How AQI works and impacts running, golfing, outdoor exercise amid wildfire smoke

Story by

Billy Heyen
Thu, July 16, 2026 at 1:56 PM UTC·2 min read

How AQI works and impacts running, golfing, outdoor exercise amid wildfire smoke originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred

The AQI acronym is on minds across the northeast United States as well as in parts of Canada as the week goes along

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Wildfires in northern Minnesota and across the Canadian border have caused smoke to be blown across a number of major cities, impacting air quality and the safety of being outside

That impacts everyone, and from a sporting perspective, those who run outdoors or golf or do any other kind of exercising outside the home or a gym can be affected by this

The question starts to become: What is AQI, and how do we change our behavior for it?

What is AQI and how does it work?

AQI stands for Air Quality Index

It’s a measure of the concentration of pollutants in the air

The scale has a complex calculation, but the key to know is that it can range from 0 through 500. A 0 in AQI is perfectly clean air

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What AQI is bad to run or golf or exercise outside?

It’s going to be a bit different for every individual, but the scale generally starts to be notable when it goes above 100

Between 101 and 150 is considered “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” like those with asthma or heart conditions

Between 151 and 200 is considered “unhealthy” for everyone

And above 200 is when going outside is not a good idea at all

A solid rule of thumb for deciding on an activity is to consider your breathing during said activity, and in all scenarios, caution is advisable

Running, for example, takes in a lot more heavy breaths than walking — and so it would lead to inhale a lot more pollutants than a lighter-breathing activity

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A round of golf may not have the heavy breathing, but it could involve long hours outside

Generally speaking, a run or other high-exertion activity isn’t worth it above 100 on AQI, and certainly not at 150 or higher

MORE: MLB may be impacted by wildfire smoke, bad air quality