Denali National Park Community Data Report
Project Overview
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Air Monitoring and Quality Assurance program began deploying low-cost air quality sensors in communities throughout Alaska in 2023. This has allowed DEC to provide real-time air quality data to the public in more than just the communities with regulatory grade air monitoring. While the data collected from these low-cost air quality sensors does not meet rigorous regulatory requirements and should not be compared to regulatory instruments or health-based standards, the data collected by the sensors are useful for tracking real-time conditions and displaying air quality trends.
DEC currently utilizes QuantAQ Modulair sensors that measure carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), nitrogen oxide (NO ), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), temperature in degrees Celsius (°C ), and relative humidity (RH). Data is collected over a minute long period and then processed into hourly and daily averages.
Sensor Overview and Results
A sensor was installed in Denali National Park at 63.721600, -148.96710 on June 12, 2024.
This data report covers air quality in Denali National Park in Summer 2025 from April 1, 2025 to September 30, 2025.
Denali National Park’s ambient air quality for the Summer 2025 season had
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172 days in the good air quality index (AQI) category
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8 days in the moderate AQI
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1 days in the unhealthy for sensitive groups AQI
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2 days in the unhealthy AQI
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0 days in the very unhealthy AQI
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0 days in the hazardous AQI
Sensor Performance
Denali’s PM2.5 ambient air quality for the summer 2025 season fell mostly in the Good range of the Air Quality Index (AQI; more information about AQI is provided in Resources) for April, May, August, and September, with notable periods of Moderate to Hazardous AQI in June and July due to wildfires across interior Alaska. Diurnal patterns show little variation in median PM2.5 concentrations throughout the hour of day or day of the week, with June and July experiencing significantly higher median concentrations than other summer months.
Hourly PM2.5 Air Quality Index (AQI) for Summer 2025
Median PM2.5 Concentrations for Summer 2025
Summary Statistics of Air Pollutants
| Statistic | 1-hour PM2.5 (µg/m3) | 24-hour PM2.5 (µg/m3) | 1-hour PM10 (µg/m3) | 24-hour PM10 (µg/m3) | O3 (ppb) | NO2 (ppb) | NO (ppb) | CO (ppm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | 0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.96 | 2.09 | 0.54 | 0 |
| Mean | 3.4 | 3.2 | 10.7 | 10.2 | 18.6 | 12.99 | 6.05 | 0.17 |
| 1st Max | 438.5 | 119 | 877 | 124 | 47.76 | 44.3 | 120.82 | 1.1 |
| 2nd Max | 365.4 | 119 | 635.2 | 87.6 | 47.19 | 39.46 | 108.62 | 0.9 |
Data Disclaimers
*These statistics are based on preliminary data readings and are intended to provide a brief overview of sensor activity. Finalized data may be obtained upon request and through our annual statistical reports. Data from the community sensor network in non-regulatory and not comparable to the EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
**PM10 particle sensors are influenced by weather events such as fog and snow due to hygroscopic effects, essentially water particles are counted as PM10, creating false maximum values that do not necessarily pose health risks.
Resources
Data Access
To access historical data for your community’s sensor, please email a request to AMQA-Data-Requests@alaska.gov. Data will be provided in Excel or .csv format.
Questions or Comments?
Please contact us!
Isaac Van Flein (Fairbanks): 907-451-2253 / Isaac.VanFlein@alaska.gov
Ayla Crosby (Anchorage): 907-269-7750 / Ayla.Crosby@alaska.gov
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