Michigan monitoring gaps mean many may unknowingly breathe unhealthy air

Michigan has big gaps in its air quality monitoring network
Experts say that means some residents can’t really know what the air quality is in their area
Air pollution can come from wildfire smoke, industry and agriculture, so even rural residents can be affected

Last month, as wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota blanketed Michigan, air quality index readings in some areas of the state reached over 1,000, more than three times what the US Environmental Protection Agency considers hazardous.

But gaps in Michigan’s air quality monitoring network, particularly in rural areas of northern and west Michigan, mean many don’t have accurate information about air quality. There are just two monitoring sites in the Upper Peninsula. In the Lower Peninsula, no monitoring sites exist north of Frankfort.

Some of the state’s monitors are hundreds of miles apart, meaning many areas could have vastly different readings than what’s reported, experts say. That means some residents may unknowingly face air quality concerns from not just wildfires but industry and agriculture.

“We should feel confident knowing that the air we breathe every day won’t make us sick,” Debbie Chizewer, managing attorney at Earthjustice, a San Francisco-based environmental law group that has fought for more air quality monitors around the US, said in an email to Bridge Michigan.

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“Studies show that air pollution from toxic chemicals increases the risk of asthma, heart disease, and cancer. Without air quality monitors, we don’t know what we’re breathing, and we can’t enforce our clean air laws to protect our air.”

While Michigan meets EPA requirements, states including Minnesota and Colorado adopted air quality monitoring policies that exceed federal standards. The EPA lets states decide where to place air quality monitoring sites based on population and areas the state believes has high pollution levels.

Michigan has no plans to expand air quality monitors “due to funding constraints,” Josef Stephens, a Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy spokesperson, told Bridge.

Noting the EPA requirements “consider all types of pollution sources and the impacts on the most vulnerable populations,” Stephens said “Michigan has a robust air monitoring network.”

Air quality monitors that meet federal standards can cost between $15,000 and $50,000.

In total, Michigan operates 45 air quality monitoring sites for a state that has 58,000 square miles of land. The sites are only reliable for the air in direct contact with the monitor.

Twenty-six of the sites measure ozone pollution, while 29 measure particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5), which are inhalable particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers.

“There are huge data gaps that the state doesn’t really track because of its regulatory monitoring process,” said Sarah Craft, chief operating officer of JustAir, a Detroit-based nonprofit that helps communities set up air quality monitoring networks. “With a lot of these grants, nonprofits, local governments, regional governments like the county here in Wayne, started deploying these low-cost sensors.”

The absence of local data “makes it difficult for people to piece together the health consequences,” said Mia McPherson, an adult oncology and public health nurse in Ann Arbor and member of Michigan Clinicians for Climate Action, a group that has advocated for cleaner air in Michigan.

An Arizona State University paper from 2025 found that 58% of counties in the US have no air quality monitors and noted air quality readings are the main source of information for pollution exposure.

Another 2025 paper from researchers at New York University, the Colorado School of Public Health, Boston University and the University of Colorado found that air monitoring sites in the US are likely to be situated farther away from low-income rural communities.

Even in Detroit, which has a robust air quality monitoring network, accurate information can be slow to reach residents.

When wildfire smoke reached the Detroit area on July 15, Craft, of JustAir, said a normally clear view of the Ambassador Bridge from the JustAir office was entirely clouded by heavy smoke. Darren Riley, the JustAir founder, reported that the weather app on his iPhone said the air quality index was 70, or “moderate.” Data pulled from AirNow.gov, however, a federal government website that tracks air quality, reported an index of 224, or “very unhealthy” that day. On July 16, the index in Detroit reached 650.

In west Michigan, ozone pollution has been an ongoing source of concern. Allegan, Berrien and Muskegon counties were found to be in “serious nonattainment” for ozone pollution levels in 2018, which means the area doesn’t meet federal air quality standards.

Earlier this year, EGLE requested that the EPA redesignate west Michigan as meeting ozone pollution standards. EGLE has asked the EPA to exclude wildfire smoke days from its dataset.

Increased ozone pollution has been linked to children missing school in California because of upper and lower respiratory infections.

Other states are doing more than Michigan.

In Montana, one of the states most impacted by wildfire smoke in the country, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality implemented a program called PurpleAir in Schools to install low-cost air quality monitors across the state.

PurpleAir makes its data from monitors installed throughout the country publicly accessible.

The program has placed more than 80 outdoor and indoor monitors in schools throughout Montana. A report by the American Lung Association praised the PurpleAir in Schools program.

According to EGLE’s Ambient Air Monitoring Network Plan for 2027, released in July, the agency will install three new air monitoring sites — two in Detroit and one in Lansing — with federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. EPA records show EGLE received $369,000 for the project in 2024.

The 2021 American Rescue Plan allocated $20 million for air quality monitoring across the country, and the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 added an additional $30 million for air quality monitoring projects.

The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, located near Manistee, initially established an air quality monitoring program in 2005 after construction of a coal plant was proposed nearby.

“Although the coal plant never saw the light of day, PM2.5 is still a concern, especially during wildfire season,” Jasmine Vaquera, an air quality specialist for the tribe, told Bridge Michigan via email. “The (tribe’s) air monitoring site is one of the only permanent sites that monitor PM2.5 in our region of Michigan.”

A 2025 investigation by The Guardian found that some factories in Michigan were using air quality monitors more than 100 miles away to track industrial pollution, even though EPA best practices recommend factories use a monitor located within six miles to accurately monitor pollutants. In cases where air monitors aren’t located nearby, the EPA recommends factories install one on site.

In March, a Bridge Detroit investigation found that EGLE rarely penalizes factories with emissions violations.

Even when they’re warned about air quality risks, some residents ignore the dangers.

During heavy wildfire smoke last month, “people are still outside playing basketball or going for a run because they don’t know actually what the impacts can be,” said Craft, of JustAir.

Amy Rogghe, a physician assistant working in ear, nose and throat and member of the Michigan Clinicians for Climate Action, said more could be done to warn residents about dangers posed by wildfire smoke.

“I saw summer camps still allowing kids outside playing when the (air quality index) was 400 or 500. Was that safe? Probably not,” said Rogghe.

For Craft, she hopes air quality data can translate to real impact.

“It’s not just about the data,” said Craft. “It’s about people’s lives and wellbeing in the long term.”

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Michigan monitoring gaps mean many may unknowingly breathe unhealthy air

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