PM2.5 AQI breakpoints have changed

As many of you know, on Dec. 14, 2012, US EPA took steps to protect the health of Americans from fine particle pollution by strengthening the annual health National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for fine particles (PM 2.5) to 12.0 micrograms per cubic meter and retaining the 24-hour PM 2.5 standard of 35 micrograms per cubic meter. As part of the December action, EPA also updated the Air Quality Index for PM 2.5. The effective date of the rule was March 18, 2013.

As of March 18, 2013, the AirData system reflects the revised AQI breakpoints for ALL years of data.

For a fact sheet on the revised standards and updated AQI breakpoints, visit:
http://www.epa.gov/airquality/particlepollution/2012/decfsstandards.pdf
To read the final rule, visit:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-01-15/pdf/2012-30946.pdf