Regional air quality trends
Regional air quality trends help us identify how effective current management approaches are in ensuring good air quality and if there is any need for additional control measures.
In general, factors influencing air pollution in South East Queensland include increasing population and the high number of motor vehicles, while in the other centres, industrial activity is the major cause. In all regions, natural air pollution sources such as dust storms and bushfire smoke can also impact air quality at times.
How we identify trends
Air quality is assessed by comparing pollutant concentrations against the air quality objectives set within the Environmental Protection (Air) Policy 2019 (EPP Air) and the air quality standards set within the National Environment Protection Measure for Ambient Air Quality (Air NEPM).
These objectives and standards generally fall into 2 broad categories:
- those developed to protect human health
- those based on aesthetic criteria such as visibility loss.
Regional air quality trends show the number of poor, fair and good air quality days for each year for these 2 categories—human health protection and visual amenity.
On this page
Air quality trends (human health) by region
South East Queensland
| Year | Poor | Fair | Good |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 14 | 88 | 264 |
| 2001 | 5 | 81 | 279 |
| 2002 | 13 | 140 | 212 |
| 2003 | 4 | 62 | 299 |
| 2004 | 8 | 107 | 251 |
| 2005 | 3 | 80 | 282 |
| 2006 | 1 | 72 | 292 |
| 2007 | 1 | 74 | 290 |
| 2008 | 3 | 64 | 299 |
| 2009 | 16 | 137 | 212 |
| 2010 | 0 | 47 | 318 |
| 2011 | 3 | 26 | 336 |
| 2012 | 3 | 58 | 305 |
| 2013 | 1 | 78 | 286 |
| 2014 | 1 | 84 | 280 |
| 2015 | 1 | 75 | 289 |
| 2016 | 0 | 62 | 304 |
| 2017 | 1 | 99 | 265 |
| 2018 | 12 | 104 | 249 |
| 2019 | 32 | 119 | 214 |
| 2020 | 6 | 71 | 289 |
| 2021 | 1 | 49 | 315 |
| 2022 | 2 | 58 | 305 |
Gladstone
| Year | Poor | Fair | Good |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4 | 33 | 329 |
| 2001 | 4 | 42 | 319 |
| 2002 | 6 | 39 | 320 |
| 2003 | 1 | 28 | 336 |
| 2004 | 0 | 24 | 342 |
| 2005 | 4 | 27 | 334 |
| 2006 | 1 | 37 | 327 |
| 2007 | 0 | 26 | 339 |
| 2008 | 3 | 43 | 320 |
| 2009 | 10 | 78 | 277 |
| 2010 | 0 | 39 | 326 |
| 2011 | 9 | 31 | 325 |
| 2012 | 1 | 22 | 343 |
| 2013 | 0 | 26 | 339 |
| 2014 | 1 | 38 | 326 |
| 2015 | 0 | 17 | 348 |
| 2016 | 0 | 21 | 345 |
| 2017 | 1 | 10 | 354 |
| 2018 | 7 | 12 | 346 |
| 2019 | 11 | 44 | 310 |
| 2020 | 0 | 26 | 340 |
| 2021 | 0 | 7 | 358 |
| 2022 | 0 | 9 | 356 |
Mackay
| Year | Poor | Fair | Good |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2 | 67 | 297 |
| 2001 | 2 | 114 | 249 |
| 2002 | 5 | 91 | 269 |
| 2003 | 7 | 78 | 280 |
| 2004 | 0 | 85 | 281 |
| 2005 | 7 | 80 | 278 |
| 2006 | 1 | 61 | 303 |
| 2007 | 2 | 105 | 258 |
| 2008 | 9 | 125 | 232 |
| 2009 | 18 | 126 | 221 |
| 2010 | 0 | 40 | 325 |
| 2011 | 1 | 57 | 307 |
| 2012 | 1 | 30 | 335 |
| 2013 | 0 | 27 | 338 |
| 2014 | 0 | 20 | 345 |
| 2015 | 0 | 92 | 273 |
| 2016 | 0 | 57 | 309 |
| 2017 | 3 | 83 | 279 |
| 2018 | 5 | 80 | 280 |
| 2019 | 12 | 90 | 263 |
| 2020 | 0 | 20 | 346 |
| 2021 | 0 | 18 | 347 |
| 2022 | 0 | 14 | 351 |
Townsville
| Year | Poor | Fair | Good |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 0 | 6 | 239 |
| 2005 | 5 | 8 | 252 |
| 2006 | 2 | 4 | 259 |
| 2007 | 0 | 5 | 360 |
| 2008 | 1 | 30 | 335 |
| 2009 | 9 | 22 | 334 |
| 2010 | 0 | 6 | 359 |
| 2011 | 1 | 28 | 336 |
| 2012 | 0 | 5 | 361 |
| 2013 | 0 | 14 | 351 |
| 2014 | 0 | 10 | 355 |
| 2015 | 0 | 32 | 333 |
| 2016 | 0 | 5 | 55 |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| 2018 | 2 | 23 | 340 |
| 2019 | 9 | 43 | 313 |
| 2020 | 0 | 25 | 341 |
