Outdoor exercise
Is it safe to run in Houston today?
Live AQI and the best running window for Houston based on Open-Meteo hourly forecasts.
Running today
Caution — shorten or lighten your run
Conditions are borderline. Healthy adults can usually still run outdoors, but consider shortening the session, easing the pace, or moving to the best window identified below. Anyone with asthma, COPD, heart disease, or who is pregnant should be more cautious and may prefer an indoor session today.
Current AQI in Houston
127
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
Updated 31 Aug 2026, 17:00
Best window to run (next 12h)
Now – 18:00 · lowest ~52 AQI
Hourly AQI (next 12 hours)
Now
52
18:00
53
19:00
55
20:00
57
21:00
62
22:00
74
23:00
71
00:00
71
01:00
73
02:00
77
03:00
78
04:00
68
What affects air quality for runners in Houston
Houston's air quality reflects a sprawling highway network, port and petrochemical activity, and hot Gulf Coast summers that favour ozone formation. Nitrogen dioxide rises along major freeways, while afternoon ozone can climb across wide areas on sunny days even when particle levels look moderate.