SmokeDarDes Moines wildfire smoke and air quality
Live readings for Des Moines, Iowa: whether wildfire smoke is overhead, what the surface air measures, and how the next five days look. Free, no signup, no ads.
How smoke reaches Des Moines
Des Moines watches two smoke sources: Canadian fires to the north and, in late summer, Western US fires whose smoke rides the jet stream across the Plains. Iowa's open terrain lets plumes pass quickly, so bad-air spells here tend to be sharp but short. That is why SmokeDar reports two numbers for Des Moines: 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.
Des Moines right now
–US AQI
Open the live radar for the current reading.
Open the live Des Moines radarWhat 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.