Houston air quality today
Air quality now
Measured Current AQI
67 · Moderate
Main pollutant: Fine particles (PM2.5). Observed at November 13, 2026, 6 pm CST (the hour ending then).
Other pollutants: Ozone 61 · Moderate PM10 59 · Moderate
AirNow reporting area: Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX · Preliminary data
Source: U.S. EPA AirNow and partner agencies. Preliminary data, subject to change. Checked November 13, 2026, 6:40 pm CST.
Forecast
Forecast Air quality forecast for the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria reporting area
- Today, Friday, November 13: Moderate Main pollutant: PM2.5. Issued November 13, 2026.
- Tomorrow, Saturday, November 14: Moderate Main pollutant: PM2.5. Issued November 13, 2026.
- Sunday, November 15: Good Main pollutant: Ozone. Issued November 13, 2026.
- Monday, November 16: Good Main pollutant: Ozone. Issued November 13, 2026.
- Tuesday, November 17: Moderate Main pollutant: PM2.5. Issued November 13, 2026.
Source: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, published by U.S. EPA AirNow. Forecasts are predictions made by the agency. Checked November 13, 2026, 6:40 pm CST.
Why today?
Forecast discussion In the agency's own words, issued November 13, 2026, for Friday, November 13:
https://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/monops/forecast_today.html
Source: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, published by U.S. EPA AirNow. Checked November 13, 2026, 6:40 pm CST.
Alerts
Official alert No active National Weather Service air quality alerts for Harris County as of November 13, 2026, 6:30 pm CST.
Source: NOAA National Weather Service active alerts. Checked November 13, 2026, 6:30 pm CST.
Map
- AirNow AQI estimate:
- Good 0–50
- Moderate 51–100
- Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 101–150
- Unhealthy 151–200
- Very Unhealthy 201–300
- Hazardous 301 and higher
- No estimate
- Withheld: out of date
- Monitor (colored by its reading)
- Air quality alert (NWS)
- Agency forecast by reporting area:
- Good 0–50
- Moderate 51–100
- Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 101–150
- Unhealthy 151–200
- Very Unhealthy 201–300
- Hazardous 301 and higher
- Not issued for this day
- Action day declared
- Air quality alert (NWS)
- Active wildfire (badge size: reported acres)
- Older fire record, still on the national list (drawn lighter and one size smaller)
- Under 1,000 acres, or size not reported1,000 to 9,999 acres10,000 to 99,999 acres100,000 acres or more
- Fire perimeter (latest mapped extent)
- Authorized or prescribed burn
- Mandatory burn restriction or action day (county)
- Voluntary burn restriction or action day
- Reported emission event
- Reported air release
- Enforcement notice
- State or city sensor (grey; colored only by an AQI its operator publishes)
- Facility
- Major source facility
- Days with an AQI above 100 in the selected year:
- No days
- 1–3 days
- 4–7 days
- 8–14 days
- 15–30 days
- 31 or more days
- Incomplete data
- No monitor
A county is shaded when its monitors reported an AQI on at least 75% of the year's days. Counties with fewer days are hatched; counties without a monitor are grey.
About this map
Data status.
Now. The shading is AirNow's current AQI contour map for the chosen product: Combined is AirNow's PM2.5-and-ozone map as supplied, and PM2.5 and Ozone are its single-pollutant maps. AirNow interpolates between monitors each hour, so the shading is an estimate for an area rather than a measurement at an address, and areas without enough nearby monitors are left unshaded as "no estimate." Monitor points show each site's latest hourly reading (NowCast for particles and ozone); in Combined each point shows the higher of its PM2.5 and ozone AQI. The map checks for new data every five minutes, and zooms no closer than the resolution of AirNow's estimate (about 5 km). When observations are more than six hours old they are withheld.
Forecast. Each marker is a forecast issued by a state, local or tribal air agency for an AirNow reporting area, for that area's own local date. Forecasts cover the areas agencies choose to forecast, so many areas have none for a given day; those are marked "not issued." A forecast is a prediction for the whole reporting area. Action days are declared by the agencies.
