PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Wednesday, May 1, 2013

After two very good days for air quality and just in time for the holiday, Beijing's PM2.5 levels will be moving back up on Wednesday.  The pre-dawn hours should start off Moderate      or Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups     , and levels should continue to rise fairly steadily into Unhealthy      or Very Unhealthy      throughout the day. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Look for another day in Beijing with good air quality.  We should see levels in the Good      or Moderate      ranges throughout the day.  Although it is not reflected in the graph, there is also some chance of seeing the levels rise slightly above this, into Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or Unhealthy, as we saw today.  But those are fairly low probabilities, so plan for a good day to be outside. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Monday, April 29, 2013

Monday is set to be a great air quality day in Beijing.  The PM2.5 levels have been decreasing through Sunday evening and should drop into Moderate      or Good      shortly before or after midnight.  Look for the air quality to remain Good or Moderate for the remainder of the day and into Tuesday. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Sunday, April 28, 2013

Sunday is a day for mostly poor air quality in Beijing, although in the evening hours we should begin to see the clearing effect that will give us good air on Monday.  At midnight, the PM2.5 levels should be in the high range of Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups      or the low range of Unhealthy     .  Look for PM2.5 levels to increase throughout the morning and afternoon, likely into the Very Unhealthy      range.  Pollution levels should begin to drop after 6PM, and we should at least move into Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups      before midnight.  There is also a slight chance that we will see pollution levels drop to Moderate      or Good      before midnight.  The clearing should continue into Monday when we will likely see Good to Moderate air quality the entire day. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Saturday, April 27, 2013

Saturday's weather forecast should provide us with a slight decrease of PM2.5 levels in Beijing in the morning, but levels should increase in the afternoon and evening.  The early morning hours should start off Unhealthy      or Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups     , but the decreasing PM2.5 levels should move the conditions to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups      or Moderate     .  After noon, look for levels to increase as we move back through Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups      to Unhealthy     .

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Friday, April 26, 2013

After a beautiful Thursday, Friday's stage is set for increasing PM2.5 levels.  Look for Beijing's PM2.5 levels to increase gradually overnight and through the day.  We should progress through Moderate      and Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups      in the morning then settle into the Unhealthy      range for the afternoon and evening. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Thursday, April 25, 2013

Thursday's air should be the best we've seen in Beijing since last Thursday, with PM2.5 levels in the Good      or Moderate      range.  We should see pollution levels tick up slightly after dark, possibly into the range for Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups     , but this will certainly be a day for soaking up the sun and the warm temperatures. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Wednesday, April 24, 2013

After Tuesday's very poor air quality, we will start off Wednesday with the PM2.5 levels in the Very Unhealthy      or Hazardous      ranges.  These conditions should persist until after noon when we expect to see the PM2.5 levels begin to reduce.  We expect that Wednesday will end in the Good      or Moderate      ranges, so look for a rapid drop in pollution levels across the intervening ranges somewhere between 2PM and 8PM. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Tuesday, April 23, 2013

After some surprisingly persistent pollution levels on Monday, Tuesday's forecast is basically a free-for-all.  The weather forecasts can't agree on the direction and strength of Tuesday's winds, so we're faced with multiple scenarios for Tuesday's pollution levels.  The most likely levels the entire day will be in the Unhealthy      to Very Unhealthy      range, but we can't rule out an increase into Hazardous     .  One weather forecast shows conditions favorable to significantly decreasing pollution levels in the evening, so we may even creep back into the range for Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups     .

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Monday, April 22, 2013

Monday should continue the weekend's trend of poor air quality, with the PM2.5 levels most likely spending the entire day in the Unhealthy      range.  We expect the pollution levels to be higher in the morning with a chance of increasing to Very Unhealthy     , and the levels should be lower in the late afternoon and evening with a chance of dropping into Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups     . 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Sunday, April 21, 2013

Sunday's air quality should begin in the Unhealthy      range, and weather conditions present the possibility of PM2.5 pollution increasing the AQI into Very Unhealthy     .  Concentrations should be stable to slightly increasing in the morning, then at noon or thereafter, we should see some slight clearing, potentially dropping levels into the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups      range. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Saturday, April 20, 2013

Saturday's air looks to be similar to Friday's:  weather conditions will not significantly reduce the PM2.5 levels, but they most likely will not allow significant accumulation.  Look for air quality in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups      and Unhealthy      ranges with a small chance of accumulations into Very Unhealthy     . The current weather predictions indicate that we should see lower pollution levels in the early morning and late afternoon/evening hours.

