Airsheds

An airshed is a legally designated air quality management area. In New Zealand, regional councils and unitary authorities have identified areas to be managed as airsheds for the purposes of the national environmental standards for air quality.

The majority of our airsheds are known, or likely, to have levels of pollutants that exceed the national environmental standards for air quality. Some airsheds are also identified based on factors such as

• number of people living in the airshed now or in the future
• unique weather patterns and geography
• local air emissions, such as local industrial activity, that need to be specifically considered and managed. 

There are 21 airsheds in the Waikato region. 

• 20 urban airsheds. You can see these listed below. An asterisk (*) indicates that the airshed is currently being monitored by Waikato Regional Council.
• 1 'rest of the region' airshed, made up of the areas not covered by the listed urban airsheds.