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Have you seen our Economy indicators on Hotel Occupancy? Read about it.

Check out real-time water quality readings thanks to our friends at 3Rain.org. Read about it.

For the first time in decades, domestic in-migration in the region exceeded out-migration! Read about it.

Want to become involved with PittsburghTODAY?? Read about it.

Pittsburgh ranks third in the number of LEED-certified buildings. Read about it.

A reasonably effective way to evaluate overall health status is to simply ask. Read about it.

Did you know that 45,000 jobs in SW PA are dependent upon the waterway transportation system? Read about it.

Our neighbors in Ohio and West Virginia lead the region in classical music attendance. Read about it.

Pittsburgh trails Baltimore, St. Louis and Denver in number of cultural institutions. Read about it.

Educational and Health Services is Pittsburgh’s largest job sector. Read about it.

Registered nurses pay is low in Pittsburgh by national standards. Read about it.

Pittsburgh last among benchmark regions in startup firms. Read about it.

No benchmark region has as high a high school graduation rate as Pittsburgh. Read about it.

A bad air day in Pittsburgh is still bad. Read about it.

Local spending on schools is low by benchmark standards. Read about it.

Rush hour traffic in Pittsburgh is less congested than in most cities? Read about it.

Use our sitemap to quickly find content. Read about it.

section indicator.xsl indicator

page html_indicator.xsl Current_PM2_5_Levels_US

environment
Environment / PM2.5

Small particles (“particulate matter”) less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter are referred to as PM2.5. These particles are so small that they can get deep into the lungs and cause breathing problems. PM2.5 is caused by all types of combustion, including motor vehicles, power plants, residential wood burning, forest fires, agricultural burning, and some industrial processes. PM2.5 is carried by the wind, so particulate matter generated in one state can affect PM2.5 levels in downwind areas.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established standards requiring that the maximum daily PM2.5 level at any location be no greater than 65 micrograms per cubic meter, and the annual average of the daily PM2.5 maximums at any location be no greater than 15 micrograms per cubic meter.

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Current PM2.5 Levels - U.S.A. including all Benchmark Regions

    

This map from the EPA AirNow website shows the hourly PM2.5 levels at the subset of monitoring locations that report continously on a daily basis. The colors show PM2.5 levels based on the EPA's Air Quality Index. Green means ‘Good’, Yellow means ‘Moderate’, Orange means ‘Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups’ and Red means ‘Unhealthy’. For more information, visit the EPA's AIRNow website.