Long-term exposure timeline
Estimate the air pollution comparison across the places you lived
Add each life stage with its years and annual average PM2.5. The timeline shows how every stage contributes without treating the result as cigarettes actually smoked or a medical diagnosis.
Build your location timeline
Enter representative annual-average PM2.5—not a daily peak—for each stage.
Timeline estimate
Years represented
22
Weighted annual PM2.5
18.4 µg/m³
Lifetime particulate comparison
≈ 6,703 cigarettes
Highest-contributing stage
Childhood home
Contribution by life stage
What shaped this estimate
Childhood home contributes the largest share because its annual concentration and time lived combine to the most particle-years.
This comparison does not mean cigarettes were smoked. It is not an individual dose, disease-risk estimate, or medical diagnosis.
How the long-term timeline works
- Use a representative annual-average PM2.5 value for each place and period, not a single bad day.
- Each stage is weighted by years to calculate the timeline’s average annual concentration.
- The particulate comparison applies the site’s daily PM2.5 framing across 365 days per entered year.
- Historical monitoring gaps, indoor air and personal mobility make this an estimate—not a reconstructed medical dose.
Trust Signals
How to interpret a long-term estimate
Review policy
July 20, 2026. We update supporting pages when calculator logic, live data behavior, or source framing changes.
Primary sources
AQI uses EPA / AirNow breakpoint logic. Cigarette-equivalent framing follows Berkeley Earth’s PM2.5 interpretation.
Live data layer
City pages use EPA AirNow where supported, with cached fallbacks and planning baselines if the API fails or coverage is unavailable.
Lifetime timeline questions
Where can I find annual PM2.5 averages?
Use official environmental agencies, WHO databases or peer-reviewed datasets. Match the location and time period as closely as the source allows.
Should I enter one wildfire season separately?
Only if you have a representative average for that period. A single daily peak should not stand in for an annual average.
Does the cigarette comparison mean I smoked?
No. It is a particulate-mass communication device, not tobacco exposure, individual dose or a diagnosis.