History. Each county is shaded by the number of days its monitors reported a daily AQI above 100 in the selected year, from the U.S. EPA AirData annual summary by county. A county is shaded only when it reported an AQI on at least 75% of the year's days; counties with fewer days are hatched, and counties without a monitor are grey. EPA publishes certified annual data months after the year ends.
Advisories. Official air quality alerts from NOAA's National Weather Service are drawn with a bold dashed outline and hatching over the zones or counties they name. They disappear when they expire.
Wildfires. Wildfires and fire complexes reported by fire managers to the National Interagency Fire Center are drawn as a flame in a dark badge, larger for larger reported sizes. The national fire list keeps a fire until it is declared out, often for months. Shown as active: wildfires discovered in the last 14 days, and older fires reported less than 90% contained with a record update in the last 14 days. Other fires still on the national list are older records. Older records are drawn only when "Older fire records" is switched on in Layers and filters, as a hollow grey badge one size smaller with a thin perimeter outline. At the national view the map shows active wildfires of 100 acres or more; smaller ones and fires without a reported size appear when you zoom in. Prescribed fires are shown when discovered or updated in the last 14 days. A perimeter shows the last mapped extent at the time stated; the fire may have moved since, and many fires have no perimeter. A fire on the map does not mean smoke is reaching the ground nearby: the air quality readings show that.
Burns and restrictions. Authorized agricultural and land-management burns published by state and local agencies, and prescribed fires reported nationally, are drawn as a small outlined flame. Burn restrictions, no-burn days and action days are drawn over the counties they name: a solid outline with dots when mandatory, a dashed outline when voluntary, each marked with a crossed-out flame. Notices that restrict nothing are listed in the details and the table rather than drawn.
Reported events, sensors and facilities. Emission events, air releases and enforcement notices published by state and local agencies are drawn as diamonds where the agency gives a location. Sensors are state- and city-run sensors outside the official AirNow network, drawn as small squares; their readings are shown as the operator publishes them and are not the official AQI. Facilities are air-permitted facilities listed by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Listing a facility, a burn or an event does not indicate that it caused any reading.
Current observations are preliminary data from the U.S. EPA AirNow program and participating air quality agencies; for official readings visit AirNow.gov. Alerts: National Weather Service. Wildfires: National Interagency Fire Center. Burns, restrictions, events and sensors: the state, county and city agencies named in each item. History: EPA AirData. County and state outlines: U.S. Census Bureau. Basemap: © OpenStreetMap contributors, OpenMapTiles, served by OpenFreeMap.
The shading shows AirNow's interpolated estimates between monitors; markers show individual monitors.
Nearby monitors
Measured AirNow monitors within 50 km
| Monitor | Distance | PM2.5 | Ozone | PM10 | NO2 | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Finnigan Park C1099 · Texas Commission on Environmental Quality | 3.8 km | 56 · Moderate | Not measured | 27 · Good | Not measured | Hour from 5 pm CST |
| Houston Harvard Street · Texas Commission on Environmental Quality | 5.0 km | Not measured | 41 · Good | Not measured | Not measured | Hour from 5 pm CST |
| Houston Pleasantville Elementary C1056 · Texas Commission on Environmental Quality | 7.8 km | 54 · Moderate | Not measured | Not measured | Not measured | Hour from 5 pm CST |
| Houston North Loop C1052 · Texas Commission on Environmental Quality | 7.9 km | No data this hour | Not measured | Not measured | No data this hour | Hour from 5 pm CST |
| Houston Park Place C416 · Texas Commission on Environmental Quality | 9.0 km | No data this hour | 35 · Good | Not measured | No data this hour | Hour from 5 pm CST |
| Clinton C403 · Texas Commission on Environmental Quality | 9.2 km | 51 · Moderate | No data this hour | 59 · Moderate | No data this hour | Hour from 5 pm CST |
| Houston North Wayside C405 · Texas Commission on Environmental Quality | 11 km | 67 · Moderate | 31 · Good | Not measured | Not measured | Hour from 5 pm CST |
| Houston East C1 · Texas Commission on Environmental Quality | 13 km | 55 · Moderate | 31 · Good | Not measured | No data this hour | Hour from 5 pm CST |
| Houston SW Frwy C1066 · Texas Commission on Environmental Quality | 14 km | Not measured | Not measured | Not measured | No data this hour | Hour from 5 pm CST |
| Houston Bayland Park C53/C146/C181 · Texas Commission on Environmental Quality | 16 km | 28 · Good | 35 · Good | Not measured | No data this hour | Hour from 5 pm CST |
| Houston Monroe C406 · Texas Commission on Environmental Quality | 16 km | Not measured | 31 · Good | Not measured | Not measured | Hour from 5 pm CST |
| Lang C408 · Texas Commission on Environmental Quality | 16 km | Not measured | No data this hour | Not measured | No data this hour | Hour from 5 pm CST |
Showing the 12 nearest of 23 monitors within 50 km.
