Alexandria City, Virginia air quality history

Daily Air Quality Index summaries from EPA monitors in Alexandria City, Virginia, 1980–2021.

97%

Good days in 2016

Median daily AQI, 2016

Days above 100 in 2016

180

Days with an AQI in 2016 (of 366)

In 2016, EPA reported a daily Air Quality Index (AQI) for Alexandria City, Virginia on 180 days. 174 of those days (97%) were in the Good range, and the median daily AQI was 12. That median is lower than the typical monitored county in Virginia (median 38 across 27 counties), and lower than the typical monitored U.S. county (41). The main pollutant was coarse particles (PM10) on 100 days. Across the years with fuller monitoring, the share of Good days rose: an average of 64% in 1980–1982 versus 98% in 2014–2016.

EPA did not report an AQI for every day of 2016 here (180 of 366 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 2021; EPA's files for 2022–2025 contain no row for it, which usually means its monitors stopped reporting.

Years with fewer than 120 monitored days (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021) 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, 2016

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
Coarse particles (PM10)	100	56%
Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)	50	28%
Carbon monoxide (CO)	30	17%

Year-by-year data

Annual AQI summary by year
Year	Days with AQI	Good	Moderate	Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups	Unhealthy	Very Unhealthy	Median AQI	90th pct.	Max AQI	Main pollutant
2021	15	15	0	0	0	0	6	7	9	PM10
2019	109	109	0	0	0	0	5	8	16	PM10
2018	78	78	0	0	0	0	6	10	11	PM10
2017	105	105	0	0	0	0	7	13	19	PM10
2016	180	174	5	1	0	0	12	38	103	PM10
2015	345	337	8	0	0	0	23	40	67	NO2
2014	365	360	5	0	0	0	19	36	70	NO2
2013	365	321	42	2	0	0	36	54	115	NO2
2012	366	297	54	11	4	0	35	71	182	NO2
2011	365	267	87	8	3	0	39	74	187	Ozone
2010	365	243	108	13	1	0	43	77	166	Ozone
2009	365	333	32	0	0	0	33	50	97	NO2
2008	363	323	35	4	1	0	35	51	161	NO2
2007	365	269	76	19	1	0	39	80	161	NO2
2006	365	288	52	22	2	1	37	80	214	NO2
2005	363	286	61	14	2	0	40	71	159	NO2
2004	366	286	72	5	2	1	41	65	204	NO2
2003	365	298	58	6	2	1	38	64	202	NO2
2002	365	244	89	22	7	3	41	97	219	NO2
2001	365	279	70	10	6	0	42	77	179	NO2
2000	366	299	59	7	1	0	37	62	174	NO2
1999	365	252	84	21	8	0	43	90	192	NO2
1998	365	230	96	30	9	0	46	101	190	NO2
1997	365	251	94	17	2	1	42	80	204	NO2
1996	363	275	85	2	1	0	40	65	164	NO2
1995	365	238	105	14	7	1	43	87	208	NO2
1994	364	226	116	18	4	0	46	87	177	NO2
1993	364	217	113	26	8	0	47	100	187	NO2
1992	366	246	109	10	1	0	43	64	161	NO2
1991	365	241	109	9	5	1	44	77	206	NO2
1990	365	238	112	13	2	0	43	77	185	NO2
1989	365	237	118	8	2	0	45	71	190	NO2
1988	366	206	124	22	12	2	47	100	212	NO2
1987	365	181	158	19	7	0	51	89	185	NO2
1986	365	226	137	2	0	0	44	70	112	NO2
1985	365	200	137	23	5	0	47	89	179	NO2
1984	366	213	130	18	5	0	47	86	179	NO2
1983	365	193	123	30	15	4	48	115	232	NO2
1982	363	221	116	17	8	1	47	87	203	NO2
1981	331	195	112	12	11	1	47	93	208	NO2
1980	355	257	70	18	10	0	38	93	190	Ozone

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 Virginia with a similar median AQI in 2016

Lynchburg City

All monitored counties in Virginia

Source: U.S. EPA AirData, “Annual AQI by County” files for 1980–2021 (EPA download page). EPA file dates: 2026-06-26. Imported into EnviroNearby November 5, 2026. How we use this data · Report a problem