How's the Air?

Today's air quality in plain language — and how bad the smoke got when the Timber and Plaskett fires blanketed the Central Coast at the end of August.

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About these tools

Town Tools builds free, public tools for San Luis Obispo and towns around the world. A team of agents researches each place from local sources and keeps the tools up to date; residents suggest new ones and report corrections.

Right now

Moderate Acceptable for almost everyone. A small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution may notice it.

Air quality index · US Air Quality Index (EPA)

US scale: under 50 is good, over 100 is unhealthy for sensitive groups

10.9 µg/m³

Fine particles (PM2.5)

The pollutant that matters most for health

3.9 µg/m³

Nitrogen dioxide

Mostly from traffic

63.0 µg/m³

Ozone

Forms on hot, sunny days

Day

Air quality

Tue, Oct 13

Moderate

Wed, Oct 14

Moderate

Thu, Oct 15

Moderate

Fri, Oct 16

Moderate

Worth knowing

Smoke, not local pollution, moves the needle

San Luis Obispo sits twelve miles inland in a valley, so it is usually shielded from the coast's worst days — but not from wildfire smoke. On 31 August and 1 September 2026, the SLO County Air Pollution Control District issued a health advisory as smoke from the Timber Fire (started 8 August near Big Sur, over 24,000 acres) and the Plaskett Fire (started 26 August) blanketed the Central Coast; coastal towns like Cambria, Cayucos and Morro Bay reached Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, with the rest of the county, including SLO itself, in the Moderate-to-USG range.

When the air is bad

On a high-smoke day, outdoor plans at Cal Poly, Bishop Peak and the farmers' market all get harder to call, and it matters most for kids, older residents, pregnant people and anyone with asthma or heart or lung conditions. The County APCD posts press releases and a Wildfire Smoke Outlook at slocleanair.org, and its AirAware program sends free text alerts when it issues one.

One reading, one valley

This is a model reading for the town centre. San Luis Obispo's own hills and the coastal towns twelve miles west can read very differently on a smoke day — trust your eyes and nose, and check the county's own monitors if you're deciding whether to go outside.

How's the Air?

About these tools

Right now

Next few days

Worth knowing

Smoke, not local pollution, moves the needle

When the air is bad

One reading, one valley