PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Wednesday looks like it should be a typical summer day for air quality in Beijing.  We should hover in the Unhealthy range after midnight and at least until late morning.  By late morning, we could see the pollution start to clear, and we could drop into Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups and Moderate by early afternoon.  From there, pollution levels should remain relatively stable through the rest of the day. 

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

Tuesday's air quality should fit the profile for a typical summer day in Beijing.  Rising PM2.5 levels in the early morning should see us into Unhealthy or Very Unhealthy conditions through mid-morning when we could see PM2.5 begin to drop.  The pollution clear somewhat through the afternoon, and tomorrow's weather conditions look to be very conducive to a good clearing.  We should make it back down to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups by late afternoon, and there is a real chance of seeing Moderate air quality in that time frame as well. 

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

After a beautiful Sunday, Beijing's air quality should be back to normal on Monday.  We should spend the early morning with increasing PM2.5 levels, peaking around noon or just before.  We should be at least at Unhealthy by then, but we could reach into the lower range of Very Unhealthy if weather conditions are right.  From there we should see falling pollution levels that could drop us back into Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups by early evening before levels start rising again. 

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

Sunday should give us very good air quality, although it may take a little while to get there.  We should start the day off at Very Unhealthy, but the PM2.5 levels should begin to drop around 3 or 4AM.  By noon, we should be at Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or lower, and we should spend the rest of the day in that range. 

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

Saturday brings us the potential for very poor air quality in the afternoon.  We should see increasing PM2.5 levels through the morning, and the weather conditions in the late morning and early afternoon are predicted to be conducive to quickly increasing pollution levels.  We could jump up well into the Very Unhealthy range by mid- to late- afternoon, but there should be some decrease in pollution levels in the evening.  Overall, it is most likely that we will spend the day at Unhealthy or Very Unhealthy. 

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

Friday's air quality is likely to be disappointing after the last couple of days we've had in Beijing, but it should still be better than average.  We should see increasing PM2.5 levels after midnight, putting us into Unhealthy by 6AM.  We could see PM2.5 levels begin to come down as early as 6AM, and once the clearing begins it should continue gradually throughout the afternoon as we drop toward Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups and possibly into Moderate.  Then by sunset, we should see levels increasing again. 

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

Wednesday's good air quality should stick around for a bit longer on Thursday.  We should spend the morning hours at Moderate or Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, but by sunrise we may begin to see the beginning of an upward trend in PM2.5 levels.  This should be a slow increase, but we could move up into Unhealthy as early as mid-morning.  By evening, there is a good chance that we will have left Moderate behind and will be moving steadily toward or further into Unhealthy. 

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

Wednesday looks to be a very good day for air quality in Beijing.  We should start clearing the pollution that is hanging around right after midnight, and we should be down in Moderate or Good air quality around the morning commute or shortly thereafter.  The air should stay mostly clear for the remainder of the day, but there could be some slight increasing in PM2.5 levels in the late afternoon and evening. 

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

Tuesday's weather forecasts have the air quality forecast looking a good bit worse than Monday's.  As usual, we should spend the morning with rising PM2.5 levels before peaking at Very Unhealthy mid- to late-morning.  Then we should see some fairly significant clearing which should drop us at least back down to Unhealthy, but possibly down into Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, by late afternoon or evening. 

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

Monday should bring us another day with air quality worse than the average for Beijing.  We can expect rising PM2.5 levels through the morning with levels at Unhealthy or Very Unhealthy.  Around late morning or noon, we should see levels begin to drop again, moving us back down toward Unhealthy.  There is a small chance we could see levels drop to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups in the late afternoon, but it is most likely that we will stay at Unhealthy or higher for the afternoon and evening. 

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

Sunday should be a roller coaster for air quality, with big differences between morning and afternoon conditions.  We should spend the morning with rising PM2.5 levels, moving from Unhealthy to Very Unhealthy.  But by late morning, we should see that trend reverse while we drop back down to Unhealthy and possibly into Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups. 

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

If the graph for Saturday's forecast looks a little strange, that's because it is.  The weather forecasts we consult have differing opinions about tomorrow's conditions, and each of the two weather predictions points to a different direction for the air quality trend.  So, the graph above contemplates both possibilities, with the upper range presenting one track and the lower range the other track.  If our weather puts us on the upper track, we should see air at Unhealthy rising to Very Unhealthy by noon, then dropping back into Unhealthy.  But if the other weather prediction proves to be correct, we should start the day at Unhealthy then begin the drop into Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.  Then if those weather conditions continue, we should spend the afternoon and evening at Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or in the low range of Unhealthy. 

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

Our forecast for Friday is close to that from Thursday, but it looks as if Friday's air quality will be a little bit better.  Look for increasing PM2.5 levels in the morning, likely peaking at Very Unhealthy or high in the Unhealthy range.  By late morning, we should begin to see some clearing.  Depending on how the weather behaves, we could drop into Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, but there is a good chance that we will not make it below Unhealthy. 

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

Thursday will leave behind the two days of good air we just experienced in Beijing.  We should see rising PM2.5 levels after midnight, and those increases should continue until about noon.  By then, we should have moved through Unhealthy and up into Very Unhealthy.  There is a good chance that we will see PM2.5 levels decreasing in the afternoon, until early evening when they should begin moving back up. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Wednesday, July 17, 2013

After a gorgeous day on Tuesday, Wednesday will feel disappointing, although it looks like it may be a bit better than our average Beijing day.  We should see increasing PM2.5 levels after midnight, moving us up into Unhealthy or Very Unhealthy by 8 or 9AM.  By late morning, those PM2.5 levels should peak and then begin dropping.  We have a good chance of getting back down to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups and some chance of seeing Moderate by early evening before levels move back up again. 

