Thursday, November 15th started with incredibly poor air quality because of the ongoing Camp Fire in Northern California. San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area struggled with extremely toxic air quality. The EPA scored San Francisco a 177 on their Air Quality Index (AQI). For context Bejing, thought to have some of the worst air quality in the world, routinely scores 200+. As the day progressed the air quality steadily grew worse with each hour. Now the EPA has raised our AQI score to 211, putting it in the 'Purple' or 'Very Unhealthy' range.
The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management is advising everyone to stay indoors. Those with asthma or other breathing issues need to absolutely stay inside until the air quality improves.
The Air Quality Management District has more information on the air quality readings:
The AQI numbers refer to specific amounts of pollution in the air. It's based on the federal air quality standards for six major pollutants - ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and two sizes of particulate matter.
Readings below 100 on the AQI scale should not affect the health of the general public (although readings in the moderate range of 50 to 100 may affect unusually sensitive people). Levels above 300 rarely occur in the United States, and readings above 200 have not occurred in the Bay Area in decades.
BE SAFE and stay indoors.