 15 (Good); the 10 best days span 5 different years.
Reduce Indoor Ozone in Nashville
Today's main pollutant in Nashville is ground-level ozone (AQI 64). 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 Nashville's worst and best air quality days?
Worst: July 22, 2022, AQI 147 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, O3). Best: January 9, 2024, AQI 15 (Good). Based on 2,557 EPA-monitored days in the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN area, 2019–2025.
- ✓0 of the 10 worst days were Unhealthy (AQI 151+) or worse; the 10th-worst was AQI 122 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups).
- ✓Ground-level ozone drove 10 of the 10 worst days.
- ✓2024 accounts for 4 of the 10 worst days.
Frequently asked questions
What was the worst air quality day in Nashville?▾
July 22, 2022: the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN area's daily AQI hit 147 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups), driven by ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season. That is the highest of 2,557 monitored days in 2019–2025.
What was the best air quality day in Nashville?▾
January 9, 2024, with a daily AQI of 15 (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 Nashville's worst air quality day in 2025?▾
June 11, 2025, AQI 136 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups), set by ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season.
Which pollutant causes Nashville's worst air days?▾
Ground-level ozone set the AQI on 10 of the 10 worst days. The tables above list the defining pollutant for every day.
Nashville's 10 worst air quality days, 2019–2025
Highest daily AQI recorded for the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 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) | 147 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | O3 — ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season |
| 2 | (2025 page) | 136 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | O3 — ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season |
| 3 | (2024 page) | 133 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | O3 — ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season |
| 4 | (2023 page) | 133 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | O3 — ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season |
| 5 | (2021 page) | 133 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | O3 — ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season |
| 6 | (2023 page) | 129 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | O3 — ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season |
| 7 | (2023 page) | 126 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | O3 — ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season |
| 8 | (2024 page) | 122 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | O3 — ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season |
| 9 | (2024 page) | 122 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | O3 — ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season |
| 10 | (2024 page) | 122 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | O3 — ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season |
Worst day of each year in Nashville
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 | 101 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | O3 — ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season | |
| 2020 | 121 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | PM2.5 — fine particulate matter (PM2.5), in wildfire smoke season | |
| 2021 | 133 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | O3 — ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season | |
| 2022 | 147 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | O3 — ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season | |
| 2023 | 133 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | O3 — ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season | |
| 2024 | 133 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | O3 — ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season | |
| 2025 | 136 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | O3 — ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season |
Nashville's 10 best air quality days, 2019–2025
Lowest daily AQI recorded for the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN area. Ties are listed most recent first.
| # | Date | AQI | Category | Defining pollutant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (2024 page) | 15 | Good | NO2 — nitrogen dioxide |
| 2 | (2024 page) | 18 | Good | PM2.5 — fine particulate matter (PM2.5) |
| 3 | (2020 page) | 18 | Good | PM2.5 — fine particulate matter (PM2.5) |
| 4 | (2019 page) | 18 | Good | NO2 — nitrogen dioxide |
| 5 | (2019 page) | 18 | Good | PM2.5 — fine particulate matter (PM2.5) |
| 6 | (2025 page) | 19 | Good | PM2.5 — fine particulate matter (PM2.5) |
| 7 | (2025 page) | 19 | Good | PM2.5 — fine particulate matter (PM2.5) |
| 8 | (2025 page) | 20 | Good | PM2.5 — fine particulate matter (PM2.5) |
| 9 | (2024 page) | 20 | Good | O3 — ground-level ozone |
| 10 | (2021 page) | 20 | Good | O3 — ground-level ozone, in peak ozone season |
Right now in Nashville
The latest EPA AirNow observation puts Nashville's AQI at 64 (O3). The days above are historical records, not today's reading.
View current Nashville air quality →Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) pre-generated Daily AQI by CBSA files — daily AQI by CBSA (Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN), 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.