How to check Air Quality (AQI) on Android and iPhone

With the recent wildfires in Canada having pushed the smoke down into the US, there’s been a lot of news lately about just how bad the air quality has been along the east coast. From Chicago all the way to New York City, and it’s only starting to move further south. Recently, the AQI in New York City was well over 400. The scale only goes to 500, and once it hits 300, it’s dangerous to be outside. So that tells you just how bad it’s been lately.

So, how can you check the air quality around you? It’s actually quite easy, and today, we’re going to show you how to do this on both Android and iOS.

How to check Air Quality on Android

The easiest way to check the AQI on Android is by opening Google Maps.

Once you’ve opened Google Maps, tap on the Layers button.

Now at the bottom, you’ll see an option for “Air Quality”. This is a new feature for Google Maps, and couldn’t have come at a better time.

Now, you’ll see the AQI for your area, and you can also zoom out to see what it looks like elsewhere.

How to check Air Quality on iPhone

Google Maps on iOS also allows you to check the Air Quality. So you can follow the same steps above to check on the iPhone. But you can also use the Weather App.

Typically, when the air is very unhealthy, it’ll show a card at the top with the AQI, and show that it might be “unhealthy for sensitive groups”.

If you’re not in an area where the air quality is that bad, you might not see it at the top, but it will be shown towards the bottom of the screen as another card along with the sunrise/sunset, humidity and other factors.

That’s how you can check the Air Quality Index for your area on both Android and iPhone.