DEQ Celebrates Air Quality Awareness Week

With historically clean air, lower emissions, and improved visibility across the entire state, North Carolinians have many reasons to celebrate Air Quality Awareness Week.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ) is joining other air quality organizations and partners across the country in using this week as an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of clean air on our health, environment and economy.

Governor Josh Stein proclaimed May 5-9 as Air Quality Awareness Week in North Carolina. The proclamation recognized several major accomplishments in recent decades:

• North Carolina has been designated in attainment with every National Ambient Air Quality Standard for nearly 10 years.
• Combined emissions of hazardous air pollutants and toxic air pollutants have declined by more than 100 million pounds (a 79% drop) from 1993 to 2020.
• The state decreased net emissions of greenhouse gases by 38% between 2005 and 2020.
• Outdoor visibility has improved since 2000, with visibility on our haziest days improving 37-49 miles.

“Clean air is a critical part of our quality of life and economic strength,” said Governor Josh Stein. “That is why I was glad to proclaim May 5-9 as Air Quality Awareness Week. We’re going to continue to take steps to safeguard our air in North Carolina because everyone needs to have clean air to breathe.”

“At DEQ, we work every day to safeguard our air quality to protect people’s health,” said DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson. "As we celebrate Air Quality Awareness Week and the progress our state has made, we’re reminded of the importance of ensuring that every North Carolinian can breathe clean air every day.”

DEQ will be sharing information about air quality improvements, the importance of DAQ’s daily air quality forecasts, and helpful resources about pollutants such as particulate matter from wildfire smoke and ground-level ozone, on its website and social media this week. DAQ will also be recognizing the regional winners of its annual AQ-IQ contest for seventh grade students.

While air quality has improved significantly in North Carolina, there can still be a handful of days when air pollution levels can impact public health. Residents can check their county’s daily air quality forecast using the Air Quality Portal to help them plan their outdoor activities.