Felt That logoFelt That
Back to Community
Climate Talk

Air quality days — what's your threshold?

al_from_tx
Fellow lung people — what AQI number makes you decide to stay inside? I have COPD and I've been trying to figure out my personal threshold. The official guidance says "sensitive groups" should be careful above 100 but honestly I start feeling it around 70-80. Last summer with the wildfire smoke was absolute hell. I basically didn't leave my house for two weeks straight. My wife was running all the errands and I felt so useless. Do any of you check the air quality every day? How do you plan around it? I feel like im constantly checking my weather app now.

4 Replies

ray_n

My threshold is about 75. Above that I stay inside, no exceptions. I learned the hard way that pushing it on a "moderate" day can set me back for a week. Not worth it. I check the AQI first thing every morning. It's become as routine as checking the weather. Which I also check. I basically plan my entire day around atmospheric conditions now. Fun life lol.

gary_n

about the same for me. 70-80 is where i start feeling it. anything over 100 and im not going outside period. the wildfire summers have been getting worse the past few years too which is terrifying. the feeling useless thing — i feel that. my wife does all the outdoor errands when the air is bad and i hate it. but id hate being in the ER more so. gotta make peace with it i guess

pauld

I have asthma and COPD overlap and anything above 80 is a no-go for me. I also check pollen counts since that affects me too. Between AQI and pollen there are a LOT of days I don't go outside in spring/summer. The air purifier in my house helps a ton on bad AQI days. Makes the inside air way better than the outside. I keep the windows sealed tight and run it on high.

deb_h

I don't have a specific number but I've noticed I start coughing more and feeling tighter in my chest when the AQI gets above about 70. On really bad days (100+) I can feel it even inside the house. For what it's worth — I also feel less useless knowing I'm not the only one who has to stay in on bad air days. This thread helps.

Leave a Reply

Join the conversation

Just your email and 30 seconds. No hoops, no hassle, no spam.

Sign in to reply