the Air Quality Index (AQI) is 71. This is a considerably low quality of air.

71 is nothing. They make it sound bad because they say 50-99 is considered low quality, which makes it seem like it’s only a 2-digit scale.

It’s a 3-digit scale, and if you live near a city, 71 is probably relatively common for you. Over 120 is when it starts to get unpleasant, and that’s probably not unheard of.

If you lived anywhere near wildfires, you were probably getting ratings over 300, or if you were particularly close, maybe over 500.