The U.S. EPA established the AQI as a method to translate pollution measurements into potential health effects. The AQI is a numeric scale for reporting air quality that describes how clean or polluted the air is at a given location and any associated health effects that may result from exposure to the air.

The AQI is a numeric scale for reporting air quality that describes how clean or polluted the air is at a given location and any associated health effects that may result from exposure to the air.