How you can use Google Maps to track wildfires and air quality

by ZDNet

June 3, 2025

in ZDNet

Reading Time: 9 mins read

125 5

2025-06-03 14:15:00
www.zdnet.com

Google Maps shows air quality in the US — Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

Climate change has triggered an increasing number of wildfires and air quality problems. The US has been hit by the effects of such fires for several years now. In both 2024 and 2025, smoke from wildfires in Canada has drifted into the US, impacting air quality in several regions and states.

On the East Coast, we were affected by wildfires in Canada last year, creating a haze across the skies and warnings to stay indoors as much as possible. Such environmental hazards have hit many other regions around the world.

To help people avoid these hazards, Google has been offering wildfire tracking in the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Mexico. Last year, the company added 15 more countries to the list, including Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Kenya, Monaco, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Türkiye, Google noted in its blog post.

Also: How AI is saving homes and lives in California during wildfire season

Google’s wildfire tracking relies on multiple sources, such as data from satellite imagery. The company also uses AI to compare its wildfire model with its own model of fire scars (the black scarring left over after a fire has burned through all the vegetation). Other AI models verify the presence of wildfires to more precisely measure their size.

To report on air quality in a given area, Google turns to an Air Quality Index in the US and other countries. This measures common pollutants in the air, such as nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. The index typically averages the readings for a defined period of time, anywhere from one to 24 hours.

To help you stay on top of wildfires and air quality issues, Google Maps offers a way to track these occurrences. Using the Maps app, you can search any area in the world and get details on the nature and scope of each incident.

Here’s how this works.

Scan for wildfires

Launch Google Maps — Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

To view any wildfires in the area, tap or click the Layers icon (in the mobile app, it’s the icon with overlapping squares). On the website, click More and then select the icon for Wildfires. In the mobile app, tap the Wildfires icon.

Select the icon for wildfires — Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

The website displays icons for each wildfire discovered in the area. The mobile app does the same, but also displays a list of the fires.

View the wildfire incidents on the map — Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

Tap or click on a specific wildfire to see more information about it. Google Maps typically describes the level of smoke from the fire (light, medium, or heavy) and includes links to websites, news stories, and social media posts to help you learn more about that particular fire.

View information on a specific fire — Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

Scan for air quality reports

As with wildfire tracking, you search for air quality information through the Google Maps website or the mobile app for iOS/iPadOS or Android. Browse to the website or open the app. Move the map to the area that you want to scan.

To check the air quality in the area, tap or click the Layers icon. On the website, click More and then select the icon for Air quality. In the mobile app, tap the Air quality icon.

Both the mobile app and the website display a bar graph with numbers and colors to denote the levels of air quality. Running from 0 to 500, the higher the number, the worse the air quality. The colors start with green for a good air quality, then yellow, orange, red, and purple for increasingly poor quality, and end with maroon for hazardous quality.

View the overall air quality — Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

To get information and advice on a specific area, click or tap it. The map should display an exact number for that area along with a warning about whether the air quality is healthy or unhealthy and for whom.

View a specific area — Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

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