Bristol City, Virginia air quality history

Daily Air Quality Index summaries from EPA monitors in Bristol City, Virginia, 1989–2025.

56%

Good days in 2012

Median daily AQI, 2012

Days above 100 in 2012

122

Days with an AQI in 2012 (of 366)

In 2012, EPA reported a daily Air Quality Index (AQI) for Bristol City, Virginia on 122 days. 68 of those days (56%) were in the Good range, and the median daily AQI was 47. That median is higher than the typical monitored county in Virginia (median 43 across 29 counties), and higher than the typical monitored U.S. county (44). The main pollutant was fine particles (PM2.5) on 122 days. Across the years with fuller monitoring, the share of Good days rose: an average of 25% in 2003–2006 versus 49% in 2008–2012.

EPA did not report an AQI for every day of 2012 here (122 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.

Years with fewer than 120 monitored days (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025…) 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, 2012

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)	122	100%

Year-by-year data

Annual AQI summary by year
Year	Days with AQI	Good	Moderate	Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups	Median AQI	90th pct.	Max AQI	Main pollutant
2025	109	85	24	0	34	55	61	PM2.5
2024	118	99	19	0	33	53	63	PM2.5
2023	111	79	30	2	39	62	116	PM2.5
2022	116	94	22	0	32	54	67	PM2.5
2021	116	83	33	0	36	57	90	PM2.5
2020	116	99	17	0	32	53	60	PM2.5
2019	117	94	23	0	34	54	72	PM2.5
2018	116	93	23	0	36	55	71	PM2.5
2017	113	83	30	0	37	57	65	PM2.5
2016	119	83	35	1	39	57	106	PM2.5
2015	112	75	37	0	39	56	67	PM2.5
2014	119	67	52	0	47	59	71	PM2.5
2013	113	67	46	0	43	60	77	PM2.5
2012	122	68	54	0	47	59	72	PM2.5
2011	121	62	59	0	50	64	75	PM2.5
2010	118	41	77	0	54	65	74	PM2.5
2009	118	63	55	0	49	61	87	PM2.5
2008	120	47	73	0	54	64	88	PM2.5
2007	112	37	75	0	58	80	93	PM2.5
2006	121	33	87	1	59	80	117	PM2.5
2005	122	26	94	2	59	85	115	PM2.5
2004	117	31	85	1	59	82	106	PM2.5
2003	121	32	88	1	59	77	147	PM2.5
2002	119	23	93	3	58	84	114	PM2.5
2001	111	31	78	2	59	84	120	PM2.5
2000	117	25	88	4	63	83	144	PM2.5
1999	92	17	73	2	62	84	122	PM2.5
1998	30	30	0	0	19	29	39	PM10
1997	61	60	1	0	17	34	56	PM10
1996	61	60	1	0	20	34	55	PM10
1995	58	56	2	0	22	37	55	PM10
1994	60	60	0	0	22	37	46	PM10
1993	60	58	2	0	21	47	53	PM10
1992	61	61	0	0	21	35	47	PM10
1991	59	57	2	0	27	44	60	PM10
1990	60	58	2	0	28	44	55	PM10
1989	37	34	3	0	26	48	54	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 Virginia with a similar median AQI in 2012

Roanoke City

All monitored counties in Virginia

Source: U.S. EPA AirData, “Annual AQI by County” files for 1989–2025 (EPA download page). EPA file dates: 2026-06-26. Imported into EnviroNearby November 5, 2026. How we use this data · Report a problem