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AirHistory

Sandoval, New Mexico Air Quality Today

AirHistory tracks long-run EPA monitoring rather than live readings, so for the live number check AirNow.gov below. As a baseline, Sandoval, New Mexico's most recent EPA year (2023) posted a median AQI of 44 (Good) against a 5-year median of 44 and an overall Grade of C. The dominant pollutant is Ground-Level Ozone, which tells you which days are most likely to spike.

Check Today's Live AQI in Sandoval, New Mexico

AirHistory is built on 10 years of EPA Air Quality System records, so it shows you what air quality in Sandoval, New Mexico typically looks like — not the live reading for this exact hour. For today's real-time AQI, check AirNow.gov (the EPA's official live index) or the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map during wildfire season.

That said, the history is the best predictor of a normal day. In 2023, Sandoval, New Mexico posted a median AQI of 44 (Good), with 270 "Good" days and 0 days that crossed into "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" or worse. The dominant pollutant, Ground-Level Ozone, is the one most likely to push today's number up — Ground-level ozone forms when sunlight reacts with vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions. It is worst on hot, sunny, stagnant summer days. Ozone irritates the lungs, triggers asthma attacks, and reduces lung function — even healthy adults can feel chest tightness and shortness of breath after exercising in elevated ozone.

Sandoval, New Mexico Air Quality Snapshot

Air Quality GradeC61/100
5-Year Median AQI44 (Good)
Most Recent Median AQI (2023)44 (Good)
Dominant PollutantGround-Level Ozone
10-Year TrendWorsening (+0.30 AQI/yr)
Unhealthy Days (last 5 yr)9
National Rank (cleanest = #1)#703 of 1,020 (69th most polluted percentile)
New Mexico Rank#10 of 16

What Does the C Grade Mean?

Sandoval, New Mexico earns a C — air quality is fair, but not great. With a 5-year median AQI of 44, the city sees a meaningful number of "Moderate" days each year, when the EPA flags air as a concern for unusually sensitive people.

Sandoval, New Mexico's 5-year median AQI of 44 is 3 points above the national average of 41 — meaningfully more polluted than the typical U.S. metro tracked here. Within New Mexico, Sandoval, New Mexico runs more polluted than the state average of 34 — local sources or geography are concentrating pollution above the state's typical reading.

For context within New Mexico: Luna, New Mexico currently holds the state's cleanest grade (A, AQI 17), while Bernalillo, New Mexico sits at the bottom (D, AQI 59).

What's in Sandoval, New Mexico's Air?

The dominant pollutant in Sandoval, New Mexico is Ground-Level Ozone. Ground-level ozone forms when sunlight reacts with vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions. It is worst on hot, sunny, stagnant summer days. Ozone irritates the lungs, triggers asthma attacks, and reduces lung function — even healthy adults can feel chest tightness and shortness of breath after exercising in elevated ozone.

Days by Dominant Pollutant (2023)

PollutantDays as DominantShare of Year
Ground-Level Ozone340100%

Is the Air Getting Better or Worse?

Air quality in Sandoval, New Mexico has been getting worse over the past decade, with median AQI climbing by roughly 0.3 points per year. That bucks the national trend of broad improvement, and most often reflects either growing wildfire smoke exposure (particularly across the West) or rising local emissions from population and freight growth.

In 2014, Sandoval, New Mexico posted a median AQI of 41. By 2023 that figure was 44 — a rise of 3 AQI points dirtier across 10 years of EPA records.

Year-by-Year AQI in Sandoval, New Mexico

YearMedian AQIGood DaysUnhealthy DaysDominant Pollutant
2014412940Ozone
2015412930Ozone
2016422920Ozone
2017442691Ozone
20184522312Ozone
2019442750Ozone
2020442715Ozone
2021442713Ozone
2022432951Ozone
2023442700Ozone

Health Context for Sandoval, New Mexico

Across the past five years, this area has logged just 9 days where AQI rose into the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" range or worse — about 2 days per year, or roughly one every other month. That is a low count by national standards.

Healthy adults can continue normal outdoor activity in most weather, but should pay attention to AQI alerts during the worst pollution windows. People with asthma, heart disease, or pregnancy should reduce prolonged or intense outdoor exertion on flagged days, and consider running an indoor HEPA air cleaner during peak season. Because ozone peaks in the afternoon on hot sunny days, plan outdoor exercise for early morning or after sunset on bad-air days.

How This Grade Is Calculated

The AirHistory Air Quality Grade combines four signals: the 5-year median AQI (40% of the score), the 10-year trend direction (30%), the count of unhealthy days per year (20%), and the dominant pollutant type (10%). All four come directly from the EPA Air Quality System (AQS), which aggregates readings from federally certified monitors. Read the full methodology.

Sandoval, New Mexico has an Air Quality Grade of C (fair) with a 5-year median AQI of 44. The dominant pollutant is Ground-Level Ozone, and air quality has been worsening over the past decade.

This answer pulls from the EPA Air Quality System (AQS), the authoritative federal source for U.S. air quality and pollution monitoring. The headline number above is the direct answer; what follows is the additional context most readers need to use the answer for a real decision rather than just a fact lookup.

A practical caveat: the headline answer above reflects the most recent the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) vintage; underlying data is often revised for months after first publication, and the right reference for any specific decision is whichever vintage is current at the time of the decision. The as-of date is stamped on every page.

Source: EPA Outdoor Air Quality Data, 2026.