Austin Air Quality Reaches Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups Level on February 19
Areazine synthesizes this EPA air-quality advisory directly from EPA's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
Air quality in Austin, TX, has reached an AQI of 117 for PM2.5, categorized as Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups for February 19, 2026.
What this EPA air-quality advisory tells you, and what most readers miss
This notice was issued by EPA on April 6, 2026 and geographically references Austin, 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 informational context it sits in, and which agency or body is the authoritative source for updates.
Most readers skim a notice like this, check whether they are personally affected, and move on. The more useful lens is to verify its scope, source, and timestamp, then compare related notices without assuming that one record proves a broader trend.
Areazine pairs this record with the original agency URL so you can check the primary source before acting. Its related labels are air-quality, epa, aqi, Austin.
Current Air Quality
On February 19, 2026, the reporting area of Austin, TX, recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 117 for fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which is categorized as "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups." Other pollutants measured in the area include Ozone (O3) with an AQI of 38 (Good) and PM10 with an AQI of 54 (Moderate). PM2.5 is the primary pollutant of concern for this period.
What This Means
An AQI level of 117 falls into the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" category. This means that while the general public is unlikely to be affected, members of sensitive groups may experience health effects due to the concentration of fine particulate matter in the air.
Who Should Take Precautions
Groups at higher risk include people with heart or lung disease, older adults, children, and teenagers. These individuals are more sensitive to the effects of particle pollution and should monitor their activity levels accordingly.
What You Should Do
Members of sensitive groups are advised to choose less strenuous activities, shorten the amount of time they are active outdoors, and wait until air quality improves before performing heavy outdoor exertion. People with asthma should keep quick-relief medicine handy. The general public can continue normal outdoor activities.
Source
Data provided by EPA AirNow.
Original source: EPA Official Notice ↗
Related Air Quality
All Air Quality →Nationwide notices with similar length or severity timing 8
Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this EPA air-quality advisory: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.
Similar body length
Nearest notices by article body length (1,344 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (low) notices issued closest in time to April 6, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this EPA air-quality advisory.