EnviroNearby

Lynchburg City, Virginia air quality history

Daily Air Quality Index summaries from EPA monitors in Lynchburg City, Virginia, 1988–2025.

80%
Good days in 2016
38
Median daily AQI, 2016
0
Days above 100 in 2016
120
Days with an AQI in 2016 (of 366)

In 2016, EPA reported a daily Air Quality Index (AQI) for Lynchburg City, Virginia on 120 days. 96 of those days (80%) were in the Good range, and the median daily AQI was 38. That median is about the same as 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 fine particles (PM2.5) on 120 days.

EPA did not report an AQI for every day of 2016 here (120 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.

Share of monitored days in each AQI category, by year0%25%50%75%100%1988: Good 39 of 44 days1988: Moderate 5 of 44 days19881989: Good 57 of 58 days1989: Moderate 1 of 58 days1990: Good 61 of 61 days1991: Good 59 of 60 days1991: Moderate 1 of 60 days1992: Good 61 of 61 days1993: Good 56 of 60 days1993: Moderate 4 of 60 days19931994: Good 60 of 60 days1995: Good 58 of 59 days1995: Moderate 1 of 59 days1996: Good 59 of 59 days1997: Good 58 of 59 days1997: Moderate 1 of 59 days1998: Good 30 of 30 days19981999: Good 16 of 56 days1999: Moderate 39 of 56 days1999: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 1 of 56 days2000: Good 13 of 77 days2000: Moderate 62 of 77 days2000: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 2 of 77 days2001: Good 36 of 115 days2001: Moderate 76 of 115 days2001: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 3 of 115 days2002: Good 28 of 107 days2002: Moderate 79 of 107 days2003: Good 34 of 96 days2003: Moderate 61 of 96 days2003: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 1 of 96 days20032004: Good 45 of 118 days2004: Moderate 73 of 118 days2005: Good 39 of 121 days2005: Moderate 80 of 121 days2005: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 2 of 121 days2006: Good 42 of 115 days2006: Moderate 73 of 115 days2007: Good 38 of 114 days2007: Moderate 75 of 114 days2007: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 1 of 114 days2008: Good 59 of 118 days2008: Moderate 59 of 118 days20082009: Good 73 of 122 days2009: Moderate 49 of 122 days2010: Good 62 of 117 days2010: Moderate 55 of 117 days2011: Good 71 of 112 days2011: Moderate 41 of 112 days2012: Good 83 of 115 days2012: Moderate 32 of 115 days2013: Good 86 of 118 days2013: Moderate 32 of 118 days20132014: Good 83 of 115 days2014: Moderate 32 of 115 days2015: Good 86 of 116 days2015: Moderate 30 of 116 days2016: Good 96 of 120 days2016: Moderate 24 of 120 days2017: Good 90 of 114 days2017: Moderate 24 of 114 days2018: Good 88 of 112 days2018: Moderate 24 of 112 days20182019: Good 91 of 108 days2019: Moderate 17 of 108 days2020: Good 99 of 110 days2020: Moderate 11 of 110 days2021: Good 98 of 119 days2021: Moderate 21 of 119 days2022: Good 97 of 116 days2022: Moderate 19 of 116 days2023: Good 93 of 119 days2023: Moderate 24 of 119 days2023: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 2 of 119 days20232024: Good 102 of 118 days2024: Moderate 16 of 118 days2025: Good 92 of 108 days2025: Moderate 16 of 108 days2025
  • 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 and 90th-percentile daily AQI, by year0501001988: 90th percentile AQI 511989: 90th percentile AQI 441990: 90th percentile AQI 401991: 90th percentile AQI 411992: 90th percentile AQI 361993: 90th percentile AQI 431994: 90th percentile AQI 311995: 90th percentile AQI 451996: 90th percentile AQI 331997: 90th percentile AQI 341998: 90th percentile AQI 321999: 90th percentile AQI 872000: 90th percentile AQI 912001: 90th percentile AQI 842002: 90th percentile AQI 772003: 90th percentile AQI 762004: 90th percentile AQI 742005: 90th percentile AQI 832006: 90th percentile AQI 752007: 90th percentile AQI 752008: 90th percentile AQI 662009: 90th percentile AQI 602010: 90th percentile AQI 642011: 90th percentile AQI 602012: 90th percentile AQI 582013: 90th percentile AQI 572014: 90th percentile AQI 582015: 90th percentile AQI 562016: 90th percentile AQI 542017: 90th percentile AQI 542018: 90th percentile AQI 552019: 90th percentile AQI 532020: 90th percentile AQI 512021: 90th percentile AQI 552022: 90th percentile AQI 522023: 90th percentile AQI 582024: 90th percentile AQI 522025: 90th percentile AQI 531988: Median AQI 271989: Median AQI 271990: Median AQI 211991: Median AQI 231992: Median AQI 201993: Median AQI 221994: Median AQI 211995: Median AQI 201996: Median AQI 191997: Median AQI 191998: Median AQI 191999: Median AQI 592000: Median AQI 612001: Median AQI 562002: Median AQI 572003: Median AQI 562004: Median AQI 552005: Median AQI 552006: Median AQI 552007: Median AQI 572008: Median AQI 512009: Median AQI 442010: Median AQI 482011: Median AQI 442012: Median AQI 412013: Median AQI 372014: Median AQI 392015: Median AQI 392016: Median AQI 382017: Median AQI 352018: Median AQI 342019: Median AQI 342020: Median AQI 282021: Median AQI 322022: Median AQI 292023: Median AQI 342024: Median AQI 282025: Median AQI 30198819931998200320082013201820232025
  • 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.

PollutantDays as main pollutantShare of monitored days
Fine particles (PM2.5)120100%

Year-by-year data

Annual AQI summary by year
YearDays with AQIGoodModerateUnhealthy for Sensitive GroupsUnhealthyVery UnhealthyHazardousMedian AQI90th pct.Max AQIMain pollutant
202510892160000305369PM2.5
2024118102160000285261PM2.5
2023119932420003458135PM2.5
202211697190000295260PM2.5
202111998210000325592PM2.5
202011099110000285159PM2.5
201910891170000345361PM2.5
201811288240000345560PM2.5
201711490240000355464PM2.5
201612096240000385465PM2.5
201511686300000395667PM2.5
201411583320000395867PM2.5
201311886320000375774PM2.5
201211583320000415869PM2.5
201111271410000446073PM2.5
201011762550000486486PM2.5
200912273490000446074PM2.5
200811859590000516683PM2.5
2007114387510005775120PM2.5
200611542730000557592PM2.5
2005121398020005583107PM2.5
200411845730000557497PM2.5
200396346110005676111PM2.5
2002107287900005777100PM2.5
2001115367630005684137PM2.5
200077136220006191105PM2.5
199956163910005987111PM2.5
1998303000000193235PM10
1997595810000193451PM10
1996595900000193343PM10
1995595810000204551PM10
1994606000000213147PM10
1993605640000224357PM10
1992616100000203646PM10
1991605910000234168PM10
1990616100000214049PM10
1989585710000274452PM10
1988443950000275163PM10

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

All monitored counties in Virginia

Source: U.S. EPA AirData, “Annual AQI by County” files for 1988–2025 (EPA download page). EPA file dates: 2026-06-26. Imported into EnviroNearby November 5, 2026. How we use this data · Report a problem