Air Quality Alert: San Antonio, TX Reaches Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups Level
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, the CDC PLACES population-level health analysis, and the CMS Hospital Compare quality data, Areazine publishes editorial articles drawing on more than 19,000 U.S. city profiles. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
On February 20, 2026, air quality in San Antonio, TX reached an AQI of 101, categorized as Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups due to fine particulate matter (PM2.5).
What this EPA air-quality advisory tells you, and what most readers miss
This notice was issued by EPA on February 21, 2026 and geographically references San Antonio, TX. Its severity classification of "low" signals how the issuing agency weighs the risk of harm if no action is taken — "critical" and "high" tier alerts typically carry direct consumer actions, while "medium" and "low" tend toward informational guidance or monitoring advisories. The category it belongs to — Air Quality — determines the regulatory framework behind it, which shapes what remedies (refunds, replacements, recalls, evacuations) are available to affected individuals and who holds statutory responsibility for enforcement.
Most readers skim a notice like this, check whether they are personally affected, and move on. The more useful lens is to read it as a data point about the issuing system: how quickly EPA detected the hazard, how precise the geographic or product-identifier scope is, and whether similar notices have clustered in the same category or region in the last 90 days. Cluster patterns frequently precede a broader regulatory action — a single localized EPA air-quality advisory is isolated; three of them within a quarter often indicate a supply-chain, infrastructure, or seasonal driver that will keep producing notices until something structural changes.
For decision-making, Areazine pairs each alert with the original agency URL, the full agency name, and a timestamp so you can verify the notice against the primary source before acting on it. Tags on this item (air-quality, epa, aqi, San Antonio) map to related alerts in the same area of risk — browsing them together gives a clearer picture than any single notice alone, because the shape of an ongoing issue only becomes visible across multiple sequential alerts.
Current Air Quality
On February 20, 2026, the reporting area of San Antonio, TX, recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 101. The primary pollutant of concern is fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which has reached the 'Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups' category. Other measured pollutants include Ozone (O3) with an AQI of 18 (Good) and PM10 with an AQI of 47 (Good).
What This Means
An AQI level of 101 indicates air quality that is 'Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.' At this level, the general public is unlikely to be affected, but individuals with specific health conditions may experience health effects from breathing the air.
Who Should Take Precautions
Groups at increased risk from PM2.5 exposure include people with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children. These individuals are more likely to be affected by the current air quality conditions than the general population.
What You Should Do
Sensitive groups should consider reducing prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion. While it is generally safe to be active outdoors, it is recommended to take more breaks, choose less intense activities, and monitor for symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath. The general public is not expected to be affected at this AQI level.
Source
Data provided by EPA AirNow.
Original source: EPA Official Notice ↗
Related Air Quality
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Primary source data
EPA Outdoor Air Quality Data
Federal monitoring network — every measurement we report
AirNow (EPA / NOAA)
Real-time AQI for every monitored U.S. location
National Weather Service
Active watches, warnings, and advisories — NOAA
CDC Air Quality & Health
Health-impact reference behind every AQI category