Source: U.S. EPA AirNow and partner agencies, hourly monitor readings (NowCast AQI for PM2.5, PM10 and ozone). Preliminary data, subject to change. Checked November 13, 2026, 6:25 pm CST.
State and local notices
Reported emission events, releases and enforcement notices, last 14 days
LUBRIZOL DEER PARK: reported emission event 468299 · Reported emission event
County: Harris County. Reported November 10, 2026, 6:10 pm CST.
Incident number: 468299; Regulated entity number: RN100221589; Location: EPA Facility Registry Service (approximate); EPA ECHO facility report: https://echo.epa.gov/detailed-facility-report?fid=110056537804.
LUBRIZOL DEER PARK: reported emission event 468270 · Reported emission event
County: Harris County. Reported November 9, 2026, 6:26 pm CST.
Incident number: 468270; Regulated entity number: RN100221589; Location: EPA Facility Registry Service (approximate); EPA ECHO facility report: https://echo.epa.gov/detailed-facility-report?fid=110056537804.
Source: TCEQ Air Emission Event Report Database (RSS feed) (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality). Retrieved November 13, 2026, 6:35 pm CST. Each report is the facility's own report to TCEQ and may be amended; it is not a measurement of exposure where people live. Official page
Source: TCEQ Emergency Response spills, air incidents (data.texas.gov) (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, via data.texas.gov). Retrieved November 13, 2026, 4:05 pm CST. Reported releases as TCEQ recorded them, with dates only and locations rounded to about 1 km; amounts are reported estimates and may be revised. Official page
Smoke outlooks and forecast discussions
Forecast discussion TCEQ forecast discussion: Friday 11/13/2026 · Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
Posted November 13, 2026.
Light winds, warm temperatures, sufficient afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated lingering background levels could be enough for ozone to reach the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio areas, with the highest concentrations in the afternoon and early evening.
High pressure is over the Northern Plains as light smoke and aerosols linger over portions of East and Northeast Texas due to ongoing burnings in the Mississippi Valley, Southeast CONUS, and East Texas. With light winds also forecast to persist across most of Texas, slightly elevated urban fine particulate matter may be observed although low relative humidity could mitigate the effects in some areas. The daily PM2.5 AQI is forecast to net out in the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio areas and the upper end of the "Good" range (possibly with an isolated low "Moderate") in a majority of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Brownsville-McAllen, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Laredo, Tyler-Longview, Victoria, and Waco-Killeen.
Light, variable winds are forecast to persist in far West Texas, but better vertical mixing and possible precipitation could result in the daily PM2.5/PM10 AQIs netting out in the upper end of the "Good" range in a majority of the El Paso area.
Source: TCEQ Air Quality Forecast (forecast discussion) (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality). Retrieved November 13, 2026, 4:35 pm CST. TCEQ's regional forecast narrative, quoted as published; conditions at a given place can differ. Official page
Wildfires nearby
Reported No active wildfires are listed within 100 km as of November 13, 2026, 6:25 pm CST.
