Severe-event behavior
What to do when air quality is poor across every available hour
When every practical forecast window is elevated, AirAgora does not manufacture a “good” time. It names the least polluted available window only when data are complete, keeps caution prominent, and points urgent decisions to official local guidance.
Source → method → decision
Ranking first does not make a window good
A deterministic planner will still have a lowest score when every candidate is poor. Without explicit language, that mathematical winner could look like an endorsement. AirAgora instead labels it the least polluted available window and states that the whole practical period remains elevated.
For European AQI this behavior activates when every valid candidate is at least poor; for U.S. AQI when every candidate is at least unhealthy. The exact threshold is tied to the selected named scheme.
Official alerts are primary during urgent events
Wildfire smoke, dust, industrial incidents, and other severe conditions can evolve faster or more locally than a broad forecast grid. Government and emergency agencies may have observations, incident information, evacuation instructions, shelter guidance, or school/workplace rules that AirAgora does not possess.
The product therefore directs users to relevant official guidance for urgent action. Public severe-condition caution is never restricted to a paid account. Premium can organize saved rules, but it cannot hide safety-critical context.
A modeled grid has known limits
The modeled OpenWeather forecast describes a broad grid, across a broad provider grid. A plume, roadway, fire edge, valley, or indoor environment may differ sharply. Model uncertainty and update cadence remain relevant in a fast event.
AirAgora shows source and timestamp and does not claim a street-level measurement. A station or official warning can disagree for valid spatial and temporal reasons.
Missing data does not become reassurance
A severe-looking day can also contain provider gaps. AirAgora requires complete two-hour windows and refuses to fill missing hours. If no complete candidate remains, it returns insufficient data rather than selecting from a fragment.
If the provider is unavailable, a recent stale cache may be shown only within a bounded window and with its original timestamp. Otherwise the result is unavailable. There is no free-endpoint or fixture fallback in production.
How activity and sensitivity affect the message
AirAgora does not diagnose or decide personal medical risk. Activity and sensitivity preferences change caution wording and the threshold at which the interface emphasizes concern; they do not make a high-pollution window rank lower through a hidden personalized formula.
People with individual health questions should use guidance from their clinician or relevant authority. The product avoids universal “safe for everyone” language even in a lower category because exposure and vulnerability differ.
- Do not interpret “least polluted” as “safe.”
- Check official local alerts and incident guidance.
- Confirm the forecast timestamp and modeled provenance.
- Consider whether the grid represents your immediate surroundings.
- Do not rely on a consumer app for emergency instructions.
Alerts and repeated severe conditions
Threshold alerts use explicit crossings, recovery, and cooldown state so the system does not send the same message every cron run. A bundled notification can mention multiple saved places without exposing exact coordinates or private profile labels in delivery logs.
If delivery or the data provider fails, the system records a failure rather than a successful send. This honest operational state matters most during severe periods, when a silent fake success would be especially harmful.
Direct answers
Frequently asked questions
Why does AirAgora still show a best time on a bad day?
It may show the least polluted complete window for relative planning, but it explicitly states that all practical windows are elevated. It does not call that winner good or safe.
What should I follow during wildfire smoke or an incident?
Follow official local alerts and emergency or public-health guidance. A modeled planning tool cannot replace incident-specific instructions.
Are severe warnings part of Premium?
No. Public severe-condition caution and source limitations are available without payment. Premium adds saved automation, not exclusive urgent guidance.
What if forecast hours are missing?
AirAgora evaluates only complete two-hour windows. It does not interpolate missing hours; insufficient complete data produces an unavailable or incomplete state.
Can my street be worse than the forecast?
Yes. The modeled grid is broad and local sources, terrain, smoke plumes, and indoor conditions can differ.
Will an alert send repeatedly while conditions remain high?
Crossing state, recovery, cooldown, and idempotency prevent a message on every cron run. Provider or email failure is logged as failure, not success.
Evidence register
Sources and further reading
The links below identify the primary references used on this page. Selection, summary, and presentation are AirAgora modifications.
Keep exploring
AirAgora provides informational planning guidance, not medical advice. Local conditions can differ from modeled forecasts; follow official guidance during severe events.