Aclima Logo

Richmond - San Pablo

Block by Block & Current Air Quality

Interactive Air Quality Report

We all take about 20,000 breaths a day and the quality of the air we breathe affects our health. That’s why it’s important to understand what’s in our air, in the places where we spend our time. This report features two measures of air quality: block-by-block and current air quality.

Drivers who helped collect data for Richmond - San Pablo
Current Air Quality Data Partner

Current air quality data provided by the nonprofit energy science and policy research institute Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE) through the Richmond Air Monitoring Network.

Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy logo

Block by Block Air Quality


• Your address can affect your health because air pollution can be 800% higher from one block to the next.

• We measure air pollution block by block repeatedly over months with sensor-equipped vehicles to map air quality, and combine dozens of measurements to calculate average pollution level at any address.

• For the Block by Block Air Quality section of this report, Aclima deployed a fleet of vehicles driven by local community members from August 1 to October 31, 2019, measuring fine particulate matter (PM2.5), ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitric oxide (NO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), as part of an ongoing Bay Area-wide program.

Learn more about Aclima’s unique process and the science behind it.


Current Air Quality


• Air quality changes throughout the day based on things like weather, traffic patterns, and emergency events like fires -- and your exposure to outdoor air pollution changes with it.

• In Richmond-San Pablo Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy ran a network of 50 stationary devices across the community from January 2020 to March 2022. All the data went into the Aclima platform to be displayed in real-time during that period.

• Each device measured PM2.5, O3, and NO2 and is maintained so that it collects quality data. Stationary devices tell us the current air quality at the locations where they are installed.

March 19, 2021 Update: Block by Block fine particulate matter (PM2.5) average air pollution data is not currently available in this report. Aclima has developed a new method to differentiate higher average PM2.5 levels from region-wide average levels affecting Richmond-San Pablo. This capability is now available to the community in a PM2.5 Hotspot Report here, and will be incorporated into future reports.

Notable Locations

    1)

    Hilltop Green

  • Lower level of pollution (PM 2.5, NO₂ CO, CO₂)
    2)

    23rd Street north of Carlson Blvd

  • Higher traffic pollution (NO₂ CO, CO₂)
    3)

    Iron Triangle

  • Higher NO₂
    4)

    Point Richmond

  • Lower level of pollution (PM 2.5, CO, CO₂)
    5)

    Carlson Blvd near 580

  • Higher PM 2.5 and NO₂

March 19, 2021 Update: Heatmaps and block by block air quality reports showing regional variability in average PM2.5 levels during the Fall of 2019 that were previously shown in the Notable Locations and Block by Block sections are being updated.

For the most up-to-date information on PM2.5 hotspots in Richmond-San Pablo as measured in Fall 2019, please visit https://rspreport.aclima.tools/.

Block by Block Air Quality

We measured air quality on this block multiple times throughout the three 3-month mapping campaign from August 1 to October 31, 2019. Select the pollutant you’d like to see in the drop-down menu.

The report provides average pollutant levels for a given location over the time we measured. Learn more about our methodology.

Richmond Art Center

Average Nitrogen Dioxide: 7 ppb

Summer 2019 (August to October)

Nitrogen Dioxide in Detail

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) is a gaseous pollutant that is formed from fossil fuel combustion, and along with O₃ is a key component of smog.


The median nitrogen dioxide at this location in the Summer (August - October 2019) was 7ppb (parts per billion).

Richmond Art Center

Nitrogen Dioxide

6

6.8

35

7ppb is lower than 61% of the measured area during the time period.

Other Pollutants

We also measured ozone, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitric oxide.

Nearby Places

Richmond Memorial Auditorium

< 6

0.0mi

Richmond City Hall

< 6

0.1mi

Richmond Public Library

< 6

0.1mi

Current Air Quality (inactive)

Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE Healthy Energy) in partnership with the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) deployed a network of stationary air quality monitors between January, 2020 and March, 2022 in Richmond, North Richmond, and San Pablo, California. Data from this Richmond Air Monitoring Network, were made available in real-time at one-minute intervals during the collection period and will be archived through the California Air Resources Board’s AQview Continuous Monitoring Download Tool. PSE is currently working on drafting a final report summarizing and interpreting the data collected.

Please contact Boris Lukanov, PSE Healthy Energy Senior Scientist, at blukanov@psehealthyenergy.org with any questions.

Share this report

Next steps - What you can do

Whether you only have a few seconds or you want to devote more time to reducing air pollution, we’re building a library of actions you can take. Got a great idea you want to share? Let us know!

Three things you can do right now:
  1. Protect your health and do your best to limit your time in higher-polluted areas identified on the Aclima hyperlocal air quality map.
  2. Make plans to join the next Community Air Protection Program Steering Committee meeting or email Kristen Law to get involved.
  3. If you are a young leader and have feedback you'd like to voice, connect to organizations like RYSE, and adult allies about the best way to share your thoughts and get involved.
Three things you can do this week:
  1. If you see something that you think is causing more pollution than it should, submit a complaint to your Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
  2. Get involved locally through groups like First 5 which advocates for policies focused on children during their first five years, and RYSE, a youth center born out of the organizing efforts of Richmond and West County young people.
  3. Follow and share your ideas on the Air District’s Open Air Forum.
Three things you can do long-term:
  1. Let your local government know that clean air matters to you. Any member of the public can participate during the regularly scheduled public board of supervisors meetings.
  2. Look for ways to get involved in reducing air pollution through online resources from local organizations like SparetheAir.org.
  3. Learn more about the connections between air pollution, human health and climate change, and spread the word!

    Share this site with your neighbors, family, and friends in the community.
Not seeing your address?

Aclima is expanding hyperlocal air quality mapping for communities everywhere. If you want to request that we start mapping in your community, please share your zip code below.