Prescribed fires
1 prescribed fire is listed within 100 km. Prescribed fires are planned burns set by land managers; those discovered or updated in the last 14 days are listed.
| Fire | Distance | Reported size | Discovered | Last updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rx Liberty 9835 | 65 km | 158 acres | November 4, 2026, 8:09 am CST (9 days ago) | November 8, 2026, 1:32 pm CST |
Source: Wildland fire incidents and perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center (WFIGS, IRWIN). Checked November 13, 2026, 6:25 pm CST. Fire locations and sizes are as reported by fire managers and can lag events. A perimeter shows the last mapped extent at the stated time; the fire may have moved since, and many fires have no perimeter. A fire on the map does not mean smoke is reaching the ground nearby: check the air quality readings.
History
History uses Harris County, the county that contains the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria reporting area's reference point. Reporting areas have their own boundaries, so the county record gives yearly context for the area as a whole.
In 2025, Harris County had 38 days with an AQI above 100, out of 365 days with an AQI (complete). The highest daily AQI that year was 172.
Days with AQI above 100 in Harris County, 2016–2025
Days in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups category or worse, by year
Source: U.S. EPA AirData, annual AQI by county, data as of June 25, 2026
Show the numbers as a table
| Year | Days above 100 | Days with AQI | Completeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 17 | 366 | Complete |
| 2017 | 20 | 365 | Complete |
| 2018 | 27 | 365 | Complete |
| 2019 | 27 | 365 | Complete |
| 2020 | 17 | 366 | Complete |
| 2021 | 25 | 365 | Complete |
| 2022 | 27 | 365 | Complete |
| 2023 | 48 | 365 | Complete |
| 2024 | 47 | 366 | Complete |
| 2025 | 38 | 365 | Complete |
| Year | Days above 100 | Days with AQI | Highest AQI | Main pollutant days: PM2.5 / ozone | Completeness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 17 | 366 | 159 | 240 / 112 | Complete |
| 2017 | 20 | 365 | 177 | 250 / 102 | Complete |
| 2018 | 27 | 365 | 204 | 270 / 83 | Complete |
| 2019 | 27 | 365 | 202 | 252 / 106 | Complete |
| 2020 | 17 | 366 | 190 | 266 / 94 | Complete |
| 2021 | 25 | 365 | 179 | 283 / 69 | Complete |
| 2022 | 27 | 365 | 179 | 238 / 89 | Complete |
| 2023 | 48 | 365 | 205 | 239 / 102 | Complete |
| 2024 | 47 | 366 | 201 | 235 / 108 | Complete |
| 2025 | 38 | 365 | 172 | 241 / 99 | Complete |
Source: U.S. EPA AirData, annual AQI by county, data as of June 25, 2026. Certified data can be revised.
How the yearly figures are counted: about the history data.
About this reading
- Geographic scope. The current AQI and the forecast describe AirNow's Houston-Galveston-Brazoria reporting area, which covers Houston, an area the reporting agency defines around a reference point. A ZIP code search on this site finds the reporting area that covers the ZIP code, and the reading describes that whole area.
- Preliminary data. Current readings come from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and other agencies through the U.S. EPA AirNow program. They are preliminary and can change after quality checks; official data are published later in EPA's Air Quality System.
- Measured, interpolated, forecast and alert. The current AQI is measured (the reporting area's reading); the map shading is AirNow's interpolated estimate between monitors; the forecast is the agency's prediction; alerts are official National Weather Service messages. Each is labelled where it appears and none is blended into another.
- State and local notices, wildfires and facilities. These are the publishers' own records, shown with their sources. They are kept apart from the AQI, and a notice, fire or facility listed here does not explain a reading.
- Freshness. A reading older than 2 hours is marked delayed, and after 6 hours it is withheld and the page says it is out of date. Times are shown in the agency's local time zone.
Official sources and health guidance
Health guidance depends on the pollutant and on who you are. These official pages explain it by AQI category; for advice about your own health, talk to a health professional.
- AQI basics: what each category means and who should take care (AirNow)
- Air quality guide for particle pollution (PM2.5 and PM10), by AQI category (AirNow, PDF)
- Air quality guide for ozone, by AQI category (AirNow, PDF)
- Health effects of particulate matter (EPA)
- Health effects of ozone pollution (EPA)
- Air quality and health (AirNow)
More: understanding the AQI · air quality across Texas · methodology