Scenario Guide
Outdoor exercise risk guide
Heavy breathing increases the amount of pollution you inhale, so an okay reading for errands may still be a poor choice for training.
Decision question: Should I train outside, cut the workout short, or move the session indoors?
Default AQI check
85
Exposure window
1h
Berkeley Earth comparison
0.05
rough population-level health-impact equivalent
Practical checklist
Treat hard intervals and long runs more cautiously than easy movement.
Move the session to the cleanest part of the day if the forecast improves.
If smoke is visible or you feel throat irritation, trust symptoms over routine.
Use indoor alternatives when AQI moves into the orange range or higher.
What to watch for
- Rapidly rising AQI during warm afternoons.
- Traffic-heavy routes that feel worse than the area average.
- Persistent cough, chest tightness, or unusual fatigue after training.
Why this scenario page matters
AQI becomes more useful when it changes a specific plan. This page gives you a reusable starting point, but the calculator lets you plug in the current reading and duration to compare the model’s rough health-impact estimate in real time.