Air Quality is a long-term PM2.5 measure used for destination planning. It is not current AQI and does not respond to hour-by-hour smoke, pollution, or weather conditions.
Retirement Lists has 985 coordinate-modeled rows that are display-only and two reviewed EPA nearby-monitor replacements that are decision eligible.
Long-term PM2.5 thresholds
Retirement Lists converts long-term PM2.5 concentration to a score as follows:
| Long-term PM2.5 concentration | Air Quality score |
|---|---|
| 5 µg/m³ or lower | 98 |
| Above 5–8 µg/m³ | 94 |
| Above 8–10 µg/m³ | 88 |
| Above 10–12 µg/m³ | 82 |
| Above 12–15 µg/m³ | 72 |
| Above 15 µg/m³ | 58 |
No interpolation between bands is specified.
Modeled planning evidence
For 985 rows, Open-Meteo provides the delivery interface and CAMS is recorded as the underlying provider. These are coordinate-modeled values rather than readings from a monitor inside each destination.
The recorded model resolution is approximately 11 kilometers in Europe and 45 kilometers globally. The long-term evidence period runs from January 1, 2021 at 00:00 UTC through December 31, 2025 at 23:00 UTC.
Because these rows are modeled planning evidence, they may be displayed but are not eligible for filters, sorting, Compare, or Fit.
Reviewed EPA monitor replacements
Ashland, Oregon and Tubac, Arizona use reviewed EPA nearby-monitor evidence covering January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2024.
A monitor qualifies only when it is:
- no more than 50 miles from the destination;
- supported by at least three complete years; and
- supported by at least 75% of scheduled observations.
These two reviewed replacements are decision eligible. Their records do not extend through 2025.
Display and decision eligibility
| Evidence class | Display | Filter | Sort | Compare | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 985 Open-Meteo/CAMS modeled rows | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| 2 reviewed EPA nearby-monitor replacements | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Air Quality is not an input to the overall Climate Comfort formula.
Current AQI is separate
Current AQI is volatile, freshness-gated context. It is separate from the long-term PM2.5 score and is excluded from this static methodology calculation.
A current AQI reading is not used as a substitute when long-term PM2.5 evidence is missing.
Missing data behavior
A destination without supported long-term PM2.5 evidence does not receive an assumed Air Quality score. Missing Air Quality evidence does not prevent Climate Comfort from being calculated because Air Quality is not one of its three inputs.
Data periods and freshness
The modeled Open-Meteo/CAMS baseline covers January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2025. The two EPA replacements cover January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2024.
These are data-period labels, not source-update or editorial-review dates. No publisher update dates, source-update dates, update cadence, or Climate editorial review date are recorded.
Limits of the score
Coordinate-modeled evidence may not capture pollution near a particular road, industrial source, wildfire plume, or neighborhood. Its resolution also differs between Europe and the broader global model.
Nearby monitors do not measure every part of a destination, even when they satisfy the distance and completeness rules. Long-term PM2.5 averages can also conceal short periods of poor air.
The score does not measure indoor air or determine an individual’s health risk.
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Included, excluded, and eligibility contract
| Item | Contract |
|---|---|
| Included | Long-term PM2.5 concentration |
| Excluded | Current AQI, indoor air, personal health risk, and unsupported short-term conditions |
| Missing behavior | No supported long-term evidence means no assumed score; current AQI is not substituted |
| Coverage | 985 modeled display-only rows and two reviewed EPA replacements |
| Display eligibility | Both evidence classes may be displayed |
| Decision eligibility | Only the two reviewed EPA replacements may be used for filter, sort, Compare, or Fit |
| Climate Comfort relationship | Excluded from the Climate Comfort formula |
Source ledger
| Organization | URL | Supported claim or input | Geography | Data period | Observed/source-updated | Last reviewed | Evidence type | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open-Meteo; CAMS recorded as underlying model | https://open-meteo.com/en/docs/air-quality-api | Delivery documentation for coordinate-modeled long-term PM2.5 values | 985 destination coordinates; approximately 11 km resolution in Europe and 45 km globally | 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z–2025-12-31T23:00:00Z | Source-update date unavailable | Not recorded | Modeled planning evidence | Direct authoritative CAMS product URL is unresolved; modeled values may miss local conditions |
| U.S. EPA AirData | https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html | Documentation for annual monitor-concentration files and monitor review | United States | Documentation applies to annual files | Source-update date unavailable | Not recorded | Official monitor-data documentation | Documentation alone does not establish that a monitor qualifies for a destination |
| U.S. EPA AirData | https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/annual_conc_by_monitor_2021.zip | 2021 annual monitor evidence used in reviewed replacement periods | Ashland, Oregon and Tubac, Arizona | 2021 | Source-update date unavailable | Not recorded | Official annual monitor file | Nearby-monitor evidence may not represent every neighborhood |
| U.S. EPA AirData | https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/annual_conc_by_monitor_2022.zip | 2022 annual monitor evidence used in reviewed replacement periods | Ashland, Oregon and Tubac, Arizona | 2022 | Source-update date unavailable | Not recorded | Official annual monitor file | Nearby-monitor evidence may not represent every neighborhood |
| U.S. EPA AirData | https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/annual_conc_by_monitor_2023.zip | 2023 annual monitor evidence used in reviewed replacement periods | Ashland, Oregon and Tubac, Arizona | 2023 | Source-update date unavailable | Not recorded | Official annual monitor file | Nearby-monitor evidence may not represent every neighborhood |
| U.S. EPA AirData | https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/annual_conc_by_monitor_2024.zip | 2024 annual monitor evidence used in reviewed replacement periods | Ashland, Oregon and Tubac, Arizona | 2024 | Source-update date unavailable | Not recorded | Official annual monitor file | Nearby-monitor evidence may not represent every neighborhood |
| U.S. EPA AirData | https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/annual_conc_by_monitor_2025.zip | Available 2025 annual-file endpoint in the verified source set | United States | 2025 | Source-update date unavailable | Not recorded | Official annual monitor file | Does not support extending the Ashland or Tubac replacement periods beyond 2024 |
Sources and review
- Open-Meteo; CAMS recorded as underlying model
Delivery documentation for coordinate-modeled long-term PM2.5 values.
- U.S. EPA AirData
Documentation for annual monitor-concentration files and monitor review.
- U.S. EPA AirData
2021 annual monitor evidence used in reviewed replacement periods.
- U.S. EPA AirData
2022 annual monitor evidence used in reviewed replacement periods.
- U.S. EPA AirData
2023 annual monitor evidence used in reviewed replacement periods.
- U.S. EPA AirData
2024 annual monitor evidence used in reviewed replacement periods.
- U.S. EPA AirData
Available 2025 annual-file endpoint in the verified source set.