City Air Quality

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Boston air quality today

Current values look suitable for ordinary outdoor activity for most people.

Data: Hourly Open-Meteo model estimateThe latest update is older than expected, so this page is showing an estimate for the current hour.Detailed metrics and guidance use the latest available detailed data.

Practical guidance

Outdoor

Current values look suitable for ordinary outdoor activity for most people.

Why: Low AQI and low pollutant levels support this guidance.

Running

Current values look suitable for an easy outdoor run.

Why: Low AQI and low pollutant levels support this guidance.

Ventilation

Ventilate briefly and check conditions again later.

Why: Stronger wind makes brief ventilation the more suitable option.

Next 12 hours

US AQI · Temperature
AQI outlook

Compared with now, AQI is forecast to stay broadly similar over the next 12 hours.

This comparison uses AQI values only. It does not account for weather or pollen and is not an exercise or ventilation recommendation.
2712 °C
2912 °C
3012 °C
3112 °C
3212 °C
339 °C
327 °C
316 °C
325 °C
334 °C
364 °C
383 °C

Air quality and outdoor metrics

US AQI

Air Quality Index

27

Good

PM2.5

Fine particulate matter

3.1µg/m³

Low

PM10

Coarse particulate matter

3.3µg/m³

Low

NO₂

Nitrogen dioxide

4µg/m³

Low

O₃

Ozone

73µg/m³

Moderate

UV index

Sun exposure level

3

Moderate

Temperature

Air temperature

12°C

Cool

Feels like

Apparent temperature

7°C

Cool

Wind

Wind speed

19km/h

Breezy

Humidity

Relative humidity

34%

Dry

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Disclaimer

This information is a general estimate only and is not medical advice.

Location

Boston, United States

Coordinates: 42.3601, -71.0589 · America/New_York

Interpret AQI for outdoor activity

Calculic's European AQI calculator assesses the value using your population group and planned activity intensity.

Interpret AQI in Calculic

This page's European AQI value, city and timestamp are passed to the calculator through the link.

What affects air quality in Boston

Boston's Air Pollution Control Commission says its Downtown, South Boston and East Boston parking freezes reduce car-related air pollution by limiting off-street parking.

This describes a city traffic-management program and its stated purpose, not current air quality in the three areas.

Local monitoring and context

Boston reports three EPA monitoring stations in the city and separate streetlight sensors along Cummins Highway and Columbus Avenue for roadway-reconstruction studies.

The regulatory stations and corridor sensors have different purposes; neither is presented as the source of this page's current AQI or as uniform citywide coverage.

City air quality FAQ

How should I read the AQI for Boston?

US AQI condenses air quality into one value. On this page, it helps you quickly judge whether conditions look good, moderate or more polluted than usual.

Is the air quality good for going outside?

Check the outdoor and running cards first. They combine AQI, particles, ozone, weather and other factors that can affect outdoor comfort.

Should I ventilate right now?

The ventilation card considers AQI and pollutants such as particles, nitrogen dioxide and ozone. If values are elevated, a shorter opening or a later moment may be better.

Why can air quality change during the day?

Weather, emissions, ozone formation, particles and air flow can shift local conditions, so the next hours can differ from the current reading.

Sources and methodology

Current data

This page uses US AQI.

Current and hourly air-quality values are CAMS-based model estimates, not measurements from a local monitoring station. They may not reflect street-level conditions.

Displayed state
This hour's model estimate
Data time
31 Oct 2026, 01:00 pm
Weather data
Open-Meteo
Air-quality model data
Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). Open-Meteo selects data suited to this location. Possible CAMS datasets: CAMS European air quality forecasts, ENSEMBLE data; CAMS global atmospheric composition forecasts.
Licence
CC BY 4.0

City Air Quality selects the active data package, combines weather and air-quality data, chooses the current or latest usable model value, and formats it for this page.

The latest update is older than expected, so this page is showing an estimate for the current hour.

Detailed metrics and guidance use the latest available detailed data.

Evergreen city statements

Each local statement is linked to a checked primary-authority source. A source check is editorial provenance and does not describe current-data freshness.

Local sources support the background claims below; they are not the source of the current data shown above unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Authoritative sources for local statements

Air Pollution Control Commission

City of Boston

Scope
Boston
Source checked
22 Aug 2026

The Parking Freezes section states that the program limits off-street parking to reduce air pollution caused by cars.

Applicability: City program description for the three named parking-freeze areas; it is not a current air-quality measurement.

Based on this source: Boston's Air Pollution Control Commission says its Downtown, South Boston and East Boston parking freezes reduce car-related air pollution by limiting off-street parking.

Clean Air in Boston

City of Boston

Scope
Boston
Source checked
22 Aug 2026

The page identifies three EPA stations and describes streetlight-sensor deployments on Cummins Highway and Columbus Avenue.

Applicability: City monitoring overview; the EPA stations and project sensors are separate systems with different data-quality and study roles.

Based on this source: Boston reports three EPA monitoring stations in the city and separate streetlight sensors along Cummins Highway and Columbus Avenue for roadway-reconstruction studies.