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View answers to Frequently Asked Questions about air quality and the Air District's activities.

Learn about the Spare the Air Program and how the season affects air quality, and find out whether a Spare the Air Alert is in effect.

Learn about the Air District, our Board of Directors, our leadership, our mission, our history and how you can join us in protecting public health, air quality, and the global climate.

Frequently Asked Questions - Spare the Air Program

Subscribe to Spare the Air Text Alerts

Learn about the history of the Air District's efforts to improve air quality in the Bay Area since 1955.

The Air District is extending the air quality advisory for potential smoke in parts of the Bay Area through Sunday, October 21.

Middle- and high-school students from across the region are invited to attend the third annual Youth for the Environment and Sustainability, or YES, Conference on Saturday, January 30, 2016, in Berkeley. The registration deadline for youth presenters is Thursday, December 15, 2015.

Learn about the current work of the Air District's Advisory Council.

The Air District is issuing a Health Advisory and Spare the Air Alert today, Wednesday 10/11/2017. Very unhealthy air quality from the wildfires in the North Bay is causing unprecedented levels of air pollution throughout the Bay Area.

Air quality in the Bay Area continues to be very unhealthy, especially in the fire-impacted counties of Napa, Sonoma and Solano. The smoke plume from the fires has now moved to the South Bay and air quality will be unpredictable and impact the entire Bay Area through the weekend.

The Air District is issuing a Health Advisory and Spare the Air Alert today, Thursday 10/12/2017. Very unhealthy air quality from the wildfires in the North Bay is causing unprecedented levels of air pollution throughout the Bay Area.

The Air District is issuing a Health Advisory and Spare the Air Alert today, Tuesday 10/10/2017. Very unhealthy air quality from the wildfires in the North Bay is causing unprecedented levels of air pollution throughout the Bay Area.

The Air District is announcing the start of the Spare the Air summer smog season on Monday, May 1. 

The Air District is announcing the start of the Spare the Air summer smog season, which runs from May to October in the Bay Area.

The Air District is convening a community workgroup to inform development and implementation of our new Particle Fallout Sampling Program for refinery communities. We are looking for people who live or work near the Chevron, Marathon, MRC, Phillips 66, and Valero refineries, or who represent organizations and environmental groups that serve these communities. 

The Air District is announcing the start of the Spare the Air smog season today, Monday, May 3.

The Air District is announcing the start of the Spare the Air summer smog season on Monday, May 2. Millions of cars on our roadways each day remain the largest source of summertime smog pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in the Bay Area. The Spare the Air campaign encourages Bay Area residents to drive less and look for ways to share, shorten, or change their commutes to help reduce smog, traffic, and gridlock in the region.

Frequently Asked Questions - Spare the Air and Wood Smoke

The Air District is extending the Spare the Air Alert due to wildfire smoke from the Glass Fire in Napa and Sonoma counties through Tuesday, October 6, which bans burning wood, manufactured fire logs or any other solid fuel, both indoors and outdoors. Wildfire smoke combined with high inland temperatures and vehicle exhaust may also cause unhealthy smog, or ozone, accumulation in the Bay Area.