Activity guide · walking
Walking and air quality: choosing a time while respecting local limits
Walking plans can use a broad city forecast to compare times, provided the result remains a modeled area estimate rather than an exact route measurement or personal safety instruction.
Activity changes caution, not rank
A time comparison begins with complete hours
AirAgora evaluates consecutive two-hour periods from 06:00 to 22:00 local time. Both hours need valid severity derived from supported pollutant concentrations. This avoids choosing a period from one isolated point or filling a missing hour with an assumption.
The score balances mean and worst-hour severity, preserves earlier material ties, and withholds a precise winner when improvement is too small.
The named provider scale keeps categories interpretable
Every live result displays the official OpenWeather scale from 1 to 5. Page language translates the category but does not relabel it as U.S., European, or local regulatory AQI.
AirAgora displays the main pollutant from documented concentration-band severity and keeps concentrations with their units. The label explains a component, not a diagnosis or local source claim.
Pavements, parks, and indoor segments can differ
A city coordinate belongs to a broad modeled grid. A walk can move beside traffic, through a park, along water, over a hill, inside a shopping area, or between sheltered and exposed spaces. The model does not resolve every transition.
Browser geolocation can improve the selected point only after a click. It remains a coordinate lookup, not a personal exposure sensor, and public payloads avoid exact-coordinate disclosure.
Freshness and unavailable states are part of the answer
A result should show the provider source time rather than merely saying the page loaded now. AirAgora uses bounded caching and can show recent stale data after an error only with the original timestamp and stale label.
If no valid OpenWeather response or retained cache exists, the product shows unavailable. It never substitutes fixtures, scraping, or another provider, fills missing values, or invents a calm walking period.
All-poor forecasts and official guidance
The lowest window on an elevated day is described as least polluted available, not safe. Severe-condition caution and links to official guidance are visible without payment.
For individual medical concerns, use a suitable professional source. During smoke, dust, or another incident, follow authorities that can incorporate observations and local event information.
- Compare the whole walk duration.
- Check the source timestamp and stale label.
- Consider route and indoor/outdoor transitions.
- Keep OpenWeather scale and category together.
- Follow official instructions during severe events.
Direct answers
Frequently asked questions
Is a city forecast accurate for every walking street?
No. It represents a broad modeled grid and cannot resolve every road, park, building, slope, or plume.
Why might AirAgora say conditions are similar?
If the best score improves on the median by less than the fixed meaningful-change threshold, a precise winner would overstate the difference.
Does walking change the ranked windows?
No. Activity changes caution wording, while the environmental order remains deterministic.
Can AirAgora request location automatically?
No. Browser geolocation remains click-only.
What does stale data mean?
A recent cached provider result is being shown after a refresh error, with its original source timestamp and a visible stale label.
What if every period is poor?
AirAgora may show the least polluted complete period but maintains caution and does not call it safe.
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.