Ozone and PM2.5 Air Quality Index (AQI) Forecast

Issued: Friday, July 24, 2026, 2:33 PM

Friday and Saturday, as surface high pressure shifts from the northern Gulf into Louisiana, light southerly to westerly winds will reduce dispersion, allowing a thin plume of Saharan dust to linger over the state. Therefore, despite partly cloudy skies hindering ozone development, AQI levels will be low- to mid-Moderate on both days. Sunday, west-southwesterly winds will gradually transport a cleaner air mass into the Bayou State. However, light winds will continue to limit dispersion. In addition, mostly sunny skies and highs in the mid-90s will aid ozone formation. As a result, AQI levels will be high-Good to low-Moderate.

Baton Rouge

 Friday Saturday Sunday
Ozone 32 - Good 35 - Good 51 - Moderate
PM25 68 - Moderate 66 - Moderate 58 - Moderate

Alexandria

 Friday Saturday Sunday
Ozone 21 - Good 26 - Good 37 - Good
PM25 58 - Moderate 62 - Moderate 55 - Moderate

Lake Charles

 Friday Saturday Sunday
Ozone 21 - Good 27 - Good 45 - Good
PM25 60 - Moderate 56 - Moderate 50 - Good

Lafayette

 Friday Saturday Sunday
Ozone 23 - Good 28 - Good 35 - Good
PM25 53 - Moderate 53 - Moderate 44 - Good

Monroe

 Friday Saturday Sunday
Ozone 21 - Good 20 - Good 30 - Good
PM25 55 - Moderate 56 - Moderate 56 - Moderate

New Orleans

 Friday Saturday Sunday
Ozone 37 - Good 41 - Good 58 - Moderate
PM25 64 - Moderate 62 - Moderate 55 - Moderate

Shreveport

 Friday Saturday Sunday
Ozone 26 - Good 31 - Good 40 - Good
PM25 60 - Moderate 64 - Moderate 60 - Moderate

Thibodaux

 Friday Saturday Sunday
Ozone 24 - Good 27 - Good 36 - Good
PM25 56 - Moderate 55 - Moderate 50 - Good

More Information About Understanding AQI Information

The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or unhealthy your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern. The AQI focuses on health effects you may experience within a few hours or days after breathing unhealthy air. The following chart provides information regarding the AQI determinations:

Category AQI Value What This Means
Good 0-50 Air quality is considered satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.
Moderate 51-100 Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 101-150 Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is not likely to be affected.
Unhealthy 151-200 Everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.
Very Unhealthy 201-300 Health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected.
Hazardous 301-500 Health alert: everyone may experience more serious health effects.

Any questions about interpreting this monitoring data should be directed to the DEQ Customer Services Section at 1-866-896-5337.

TO REPORT ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS, INCLUDING ODORS, CONTACT THE DEQ SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT (SPOC) - 225-219-3640 or Toll Free 1-888-763-5424. In the event of an environmental emergency, citizens are encouraged to first contact their local authorities - police, sheriff, fire department, etc. Otherwise citizens and the regulated community can contact the SPOC line to report environmental concerns during business hours, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday at the number listed above. To report a concern outside of business hours call 225-342-1234 or the toll free number. Concerns include spills, releases, odors, fish kills, open burning, waste tires and any other types of environmental incidents. Citizens can report the incident online.

The data has not been quality reviewed or validated. Continuous PM2.5 readings shown are not NAAQS comparable.