DERM continuously monitors the ambient air quality at 10 monitoring locations around Miami-Dade County for specific criteria air pollutants as established by the federal Clean Air Act. Those criteria pollutants are: ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter (PM2.5* and PM10**), with the limits established by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

Periodically, the department also selectively monitors for additional pollutants in the overall effort to protect public health and welfare. The data collected is used to provide the daily Air Quality Index (AQI). The AQI informs the public how clean or polluted the air is on a daily basis, and advises of the associated health effects for a particular pollutant. Additionally, the next day's air quality is forecasted and is available on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's AirNow website.

*PM2.5: Airborne particulate matter 2.5 microns or less in diameter
**PM10: Airborne Particulates matter 10 microns or less in diameter