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Friday, April 19, 2013

After a beautiful Thursday, Friday's weather will provide conditions favorable to accumulating pollution.  Look for the levels to gradually increase throughout the day, from Moderate      , to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups      , to Unhealthy      , and possibly into Very Unhealthy      . 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Thursday, April 18, 2013

Thursday should start off in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups      range, but the PM2.5 pollution should start dropping soon after midnight.  The rest of the day should be Good      or Moderate      , but there is a small chance that levels will increase back into Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups in the evening. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Wednesday, April 17, 2

Wednesday's weather conditions should give us fairly boring, albeit poor, air quality.  PM2.5 levels should hover in the Unhealthy      range until late in the evening.  We will be moving toward clear air on Thursday morning, so we may see some improvement down into the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups      range late in the evening.

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Tuesday should start off in the upper range of Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups      or the lower range of Unhealthy     .  There should be some accumulation of PM2.5 pollution in the pre-dawn hours, but look for that accumulation to lessen somewhat in the morning and early afternoon.  The late afternoon and evening should see the levels increasing again, but not very quickly.  Overall, levels throughout the day should remain Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups      or Unhealthy    , but there is a slight chance of brief episodes of Very Unhealthy      levels pre-dawn and of Moderate      levels late morning to early afternoon.

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Monday, April 15, 2013

Monday's weather conditions are likely to keep the PM2.5 pollution mostly in the Unhealthy      range, although it could creep up into the lower end of Very Unhealthy     .  There is also a slight chance that the afternoon's strong winds could drop the levels into the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups      category, but we should be back to Unhealthy by evening. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Sunday, April 14, 2013

Sunday's air will start off Good     /Moderate     , but we expect the PM2.5 pollution to begin increasing before sunrise.  Look for the levels to increase through the morning and likely stabilize in the early afternoon before increasing again in the evening.  Pollution levels should end the day in the Unhealthy      range, but we could see Unhealthy levels as early as mid-morning.  Extended forecasts show weather patterns that will be conducive to Unhealthy or greater pollution levels in the first half of the work week.

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Saturday, April 13, 2013

After better than expected air on Friday (peaking at 159, at the low end of the Unhealthy range), we should see poor air quality in the morning, likely Unhealthy      but possibly at the low end of Very Unhealthy     .  But a wind shift should clear out the pollution between mid-morning and early afternoon, putting the air quality back into the Moderate      or Good      categories by late afternoon. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Friday, April 12, 2013

Friday Forecast

 

After four days of good air quality, the weather conditions will be changing to again allow the PM2.5 pollution to accumulate.  Look for the accumulation to begin slowly after midnight, then progress more quickly after 5AM or 6AM.  We should start the day in the Moderate      range and pass through the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups      range in the morning before progressing into the Unhealthy      range around late morning or early afternoon.  The PM2.5 levels should then hover in the Unhealthy range before worsening overnight and into Saturday morning. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Thursday, April 11, 2013

Forecast for Thursday

PM2.5 pollution levels should be low on Thursday, generally from the Good      range up to the low end of Moderate     .  This will give Beijing its fourth day in row of good air quality; unfortunately, this will be the last day of the streak as pollution levels increase overnight on Thursday into Friday morning.  There is a small chance the increase will begin in the late evening Thursday, but this is unlikely.  Most of us should first notice the increased pollution when we wake up on Friday. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Wednesday Forecast

 

Wednesday will bring us yet another day of Good      to Moderate      air, our 3rd day in a row.  There is a small chance that we'll see the pollution creep up into the low range of Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups      in the late afternoon, but it should quickly return to the Good/Moderate range.  Thursday is still looking like a Good to Moderate day, but look for deteriorating conditions on Thursday night or Friday morning. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing, Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Look for another day in the Good      to Moderate      range, most likely between 40 and 75 on the AQI scale for the entire day.  The extended forecast predicts weather conditions that should give us equally good air on Wednesday and Thursday. 

Forecast for Monday, April 8, 2013

 
Monday will start off with air in the Unhealthy        to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups        range but we should see clearing before dawn.  Look for the polluted air to move out between 2AM and 6AM, then we should see Good      to Moderate      air the rest of the day.  Early weather predictions say the entire week should be pretty clear, making this potentially the best week for air quality so far in 2013.