Newport News City, Virginia air quality history

Daily Air Quality Index summaries from EPA monitors in Newport News City, Virginia, 1980–2010.

86%

Good days in 2010

Median daily AQI, 2010

Days above 100 in 2010

161

Days with an AQI in 2010 (of 365)

In 2010, EPA reported a daily Air Quality Index (AQI) for Newport News City, Virginia on 161 days. 139 of those days (86%) were in the Good range, and the median daily AQI was 23. That median is lower than the typical monitored county in Virginia (median 45 across 29 counties), and lower than the typical monitored U.S. county (44). The main pollutant was nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) on 69 days. Across the years with fuller monitoring, the share of Good days fell: an average of 94% in 1980–1982 versus 80% in 1999–2010.

EPA did not report an AQI for every day of 2010 here (161 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 2010; EPA's files for 2011–2025 contain no row for it, which usually means its monitors stopped reporting.

Years with fewer than 120 monitored days (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003) 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, 2010

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
Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)	69	43%
Carbon monoxide (CO)	48	30%
Fine particles (PM2.5)	44	27%

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
2010	161	139	22	0	0	23	52	72	NO2
2009	260	208	52	0	0	38	59	100	Ozone
2003	114	45	68	0	1	52	72	152	PM2.5
2002	114	41	73	0	0	55	69	97	PM2.5
2001	109	39	69	1	0	54	70	137	PM2.5
2000	113	32	80	1	0	57	74	106	PM2.5
1999	224	163	58	3	0	16	69	116	CO
1998	357	357	0	0	0	7	16	35	CO
1997	365	364	1	0	0	9	18	61	CO
1996	360	360	0	0	0	10	18	45	CO
1995	365	365	0	0	0	10	18	39	CO
1994	356	356	0	0	0	11	23	41	CO
1993	365	365	0	0	0	11	23	47	CO
1992	366	366	0	0	0	11	20	48	CO
1991	365	365	0	0	0	13	22	49	CO
1990	365	365	0	0	0	11	22	45	CO
1989	363	363	0	0	0	11	22	49	CO
1988	366	366	0	0	0	13	22	48	CO
1987	359	357	2	0	0	14	31	62	CO
1986	364	357	7	0	0	15	33	66	CO
1985	360	350	10	0	0	14	33	82	CO
1984	355	335	19	1	0	18	40	115	CO
1983	355	335	20	0	0	20	42	98	CO
1982	360	342	18	0	0	22	39	89	CO
1981	354	335	19	0	0	20	43	75	CO
1980	242	227	15	0	0	18	39	65	CO

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.

All monitored counties in Virginia

Source: U.S. EPA AirData, “Annual AQI by County” files for 1980–2010 (EPA download page). EPA file dates: 2026-06-26. Imported into EnviroNearby November 5, 2026. How we use this data · Report a problem