City Guide

San Francisco AQI planning guide

San Francisco decisions are usually about whether today is routine, cautionary, or strong enough to change the plan for the next few hours.

Start with AQI 92Read the AQI detail page

Planning AQI

92

24-hour equivalent

1.44

cigarettes per day

Category

Moderate

Live AQI and forecast

Live readings and forecasts come from the US EPA AirNow network. Forecasts are useful for planning, but local smoke shifts can still change conditions quickly.

AirNow

Current reading

32

Good

San Francisco, CA • 2026-04-15 08:00 PST

Planning baseline

AQI 92

Use AQI 92 as a familiar starting point when you compare today with a routine or cautionary day.

Live layer

AirNow + fallback

Current observations improve the page when available, but the planning layer still works if the API is slow or unavailable.

Useful scenarios

3

These are the scenario pages most likely to matter when the reading changes your plan.

Upcoming forecast

2026-04-15

AQI 35

Good

2026-04-16

AQI 39

Good

2026-04-17

AQI -1

Good

Source note: This page uses AirNow when current coverage is available and falls back to a planning baseline if live data fails.

What to do now in San Francisco

This decision block uses the latest live value when available, otherwise the city planning baseline.

Updated Apr 15, 5:03 PM UTC

Using live AQI

AQI 32

Good

About 0.35 cigarettes per 24h at this reading.

Short outdoor activity is generally low risk when AQI stays in this range.

Proceed with normal outdoor activity.
Use the day to ventilate and prepare before worse conditions arrive.
Check tomorrow's forecast if wildfire smoke or inversion is developing.

Common planning patterns

Repeated exposure matters more than one isolated check when poor air is part of the weekly routine.
Rechecking later in the day is often as important as the first reading, especially when smoke or traffic patterns shift.
Indoor air becomes a bigger part of the decision once the city stays elevated for hours or overnight.

City planning checklist

  • Recheck before the longest or most exposed part of the day, not just once in the morning.
  • Use the linked scenario pages when the reading changes a commute, workout, or family routine.
  • Protect the indoor space that matters most first, especially sleeping or work-from-home rooms.

Useful next pages for this city

These linked pages answer the kinds of follow-up questions people usually have after checking the reading.

Browse more city guides

Commute exposure planner

Use AQI to decide whether a daily commute is routine, cautionary, or worth changing.

Kids and school exposure guide

Plan school runs, recess, and after-school time when children are more sensitive than adults.

Wildfire smoke response plan

Use AQI to decide when normal air-quality habits are not enough and smoke response should begin.