Air Quality Forecast
Air quality forecasts are issued every day of the year for the Birmingham area and are based on the Air Quality Index (AQI). The AQI is a color-coded scale that reports how clean or polluted the air is and the associated health effects.
The Jefferson County Department of Health forecasts fine particles (PM2.5) year-round and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management forecasts Ozone (O3) during the warm season.
An Air Quality Alert is issued when the AQI is forecast to reach 101 or higher. The public is encouraged to decrease their personal emissions on days with higher pollution levels.
Saturday-Monday: A trough will move eastward through the central US on Saturday and a surface low ahead of it will push a cold front through the area early Sunday morning. Cloud cover will increase ahead of the trough and front on Saturday with rain possible overnight. Cloud cover will decrease on Sunday behind the front with surface high pressure building into the area and spanning across the eastern US by Monday. PM2.5 is expected to be in the yellow range on Saturday and in the green range on Sunday and Monday. Ozone is expected to be in the green range through Monday.
April 16, 2026
|
Particulate Matter 2.5 |
|
|
48 |
|
|
GOOD |
|
Pollutant AQI Value
|
2 |
|
|
32 |
|
|
45 |
|
|
48 |
|
23 |
|
|
1 |
|
Air quality forecasts are also available via
JCDH Air Quality on