Columbus wildfire smoke and air quality

How smoke reaches Columbus

Columbus sits far downwind of the boreal fire belt, so smoke usually arrives as a high, milky veil rather than a surface event. The tell here is a dim, orange-tinted sun with a normal AQI, though multi-day plumes can eventually mix down over central Ohio. That is why SmokeDar reports two numbers for Columbus: smoke aloft (modeled aerosol optical depth from Copernicus CAMS) and surface air (PM2.5 and US AQI, observed AirNow monitor data when a monitor is nearby). They are different things, and they often disagree.

What the numbers mean

AQI 0–50 is good and 51–100 is moderate; ordinary days. From 101–150, sensitive groups (kids, older adults, pregnant people, anyone with heart or lung conditions) should shorten hard outdoor exercise. Above 150, everyone should cut both time and intensity outdoors. The full playbook is in the Smoke Guide.