2016 Exceedances and Alerts
Air Quality Health Alerts are issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality when it is predicted that the region's ozone will reach the orange level or higher on the
Air Quality Index. At the orange level, our air is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, including children, people who are active for prolonged periods outdoors, and those with respiratory illnesses. Fortunately, since 2002, the regulatory monitors in the Alamo region have not recorded an exceedance at the next highest level, red, which would be considered unhealthy for everyone.
The following table shows the number of times, indicated in orange, that the San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA received an Ozone Action Day alert and/or exceeded the EPA's 2015 Ambient Air Quality Standard for ground-level ozone during the 2016 Ozone Season, set at 70 parts per billion (ppb).