Air quality
Air quality in Framingham today
Updated
Good (US AQI 46) Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. Model estimate for Sun, Oct 25, 10:00 pm (02:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Framingham, Massachusetts, United States, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 46 Good
- PM2.5
- 10 µg/m³ 0.7× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 10 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 53 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- PM2.5 sub-index 46
- Best hour tomorrow
- 6:00 am AQI 41
- European AQI
- 41
Air quality in Framingham right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Framingham, Massachusetts, United States is 46, which falls in the "Good" band (up to 50). Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity.
The index is driven mainly by PM2.5, whose own sub-index is 46. Fine and coarse particles come from traffic, heating, industry, dust and smoke; they build up on calm nights and clear when wind or rain arrives.
PM2.5 is 10 µg/m³, within the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 10 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 53 µg/m³ (below the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 26 µg/m³ (above the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: carbon monoxide 250 µg/m³.
NASA FIRMS shows 8 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 183 km), but particle levels are not elevated enough to point to smoke right now.
Framingham AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 38 around Mon 2:00 am to 53 around Mon 4:00 pm, from "Good" at best to "Moderate" at worst.
The following day is expected to be cleaner, averaging about 41 against 47 for the next 24 hours.
| Local time (America/New_York) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 10:00 pm | 46 | Good | 10.3 | 10 | 53 |
| Mon 1:00 am | 39 | Good | 11.8 | 12 | 55 |
| Mon 4:00 am | 38 | Good | 14.3 | 15 | 58 |
| Mon 7:00 am | 43 | Good | 17.5 | 18 | 48 |
| Mon 10:00 am | 51 | Moderate | 9.9 | 10 | 69 |
| Mon 1:00 pm | 52 | Moderate | 5.7 | 6 | 101 |
| Mon 4:00 pm | 53 | Moderate | 5.5 | 6 | 102 |
| Mon 7:00 pm | 53 | Moderate | 9.4 | 10 | 83 |
| Mon 10:00 pm | 53 | Moderate | 12 | 12 | 72 |
| Tue 1:00 am | 54 | Moderate | 6.8 | 7 | 63 |
| Tue 4:00 am | 52 | Moderate | 2.4 | 2 | 53 |
| Tue 7:00 am | 46 | Good | 2.6 | 3 | 45 |
| Tue 10:00 am | 36 | Good | 1.5 | 2 | 59 |
| Tue 1:00 pm | 31 | Good | 1.7 | 2 | 74 |
| Tue 4:00 pm | 30 | Good | 1.8 | 2 | 78 |
| Tue 7:00 pm | 34 | Good | 7.7 | 8 | 43 |
| Tue 10:00 pm | 28 | Good | 5.1 | 5 | 41 |
Every third hour of the CAMS forecast via Open-Meteo. US AQI uses rolling averages (24 h for particles, 8 h for ozone), so it moves more slowly than the hourly concentrations.
Best time to be outside in Framingham tomorrow
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air tomorrow is forecast around 6:00 am (AQI 41, Good) and the worst around 4:00 pm (AQI 53). That is a swing of 12 points, so a run or walk around 6:00 am is noticeably better.
Framingham vs the rest of United States
Across 747 United States cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 52 (Moderate). Framingham at 46 is 6 points cleaner than average.
For context, the median across 3,909 cities worldwide is 57.
Air quality in cities near Framingham
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milford, MA | 18 km | 51 | Moderate | 12.4 |
| Waltham | 18 km | 69 | Moderate | 13.9 |
| Watertown | 22 km | 69 | Moderate | 13.9 |
| Brighton, MA | 23 km | 69 | Moderate | 13.9 |
| Belmont, MA | 23 km | 69 | Moderate | 13.9 |
| Lexington, MA | 24 km | 69 | Moderate | 13.9 |
| Canton, MA | 26 km | 69 | Moderate | 13.9 |
| Arlington, MA | 26 km | 69 | Moderate | 13.9 |
Model vs measured
The nearest measured PM2.5 reading is 2.8 µg/m³ from Sensor.Community (median of 3 sensors), centred about 5 km from the city centre. That is 7.5 µg/m³ below the model estimate of 10 µg/m³. Low-cost sensors can read high in humid air; reference monitors are more accurate but sparser.
Advice for sensitive groups
With the AQI at 46, there is no need for sensitive groups to change plans. People with asthma should still carry their reliever inhaler as usual.
What the US AQI numbers mean
| US AQI | Category | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 0-50 | Good | Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. |
| 51-100 | Moderate | Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 101-150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 151-200 | Unhealthy | Everyone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors; sensitive groups should avoid it and keep windows closed. |
| 201-300 | Very Unhealthy | Health alert: everyone should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors, and sensitive groups should stay indoors. |
| 301-500 | Hazardous | Emergency conditions: everyone should avoid all outdoor physical activity and stay indoors with filtered air if possible. The scale tops out at 500; heavier dust or smoke is shown as 500. |
Values on this page are modelled by CAMS (Copernicus) and served by Open-Meteo; they are estimates for the area around the city centre, not readings from an official monitor.
Nearby cities
More for Framingham
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), Sensor.Community, NASA FIRMS.