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

If you're in Beijing and have time to get outside this week, do it on Tuesday.  The weather conditions are looking perfect for the best air we've seen in almost two weeks, and we should be down at Good or Moderate levels by about 8AM.  The only downside is that this clearing will not last for long - the outlook for Wednesday currently calls for significantly increasing PM2.5 levels.  So, carpe diem!

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

Monday's weather shift, along with the rain, should provide us with better air quality than we saw over the weekend in Beijing.  PM2.5 levels should slowly drift down into Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups throughout the morning, then we should see those levels increasing throughout the rest of the day.  The weather forecasts for Monday are not in complete agreement, and the air quality will turn out differently under the different scenarios.  We can hope for the scenario that keeps us down in Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups all day, but if the other forecast is correct we could move into Very Unhealthy by early evening. 

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

Sunday should again present us with worse-than-average air quality for Beijing.  We should see some short-term increases of PM2.5 after midnight, but those increases should stop by about 8AM.  From there, look for PM2.5 levels to decrease gradually throughout the afternoon, potentially giving us pollution levels as low as Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups. 

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

Saturday's air quality looks to be worse than average for Beijing.  We should see Unhealthy or Very Unhealthy PM2.5 levels after midnight, and those levels should increase until about mid-morning.  From there, we should see some decrease in pollution levels, but it is unlikely that they will drop below Unhealthy.  In the evening, we should again see increasing PM2.5 levels, but those increases should be less drastic than those seen earlier in the day. 

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

Friday should bring us a fairly average day for Beijing air quality.  Look for increasing PM2.5 levels overnight and through the morning; that should put us up into Unhealthy or Very Unhealthy by mid-morning.  From there, we should see PM2.5 levels dropping.  Depending on how the winds move, we could be at Unhealthy, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, or as low as Moderate by early evening. 

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

Wednesday's good air quality should carry over through Thursday morning before we see PM2.5 levels increase again.  Look for levels in the morning to be at Moderate or Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, and levels in the afternoon should quickly move up into Unhealthy.  Right now, it looks as if that increasing trend will continue overnight and into Friday morning. 

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

Wednesday should provide us with another pretty good day of air quality here in Beijing.  We should see PM2.5 levels dropping through the morning before they start moving up again in the afternoon.  We should drop at least down to Moderate by mid-morning, and we should reach back up into Unhealthy before midnight. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Tuesday looks to be a bit of a roller coaster for air quality.  We should start the day off at Unhealthy or Very Unhealthy, but a shift in the weather should clear the air some.  We could drop down as low as Moderate shortly after sunrise, but the clearing should be fairly short-lived.  By early afternoon, we should see increasing PM2.5 levels, and that trend should continue for the remainder of the day. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Monday, July 8, 2013

For Monday, we should see PM2.5 levels that are quite high when compared to the average for a summer day in Beijing.  We should start off the day at Unhealthy or Very Unhealthy, and the pollution levels should rise from there.  We should see peak levels around noon, and there is a good chance of reaching into the Hazardous range by then.  There should be some clearing of the pollution in the late afternoon with some chance of the air dropping down into the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups range.  But this is an unlikely scenario:  the most likely ranges for Monday evening's air are Unhealthy and Very Unhealthy. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Saturday, July 6, 2013

Another quick post for Saturday's air quality - we should be back to full posts for Monday's forecast.  Saturday is likely to fall back into the (somewhat) standard pattern for Beijing in the summer:  rising PM2.5 levels in the morning with falling levels in the afternoon.  We should reach into the Unhealthy range by mid-morning, and we should see the PM2.5 levels begin to go down between mid-morning and noon.  After that we could see readings in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or Moderate ranges for the late afternoon and evening. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Friday, July 5, 2013

Just a quick note on Friday's air quality: the clear skies of the last few days should continue for most of the day.  Starting in mid- to late-afternoon, we should see PM2.5 levels starting to rise, likely moving into Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups and possibly into the lower range of Unhealthy by late evening.

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Thursday, July 4, 2013

On Thursday, we should see the good air of the last two days move out of the area, if only briefly (Friday's weather conditions are looking promising for good air).  We may see some increase in PM2.5 levels just after midnight, but those levels should come back down again before sunrise.  We should see tomorrow's lowest levels between about 5AM and 9AM before the pollution begins to accumulate.  Look for the AQI to move up into Unhealthy before the day is over and possibly even into Very Unhealthy. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Wednesday looks like it will the second day in a row of excellent air quality here in Beijing.  We could see some slight increase in PM2.5 levels over night, but levels should be back down into Moderate or Good by mid-morning.  We should spend the rest of the day at those levels until late afternoon or early evening when we should see some increasing in PM2.5 levels. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Tuesday's forecast brings us weather that should finally provide a great chance for good air quality.  The air has been clearing Monday evening, and that trend should continue throughout the morning.  We should see Good or Moderate air quality for most of the day, but there is some chance of PM2.5 levels moving back up in the late afternoon and evening hours. 

PM2.5 Forecast for Beijing - Monday, July 1, 2013

As we roll on into July, our persistent low pressure system is still hanging around the region, giving us a good chance of poor air quality.  We should see rising PM2.5 levels overnight, with the air quality reaching into Very Unhealthy and possibly into Hazardous.  But we should see some reduction in those pollution levels by late morning or afternoon as we see the polluted air mass we're in now shift to the southeast.  There is a chance we could see some real relief as the rain moves in, but it is most likely that we will not see PM2.5 levels drop past Unhealthy or Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.