What was the worst air-quality day in Cleveland?

July 17, 2026 (provisional), when daily PM2.5 reached 224 µg/m³ (AQI 299), about 10.2 cigarette-equivalents. It ranks first of 8,159 monitored days since 1999.

What is the highest AQI recorded in Cleveland?

On the worst day, the daily PM2.5 AQI reached 299 (Very unhealthy). EPA's official metro AQI, which uses the single worst monitor of any pollutant, peaked at 285 on June 28, 2023.

Is the July 2026 ranking final?

No. Days after May 31, 2026 are preliminary AirNow readings. They rank now so a current event is visible, and they may shift once EPA certifies the data, usually the following spring.

Were these days caused by wildfire smoke?

This page ranks measured PM2.5 without assigning a cause: a high day can be smoke, fireworks, dust, an inversion, or industry. A separate wildfire-smoke event ranking, using a published attribution method with its version disclosed, is the next layer of this catalog.

How often does Cleveland get air this bad?

Rarely. The record sits at the far end of 8,159 measured days; Cleveland averages about one "unhealthy" day every 2 years.

Why did different apps show different numbers that day?

Concentration (µg/m³) and AQI are different scales; hourly, NowCast, and daily values answer different questions; a single monitor differs from a citywide composite; and live feeds get revised when EPA certifies data. This page uses the certified daily record, with the provisional tail labeled.

← All 100 US metros ranked

Historical PM2.5 records

Cleveland's worst air quality days

#14 of 100 US metros by worst day · Cleveland-Elyria, OH metro area

Based on the available regulatory-monitor record since 1999, July 17, 2026 provisionally ranks as Cleveland's most severe daily PM2.5 day: 224 µg/m³ (AQI 299, very unhealthy), about 10.2 cigarettes in a day. The ranking updates when EPA finalizes the data.

Daily rank: #1 provisional
Period of record: Since 1999
Peak daily PM2.5: 224 µg/m³
About: 10.2 cigarettes
Latest event: 2 days, July 2026
Status: Preliminary

Current conditions on the smoke map → Data through Jul 17, 2026 · page built July 26, 2026

Photo: Erik Drost (CC BY 4.0)

Show

The worst-hit part of the metro: its highest credible monitor each day.

How this is measured sources, the daily measure, and what this ranking is not

Source. Daily PM2.5 from the U.S. EPA Air Quality System (AQS) , back to 1999, across 18 EPA monitors in the Cleveland-Elyria, OH metro area (CBSA). Days after May 31, 2026 are preliminary AirNow readings, marked provisional, and re-rank once EPA certifies them (usually the following spring).

The daily measure. "Worst area" is the metro's highest credible monitor each day, with lone bad-monitor spikes dropped (the raw single-monitor max before that filter is in the data but not charted). "Metro average" averages every monitor. The unit choice re-reads the same value as µg/m³, cigarette-equivalents (PM2.5 ÷ 22, Berkeley Earth, an illustration rather than a medical reading), or the EPA 2024 PM2.5 AQI.

Official AQI. EPA's reported metro AQI uses the single worst monitor of any pollutant, so it can run higher than the values here. The highest official daily AQI among the ranked days is 285 on June 28, 2023 (defining pollutant PM2.5).

What this ranking is not. It does not attribute days to wildfire smoke: a high-PM2.5 day can be dust, fireworks, an inversion, or industry. The wildfire-smoke event ranking below arrives with a published attribution method.

Latest major event July 2026 2 of the worst days on record in one stretch, Jul 16, 2026 to Jul 17, 2026, peaking at 224 µg/m³, a new city record. Provisional until EPA certifies the data. See where it ranks ↓

What were Cleveland's worst days?

Rank	Date	Daily PM2.5
#1	July 17, 2026provisional2-day stretch	224 µg/m³
#2	July 16, 2026provisional	222.1 µg/m³
#3	June 28, 20233-day stretch	210.1 µg/m³
#4	June 29, 2023	99.9 µg/m³
#5	December 11, 2001	71.6 µg/m³
#6	February 10, 2000	67.1 µg/m³
#7	March 23, 2000	65.2 µg/m³
#8	July 17, 2023	63.5 µg/m³
#9	July 5, 2020	61.8 µg/m³
#10	July 19, 2001	60.4 µg/m³
#11	November 8, 2000	59.5 µg/m³
#12	June 11, 1999	59 µg/m³
#13	June 27, 2023	58.6 µg/m³
#14	March 1, 2003	57.9 µg/m³
#15	January 29, 2000	57.4 µg/m³

Days marked provisional are preliminary AirNow readings after May 31, 2026, the latest date EPA has certified for Cleveland; they may shift once finalized.