| 2021 | 1 | 23 | 341 |
| 2022 | 1 | 10 | 288 |
Mount Isa
| Year | Poor | Fair | Good |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 61 | 20 | 285 |
| 2001 | 62 | 26 | 277 |
| 2002 | 83 | 19 | 263 |
| 2003 | 70 | 24 | 271 |
| 2004 | 61 | 21 | 284 |
| 2005 | 78 | 25 | 262 |
| 2006 | 51 | 11 | 303 |
| 2007 | 61 | 23 | 281 |
| 2008 | 57 | 16 | 283 |
| 2009 | 66 | 61 | 238 |
| 2010 | 65 | 21 | 279 |
| 2011 | 85 | 41 | 239 |
| 2012 | 81 | 54 | 231 |
| 2013 | 84 | 56 | 225 |
| 2014 | 74 | 70 | 221 |
| 2015 | 88 | 60 | 217 |
| 2016 | 87 | 44 | 235 |
| 2017 | 69 | 70 | 226 |
| 2018 | 83 | 81 | 201 |
| 2019 | 75 | 80 | 210 |
| 2020 | 68 | 43 | 255 |
| 2021 | 55 | 53 | 257 |
| 2022 | 44 | 33 | 288 |
Air quality trends (amenity) by region
South East Queensland
| Year | Poor | Fair | Good |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 23 | 34 | 309 |
| 2001 | 9 | 11 | 345 |
| 2002 | 3 | 25 | 337 |
| 2003 | 8 | 31 | 326 |
| 2004 | 11 | 36 | 319 |
| 2005 | 4 | 26 | 335 |
| 2006 | 2 | 15 | 348 |
| 2007 | 6 | 25 | 334 |
| 2008 | 1 | 11 | 354 |
| 2009 | 10 | 33 | 322 |
| 2010 | 3 | 22 | 340 |
| 2011 | 4 | 4 | 357 |
| 2012 | 12 | 22 | 332 |
| 2013 | 7 | 13 | 345 |
| 2014 | 7 | 11 | 347 |
| 2015 | 3 | 9 | 353 |
| 2016 | 5 | 18 | 343 |
| 2017 | 6 | 19 | 340 |
| 2018 | 7 | 18 | 340 |
| 2019 | 20 | 34 | 311 |
| 2020 | 7 | 20 | 339 |
| 2021 | 0 | 6 | 359 |
| 2022 | 0 | 5 | 360 |
Gladstone
| Year | Poor | Fair | Good |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 12 | 13 | 341 |
| 2001 | 14 | 10 | 341 |
| 2002 | 7 | 6 | 352 |
| 2003 | 1 | 3 | 361 |
| 2004 | 1 | 6 | 359 |
| 2005 | 2 | 4 | 359 |
| 2006 | 4 | 2 | 359 |
| 2007 | 0 | 1 | 364 |
| 2008 | 1 | 2 | 363 |
| 2009 | 7 | 4 | 354 |
| 2010 | 0 | 2 | 363 |
| 2011 | 16 | 11 | 338 |
| 2012 | 4 | 6 | 356 |
| 2013 | 0 | 4 | 361 |
| 2014 | 4 | 6 | 355 |
| 2015 | 2 | 4 | 359 |
| 2016 | 0 | 4 | 362 |
| 2017 | 2 | 4 | 359 |
| 2018 | 12 | 12 | 341 |
| 2019 | 8 | 15 | 342 |
| 2020 | 3 | 6 | 357 |
| 2021 | 1 | 2 | 362 |
| 2022 | 0 | 1 | 364 |
Mackay
| Year | Poor | Fair | Good |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 34 | 43 | 289 |
| 2001 | 13 | 28 | 324 |
| 2002 | 7 | 27 | 331 |
| 2003 | 5 | 17 | 343 |
| 2004 | 6 | 8 | 352 |
| 2005 | 5 | 3 | 357 |
| 2006 | 2 | 8 | 355 |
| 2007 | 2 | 9 | 354 |
| 2008 | 5 | 19 | 342 |
| 2009 | 11 | 12 | 342 |
| 2010 | 5 | 10 | 350 |
| 2011 | 9 | 27 | 329 |
| 2012 | 1 | 9 | 356 |
| 2013 | 8 | 9 | 348 |
| 2014 | 3 | 9 | 353 |
| 2015 | 2 | 21 | 342 |
| 2016 | 2 | 6 | 358 |
| 2017 | 1 | 13 | 351 |
| 2018 | 3 | 7 | 355 |
| 2019 | 0 | 2 | 363 |
| 2020 | 2 | 5 | 362 |
| 2021 | 3 | 3 | 359 |
| 2022 | 3 | 1 | 361 |
Townsville
| Year | Poor | Fair | Good |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| 2018 | 4 | 4 | 357 |
| 2019 | 1 | 11 | 353 |
| 2020 | 1 | 3 | 362 |
| 2021 | 1 | 1 | 363 |
| 2022 | 2 | 2 | 361 |
Notes
| Poor | At least one Air NEPM monitoring station did not meet the air quality objective for one or more pollutants, reflecting high pollution levels. |
| Fair | All Air NEPM monitoring stations met the air quality objective(s), but at least one station reached half the objective for one or more pollutants. |
| Good | All Air NEPM monitoring stations were below half the air quality objective(s) for all pollutants, reflecting good air quality. |
| Objectives | 0.065 ppm (parts per million) ozone (8-hour average) 0.08 ppm nitrogen dioxide (1-hour average) 0.10 ppm sulfur dioxide (1-hour average) 9.0 ppm carbon monoxide (8-hour average) 50 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre) PM10 (particles less than 10 micrometres in size) 25 µg/m3 PM2.5 (particles less than 2.5 micrometres in size) 20 km visual distance (1-hour average) |