Air Monitoring
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Welcome to the Detroit Air Quality Center
This site is a centralized collection of air quality monitoring efforts and information from the City of Detroit. On this page, you can interact with our dashboard for real-time air quality monitoring data across the city, stay up-to-date on current and past air quality, explore additional resources, and read and learn more about air quality monitoring, regulations, and human health.
City of Detroit Air Quality Dashboard
What is the Air Quality Dashboard:
The City of Detroit has installed five Teledyne T640x air quality monitors at fixed locations across the city to measure real-time particulate matter (PM) in the air, increasing to seven total monitors by fall 2025. This dashboard presents air quality data measured at city monitors to provide a real-time and historical look at air quality across the city, provide additional data to manage and regulate air quality in the region, and present an opportunity to educate the public on the intersection of air quality, public health, and environmental policy. This air quality monitoring project seeks to supplement existing monitoring efforts in Detroit from the State of Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), Wayne County, and citizen and community group monitors, and aims to collectively provide coverage across every Detroit City Council district.
In the dashboard, air quality data is presented both as concentration data (in micrograms per cubic meter) for PM10 and PM2.5, and as an air quality index (AQI). The AQI is EPA’s tool for categorizing and communicating air quality into levels of health concern, with specific information for which groups of people may be affected and preventative measures to reduce exposure.1 Historical AQI data presents a 24-hour average, meaning the AQI at the end of a given day (midnight) will give a representative value for the air quality over the full course of the day. Real-time AQI reporting is calculated using EPA’s NowCast methodology, which uses an algorithm using hourly readings to calculate a NowCast AQI using a weighted average of the previous 12 hours.2
Please note that real-time and downloaded data are preliminary and subject to change, and monthly QA/QC reports will be posted that include data validation and any data corrections that were made (e.g. for periods of maintenance or calibration).
How to use the Air Quality Dashboard: (Coming soon!)
The dashboard presents the locations of the monitors, and various ways to interact with the data:
Filter the data by the pollutant of choice (PM2.5 or PM10) and by calendar month
View the most recent AQI value and category measured at each monitor location
Hover over a monitor location to view current-day NowCast AQI trends
Click on individual monitors to filter the data to that location, including the calendar and AQI category bar.
Hover over a calendar day to see a graph displaying daily trends across monitors, or at an individual monitor if an individual monitor has been clicked on
Click HERE to view the Detroit Air Quality Dashboard (Coming Soon)
Click HERE to access the Open Data Download of Detroit Air Quality Data (Coming Soon)
National Air Regulations
The Clean Air Act (CAA) plays a critical role in regulating air quality. The CAA established National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) designed to protect public health and the environment from harmful effects of air pollution. The EPA sets NAAQS for six major pollutants referred to as “criteria pollutants”. Primary standards are designed to protect public health, including the health of sensitive populations such as children, the elderly and people with respiratory conditions like asthma. Secondary standards are aimed at protecting public welfare. This includes safeguarding the environment, preventing damage to vegetation, wildlife and buildings, and reducing issues like decreased visibility caused by air pollution.
Pollutant | Primary/ | Averaging Time | Level | Form | |
primary | 8 hours | 9 ppm | Not to be exceeded more than once per year | ||
1 hour | 35 ppm | ||||
primary and | Rolling 3 month average | 0.15 μg/m3 (1) | Not to be exceeded | ||
primary | 1 hour | 100 ppb | 98th percentile of 1-hour daily maximum concentrations, averaged over 3 years | ||
primary and | 1 year | 53 ppb (2) | Annual Mean | ||
primary and | 8 hours | 0.070 ppm (3) | Annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour concentration, averaged over 3 years | ||
PM2.5 | primary | 1 year | 9.0 μg/m3 | annual mean, averaged over 3 years | |
secondary | 1 year | 15.0 μg/m3 | annual mean, averaged over 3 years | ||
primary and | 24 hours | 35 μg/m3 | 98th percentile, averaged over 3 years | ||
PM10 | primary and | 24 hours | 150 μg/m3 | Not to be exceeded more than once per year on average over 3 years | |
primary | 1 hour | 75 ppb (4) | 99th percentile of 1-hour daily maximum concentrations, averaged over 3 years | ||
secondary | 1 year | 10 ppb | annual mean, averaged over 3 years | ||
Air Quality Index (AQI)
AQI is EPA’s tool for categorizing and communicating air quality into levels of health concern, with specific information for which groups of people may be affected and preventative measures to reduce exposure (3) The AQI includes six color-coded categories providing a different level of health concern, each corresponding to a range of index values. Each category provides additional information regarding protection of public health, including direction for specific subsets of the population.
U.S. EPA, available at: https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/
Additional Air Quality Resources:
State of Michigan Air Quality Division MiAir: Michigan-wide Dashboard, including monitors within Detroit
JustAir: Dashboard providing air quality information from Wayne County monitors, Green Door Initiative monitors, and Wayne County Port Authority.
Purple Air: Dashboard presenting community monitors and public monitors across Detroit.
Meet the Monitors
Teledyne API T 640x
This is a real-time, continuous particulate matter (PM) mass monitor that measures PM 2.5, 10, and coarse PM in the air at 1-min intervals. This is a certified federal reference method (FRM) monitor. FRM monitors are highly accurate and approved by the EPA to monitor compliance with National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The data obtained from FRMs are held to rigorous quality assurance standards.
TSP Sampler
A Total suspended particulate (TSP) sampler is used for the collection of particulate matter in ambient air with no preference to size selection. Air is passed through a filter which is then analyzed for specific materials.
Clarity Monitor - Solar Powered-Real time Portable Monitor
These monitors will be placed in areas where the city needs more information on the air quality. It can pinpoint hot spots.
Criteria Air Pollutants |
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
CO is a colorless, odorless gas that can be harmful when inhaled in large amounts. CO is released when something is burned. The greatest source of CO to outdoor air is vehicles.
Lead (Pb)
Major sources of lead in the air are ore and metals processing and aircraft using leaded aviation fuel. Other sources of lead are waste incinerators, utilities, and lead-acid battery manufacturers. The highest air concentrations of lead are usually found near lead smelters.
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
NO2 primarily gets in the air from the burning of fuel. NO2 forms from emissions from cars, trucks and buses, power plants, and off-road equipment.
Ozone (O3)
Ozone is not emitted directly into the air; it is created when certain pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants, and other sources chemically react with sunlight.
Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5 = inhalable particles)
PM stands for particulate matter (also called particle pollution) it is a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Some particles, such as dust, dirt, soot, or smoke, are large or dark enough to be seen with the naked eye. Others are so small they can only be detected using an electron microscope.
Particulate matter contains microscopic solids or liquid droplets that are so small that they can be inhaled and cause serious health problems. Some particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter can get deep into your lungs and some may even get into your bloodstream.
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
The largest source of SO2 in the air is the burning of fossil fuels by power plants and other industrial facilities. Smaller sources of SO2 emissions include industrial processes such as extracting metal from ore; coal burning locomotives, ships and heavy equipment that burn fuel with a high sulfur content.