What caused Cleveland's worst days?

The event catalog has named 6 episodes affecting Cleveland, each resolved to a cause only where retained evidence supports it: EPA monitor qualifiers, NWS alerts, agency statements, and reporting. The ranking above stays cause-neutral; this is where the causes live.

Wildfire smoke July 15–20, 2026 Great Lakes and eastern U.S. wildfire-smoke episode Jul 17, 2026 · 224 µg/m³ here , #1 all-time · from Canada
Wildfire smoke 2023 mid-July Canadian wildfire-smoke episode Jul 17, 2023 · 63.5 µg/m³ here , #8 all-time · from Canada
Wildfire smoke 2023 late-June Canadian wildfire-smoke episode Jun 28, 2023 · 210.1 µg/m³ here , #3 all-time · from Canada
Wildfire smoke 2023 early-June Canadian wildfire-smoke episode Jun 7, 2023 · 54.5 µg/m³ here , #25 all-time · from Canada
Fireworks 2020-07-05 2-area fireworks episode Jul 5, 2020 · 61.8 µg/m³ here , #9 all-time · from Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY
Other June 27, 2005 Great Lakes regional PM episode Jun 27, 2005 · 54.9 µg/m³ here , #21 all-time

every named episode and its evidence is in the event catalog.

How does it compare?

The current provisional record is 7% higher than the previous certified record: 224 µg/m³ (July 17, 2026) against 210.1 µg/m³ (June 28, 2023).

How unusual is air like this?

18× a typical day here, at the record

1 in 2 years, roughly, sees an "unhealthy" day here

0 µg/m³224 µg/m³

Every measured day near Cleveland, by daily PM2.5; the record stands far out on the right. 243 days at "unhealthy for sensitive groups" or worse, 20 at "unhealthy", 3 at "very unhealthy" (2024 EPA thresholds, across 8,159 measured days).

Year by year (1999–2026)

Worst single day each year, by the selected measure.

Why did reported numbers differ?

During a major event, AirNow, weather apps, news reports, and neighborhood monitors can all show different figures at the same moment. All of them can be right:

Concentration vs AQI. µg/m³ is the measurement; AQI is a 0 to 500 index derived from it. "330 µg/m³" and "AQI 500" can describe the same air.
Hourly vs NowCast vs daily. An hourly peak, the NowCast rolling estimate apps display, and the full-day average answer different questions; this page ranks full days.
One monitor vs a composite. A single sensor can read far above or below a citywide figure. The measure toggle above shows both framings.
Live vs certified. Real-time feeds get corrected when EPA certifies data months later, which is why recent days here carry a provisional label.

What about indoors?

Citywide monitors can tell you what happened outside. They cannot tell you what happened inside a particular home, school, or facility: filtration, ventilation, and building operation decide that. During and after days like the ones above, outdoor particles become an indoor load question.

Check current conditions and the next clean-air window → Estimate recent filter load where you are →

Common questions

What was the worst air-quality day in Cleveland?: July 17, 2026 (provisional), when daily PM2.5 reached 224 µg/m³ (AQI 299), about 10.2 cigarette-equivalents. It ranks first of 8,159 monitored days since 1999.
What is the highest AQI recorded in Cleveland?: On the worst day, the daily PM2.5 AQI reached 299 (Very unhealthy). EPA's official metro AQI, which uses the single worst monitor of any pollutant, peaked at 285 on June 28, 2023.
Is the July 2026 ranking final?: No. Days after May 31, 2026 are preliminary AirNow readings. They rank now so a current event is visible, and they may shift once EPA certifies the data, usually the following spring.
Were these days caused by wildfire smoke?: This page ranks measured PM2.5 without assigning a cause: a high day can be smoke, fireworks, dust, an inversion, or industry. A separate wildfire-smoke event ranking, using a published attribution method with its version disclosed, is the next layer of this catalog.
How often does Cleveland get air this bad?: Rarely. The record sits at the far end of 8,159 measured days; Cleveland averages about one "unhealthy" day every 2 years.
Why did different apps show different numbers that day?: Concentration (µg/m³) and AQI are different scales; hourly, NowCast, and daily values answer different questions; a single monitor differs from a citywide composite; and live feeds get revised when EPA certifies data. This page uses the certified daily record, with the provisional tail labeled.

Data and citation

Ranked days for both measures are downloadable, with units and status flags: cleveland.csv. Source: U.S. EPA Air Quality System (AQS) daily PM2.5, with preliminary AirNow readings for the uncertified tail. Cite as:

IAQng Air Records: Cleveland, OH. iaqng.com/records/cleveland. Data: U.S. EPA AQS and AirNow. Accessed July 26, 2026.