Erie’s air quality and pollen levels, recorded continuously and charted over time. Use the range buttons for a quick look, or set an exact start and end date to zoom in on a specific event — a smoke day, a pollen spike, a stretch of clear air.
Particulate matter and AQI
Readings come from PurpleAir community sensors around Erie, collected every 30 minutes. Two adjustments are applied before anything here is called an AQI. First, values are corrected with the EPA’s nationwide equation — the same one AirNow’s Fire and Smoke Map uses — because raw PurpleAir sensors read high in humidity and smoke. Second, the AQI shown is a NowCast: a weighted average of the last 12 hours, which is how the EPA reports a current AQI. A single instantaneous reading is not an AQI, so raw sensor values are offered separately as a concentration in µg/m³ and never converted to one. Colored bands behind the chart mark the EPA health categories.
Sensors choose which to plot
PurpleAir community sensors, adjusted with the EPA nationwide correction. The AQI shown is a NowCast — a weighted average of the last 12 hours, which is how the EPA states a current AQI. Raw sensor values appear as concentrations in µg/m³ and are never converted to an AQI, because a single instantaneous reading is not one. Community sensors are not regulatory instruments; readings are indicative, not official.
Pollen levels
Tree, grass, and weed pollen on the Universal Pollen Index, from 0 (none) to 5 (very high), with a species-level breakdown underneath. These are modeled forecasts rather than grain counts from a physical collection station — useful for tracking seasons and comparing one day to another.
| Google index 0–5 | Ambee grains/m³ |
|---|
Species breakdown
These are modeled forecasts on the Universal Pollen Index (0–5), not grain counts from a collection station — no one is physically counting pollen in Erie for this figure. Treat it as a guide to seasons and trends. If what you are experiencing disagrees with the number, trust your own symptoms.
Source: Google Pollen API. General information about local conditions, not medical advice.
About this data
PurpleAir sensors are community-operated instruments, not regulatory monitors — they are good at showing trends and local differences, but official measurements come from the EPA’s monitoring network. Pollen figures are forecasts produced by a model. Everything here is general information about local conditions and is not medical advice; if air quality affects your health, talk to your doctor.