A statewide air quality monitoring network provides current information to the community. This network is known as the Base Line Air Network of EPA Tasmania, or BLANkET. Stations in the network report on particle concentrations (mainly from smoke and dust). This information is presented in the air quality table and on the map below. See What the numbers mean below for information on how to interpret the data.
Air Quality Map
This map presents the most recently available data for the BLANkET stations, giving air concentration measurements for both smaller (PM2.5 ) and larger (PM10) particle sizes. PM2.5 is the most appropriate quantity for assessing woodsmoke levels. PM10 includes smoke as well as dust. The data is updated every 10 minutes. Refresh your screen for the latest data.
Note: Temporary stations may be brought online as needed, these generally have three-letter abbreviations on the map. The values (-99, -99) indicate that a station is currently offline.
Additional map resource:
Air Quality Table
The table lists current PM10 and PM2.5 measurements, as well as a rolling-hour average PM2.5 value. Tasmanian Department of Health air quality health categories, derived from the rolling-hour average of PM2.5, are included in the table.
BLANkET stations around Tasmania
Click the link on a marker below for more information on that station. Station pages include real-time data for today, as well as data plots for today and yesterday.
Tasmanian Air Data Stations
What the numbers mean
- Particle concentrations are listed on the map as "Station Abbreviation: (PM10,PM2.5)", e.g. HT: (17,4).
- Air particle concentrations are given in micrograms per cubic metre (µg m-3) and are referred to as PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations. These real-time measurements are considered 'indicative' rather than 'reference-level' due to the sampling method. Reference-level measurements require the collection of samples for laboratory analysis. Note that all BLANkET instruments are calibrated against reference-level measurements before deployment to the stations.
PM10 are particles of less than 10 micrometers (millionths of a metre) in diameter
PM2.5 are particles of less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter
The PM2.5 measurement tends to reflect smaller particles such as those contained in woodsmoke, while the PM10 measurement includes smoke as well as larger particles such as contained in dust, sea-salt aerosols, and possibly some pollens.
PM2.5 values below 5 µg m-3 signify very clear air.
Department of Health "traffic light" map
The Tasmanian Department of Health provides the following air quality health categories based on the hour-averaged PM2.5 value:
Good: 0 to 9 micrograms per cubic metre
Fairly Good: 10 to 24 micrograms per cubic metre
Fairly Poor: 25 to 49 micrograms per cubic metre
Poor: 50 to 99 micrograms per cubic metre
Very Poor: 100 to 299 micrograms per cubic metre
Extremely Poor: Over 300 micrograms per cubic metre
See the Department of Health Air Quality page for more information - scroll down to Tracking Air Quality for category descriptions.
- Visit the Department of Health smoke advice and air alerts pages for health-related information.
Smoke will give a high PM2.5 signal. High PM10 levels without corresponding high PM2.5 levels arise from dust and/or sea-salt aerosols. Please see the
Interpreting Air Quality Data page for more discussion of this.
Refer to the TasALERT for information on current fires in Tasmania.
If at any station the instantaneous PM10 is over 50 µg m-3 or PM2.5 is over 25 µg m-3 the station listing on the map will turn red. This does not signify a breach of air quality standards but provides an indication of elevated particle levels. On a smoky winter's evening in Hobart or Launceston PM2.5 may be near 50 µg m-3 for several hours.
A '-99' is given if data are not available for any reason such as network issues or instrumental failures. Italic text signifies data older than one hour.
- For more information:
Interpreting Air Quality Data
Major Air Pollutants
- For more in-depth information about the BLANkET network see the
About BLANkET page.
Air Quality Standards
The National Environment Protection (Ambient Air Quality) Measure (known as the Air NEPM) stipulates air quality standards in Australia. For PM10 there is a 24-hour standard of 50 µg m-3 (50 millionth of a gram per cubic metre). That is, if PM10 levels measured by a reference instrument averaged over a calendar day exceed 50 µg m-3, an exceedance of the standard is recorded. The Air NEPM stipulates that the reporting interval is the calendar day (midnight to midnight). The annual standard for PM10 is 25 µg m-3, with the reporting interval being the calendar year. For PM2.5, the 24-hour (calendar day) standard is 25 µg m-3, with an annual standard of 8 µg m-3. Currently there are no national standards for PM10 or PM2.5 for intervals shorter than 24 hours.
For more information about the Air NEPM and our reference stations see our
NEPM Monitoring Information page.
Reference Stations and Gas Concentrations
Current (unvalidated) data is available from the main air stations of Hobart (New Town), Launceston (Ti Tree Bend) and Devonport.
Validated reference data is available for the Hobart, Launceston, and Devonport stations, and the former station at George Town - Reference Station Air Pollution Data.
Historical Data
To access historical annual plots, 'most recent 30-day' plots of day-averaged BLANkET data and plots of the most recent 3 days of 10-minute-resolution data visit the Historical BLANkET Data page.
Air Quality Data Feedback Survey
We keep working to improve the way we present information on these pages and would appreciate your feedback on how we are doing and what we could do better.
Air quality data feedback survey