Watauga County, North Carolina air quality history

Daily Air Quality Index summaries from EPA monitors in Watauga, North Carolina, 1994–2015.

83%

Good days in 2015

Median daily AQI, 2015

Days above 100 in 2015

226

Days with an AQI in 2015 (of 365)

In 2015, EPA reported a daily Air Quality Index (AQI) for Watauga, North Carolina on 226 days. 188 of those days (83%) were in the Good range, and the median daily AQI was 30. That median is lower than the typical monitored county in North Carolina (median 43.5 across 42 counties), and lower than the typical monitored U.S. county (41). The main pollutant was fine particles (PM2.5) on 226 days.

EPA did not report an AQI for every day of 2015 here (226 of 365 days). Figures describe monitored days only; seasonal monitoring (for example, ozone measured only in warmer months) can make a county look cleaner or dirtier than a full-year record would.

The most recent year with data for this county is 2015; EPA's files for 2016–2025 contain no row for it, which usually means its monitors stopped reporting.

Years with fewer than 120 monitored days (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014…) are shown in the table but left out of comparisons and trend statements.

How the days broke down each year

Each bar is one year. The colored segments show the share of monitored days that fell in each AQI category.

Good
Moderate
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
Unhealthy
Very Unhealthy
Hazardous

Typical and high-end AQI over time

The median is the middle day of the year. The 90th percentile is the level that only the highest 10% of days exceeded.

Median daily AQI
90th-percentile daily AQI

Main pollutant by day, 2015

On each monitored day, the AQI reflects whichever measured pollutant had the highest index. This counts how many days each pollutant set the AQI. A pollutant that was not measured here cannot appear.

Pollutant	Days as main pollutant	Share of monitored days
Fine particles (PM2.5)	226	100%

Year-by-year data

Annual AQI summary by year
Year	Days with AQI	Good	Moderate	Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups	Unhealthy	Median AQI	90th pct.	Max AQI	Main pollutant
2015	226	188	38	0	0	30	55	85	PM2.5
2014	116	84	32	0	0	37	56	63	PM2.5
2013	122	95	26	0	1	34	57	154	PM2.5
2012	120	82	38	0	0	42	55	70	PM2.5
2011	117	77	40	0	0	42	61	74	PM2.5
2010	119	67	52	0	0	47	60	75	PM2.5
2009	117	74	43	0	0	41	59	71	PM2.5
2008	123	67	56	0	0	49	63	87	PM2.5
2007	112	46	66	0	0	52	74	88	PM2.5
2006	119	61	58	0	0	50	74	91	PM2.5
2005	118	48	68	1	1	55	80	161	PM2.5
2004	118	51	67	0	0	53	75	94	PM2.5
2003	114	53	60	1	0	53	70	117	PM2.5
2002	118	52	66	0	0	52	74	99	PM2.5
2001	18	10	8	0	0	47	84	85	PM2.5
1997	61	61	0	0	0	15	32	46	PM10
1996	53	53	0	0	0	16	31	46	PM10
1995	33	33	0	0	0	17	30	31	PM10
1994	37	37	0	0	0	19	31	35	PM10

What this data can and can’t tell you

It is a county-level summary. EPA reports one AQI per day for the county, based on the monitors operating there. Air at a particular street, school or home can differ, especially near roads, industry or wildfire smoke.

It is not a health assessment. The AQI is EPA’s scale for communicating daily air quality. A county’s history can’t tell you what the health risk is for any particular person. For daily conditions and health guidance, see AirNow.

Rules change over time. EPA has revised AQI breakpoints, most recently for fine particles in 2024, so some year-to-year change can reflect the scale rather than the air.

Counties in North Carolina with a similar median AQI in 2015

All monitored counties in North Carolina

Source: U.S. EPA AirData, “Annual AQI by County” files for 1994–2015 (EPA download page). EPA file dates: 2026-06-26. Imported into EnviroNearby November 5, 2026. How we use this data · Report a problem