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Air quality is managed by a variety of organizations in Washington State, including the Washington State Department of Ecology, local clean air agencies and Tribal governments.  Air quality in Kenmore, WA is managed by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.

Here are links to local air quality agency websites:

Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA)
Washington State Department of Ecology

Air Quality in the City of Kenmore

The nearest air quality monitoring station operated by PSCAA is located in Lake Forest Park.  The City of Kenmore, through a partnership with Microsoft Research, began monitoring air quality within City limits in 2020.  Microsoft Research developed compact, low cost and easily deployable sensors that could be used in a variety of environments to collect data for several air quality parameters.

 Microsoft Research needed a test environment to deploy their prototype sensors in order to collect data in real-life conditions, so in 2020 they partnered with the City to deploy air quality sensors in various locations throughout the city.  By providing locations for Microsoft Research to test their sensors, the City has free access to the data.  The first deployment of sensors was completed February 26, 2020 to June 11, 2020 (data provided below) and a second deployment began September 26, 2020.  The gaps in deployments, which are expected to happen periodically, are needed to conduct inspections, maintenance and upgrades to sensors.  Additionally, it is important to remember that these sensors are still being tested and modified as needed and gaps in data collection are to be expected. 

 

Each sensor collects data on humidity, temperature, and particulate matter at three scales including 1, 2.5 and 10 microns (represented as PM₁, PM_2.5 and PM₁₀).  Particulate matter values are expressed as µg/m³ or parts per billion (ppb).  The EPA has established an Air Quality Index (AQI) for particulate matter (PM_2.5) and AQI values 0-50 are considered good, 50-100 is moderate, and 100 and above have escalating levels from unhealthy to hazardous.

Raw data (.csv file) can be downloaded by clicking the following link:

**Please note - we are unable to provide data at this time as sensors are down for maintenance**

February 2020 – June 2020

October 2020 – Dec 2020

Microsoft Research has developed an interface (utilizing Microsoft Power BI) to view data in real-time and it can be viewed below (or by clicking on this link to view in a separate window).

The BI interface displays data via four tabs, which can be toggled by clicking on the page number at the bottom of the interface.  Each sensor location is visible on a map and data can be viewed by selecting the desired location.  The tabs are arranged in the following manner:

• 1 of 4 - Map with historical average particulate matter (PM 2.5) data at each location. The average is calculated by selecting the desired date range in the date selection box. By default, the displayed average is calculated from September 30, 2020 to the current date.
• 2 of 4 - Map with current PM 2.5 values at each location.
• 3 of 4 – Graph showing timeline of PM 2.5 values at all the locations. The date range can be modified and individual locations can be highlighted by clicking on the location name.
• 4 of 4 – Graphs showing timelines of temperature, humidity, and the voltage of the device battery. The date range can be modified and individual locations can be highlighted by clicking on the location name.

Additional local air quality monitoring data can be obtained from the following sites:

Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Air Quality Data (Official data source)

Purple Air (Private data collected from a variety of sources)