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America's Worst Cities for Air Pollution Ranked in New American Lung Association Report
Nearly four in 10 people in the United States live in a place where air pollution is considered bad enough to endanger their health, the American Lung Association warned in its latest State of the Health report. air published Wednesday. This proportion of people – about 39% of the population – has increased sharply since the first rounds of pollutant data were analyzed for last year's annual report, and the trends were particularly pronounced in some parts of the country.
This year's air quality report was based on pollution data collected in 2020, 2021 and 2022 by the Environmental Protection Agency. The American Lung Association, a charitable organization focused on improving lung health and combating lung disease, has published annual State of the Air reports since 2000.
The new report's findings show that about 131 million Americans were breathing unhealthy air during the three-year monitoring period. That number has increased nearly 10% since the lung association released its 2023 “State of the Air” report, when data showed 11.7 million fewer people had been regularly exposed to toxic pollutants and potentially fatal. Echoing long-standing concerns from experts and advocates across the spectrum, the latest findings highlight a disproportionate environmental threat to people of color.
Air quality monitoring
Since the Clean Air Act was signed into law in 1970, emissions of the six most common air pollutants have decreased by 78 percent, according to the EPA. But experts warn that climate change has made air quality more difficult to manage despite policies designed to protect it, especially as growing parts of the country grapple with rising temperatures, drought long duration and unprecedented forest fires.
Smoke haze from wildfires in Canada decreased the visibility of the Empire State Building on June 7, 2023 in New York. DAVID DEE DELGADO / Getty Images
“Days of high ozone and spikes in particle pollution linked to extreme heat, drought and wildfires put millions of people at risk and add challenges to the work that states and “cities are accomplishing across the country to clean up air pollution,” the report's authors write. .
Two groups of pollutants were examined: fine particulate matter, which is emitted directly into the air through combustion and certain chemical reactions, and ozone, which is typically produced when other air pollutants react with sunlight in the atmosphere. For fine particles, pollution trends were broken down into short- and long-term patterns.
The American Lung Association ranked U.S. cities with the worst air quality based on daily particle pollution, annual particle pollution and ozone between 2020 and 2022. The report awarded many cities were given a failing grade when repeated poor air quality index readings pushed an area out of the zone. limits of accepted general health standards.
The worst cities for particle pollution
Exposure to particles in the air can potentially cause or worsen respiratory and cardiovascular problems, health officials say. Nationwide, researchers noted a continued increase during this three-year period in the number of days when particle pollution was considered “very unhealthy” or “hazardous,” compared to years monitored previously. Between 2020 and 2022, there were 135 days marked “very unhealthy” and 79 “unsafe” days, with areas of concern spread across 58 counties home to some 32 million people in 10 different states.
Our latest #StateoftheAir report is out and the results are revealing. Deadly particle pollution is on the rise, reaching its worst levels in years. https://t.co/8BT4oMShdb pic.twitter.com/PFf4OTQOd2
— American Lung Association (@LungAssociation) April 24, 2024
Using an updated baseline standard adopted by the EPA for nationwide air quality, this year's report showed that more than 90 million people lived in 119 counties that received ratings of failure for particulate pollution levels throughout the year.
Topping the list of U.S. cities most polluted by particulate matter, daily and throughout the year, is Bakersfield, California, which received the same ranking in the State of the Air report. Last year. Bakersfield, an industrial city known for its agriculture, mining and oil refineries, has been ranked worst in year-round particle pollution five years in a row.
According to the report, after Bakersfield, the worst cities for year-round particle pollution between 2020 and 2022 were:
Visalia, CaliforniaFresno-Madera-Hanford, CaliforniaEugene-Springfield, OregonSan Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CaliforniaLos Angeles-Long Beach, CaliforniaSacramento-Roseville, CaliforniaMedford-Grants Pass, OregonPhoenix-Mesa, ArizonaFairbanks, Alaska
Cities hit by drought and wildfires were most prevalent on the daily and annual particle pollution lists, with eight in California and two each in Nevada, Oregon and Washington. But even cities where wildfire smoke and drought were less problematic still suffered from poor air quality, like Pittsburgh, which ranked 19th on the list of cities most polluted by particulate matter all year long. throughout the year and also received failing grades for daily particle and ozone pollution. .
American Lung Association's State of the Air gives Pittsburgh a failing grade 00:40
“In the 25 years that the American Lung Association has written its State of the Air report, we have seen an incredible improvement in our nation's air quality,” said Kevin Stewart, director of Environmental Health at the American Lung Association, at CBS Pittsburgh. . “Unfortunately, more than 131 million people still live in places with unhealthy air pollution, and the Pittsburgh metro area is listed as one of the worst places for particle pollution.”
Other cities where particle pollution has seriously degraded air quality include Indianapolis, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Augusta, Georgia, and Corpus Christi, Texas.
The worst cities for ozone
Although ozone in the upper atmosphere protects the Earth, high levels of the lower gas can be harmful to human health and the environment. In particular, experts have noted that inhaling unhealthy concentrations of ozone in the air can cause a range of respiratory problems and even weaken the lungs against infections.
Annual reports of the American Lung Association have charted a more optimistic downward trend in ozone concentration nationally over the past 20 years, as environmental controls have forced a transition “from power plants to coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, and towards clean, renewable energy sources.” energy,” the latest report says. But the study still shows that about 100 million people in 26 states live in places where ozone levels received a failing grade in terms of air quality. The report once again highlights that extreme heat, lack of precipitation and wildfires associated with climate change, mainly in Western states, have undermined attempts to reduce emissions.
The view of the downtown Los Angeles skyline is obscured by smoke, ash and smog, seen from the Griffith Observatory on Monday, September 14, 2020. Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Los Angeles — infamous for its smog, which is mostly ozone — is ranked as the most ozone-polluted city in the country, as it is in all but one air condition report. After Los Angeles, the cities most polluted by ozone were:
Visalia, California Bakersfield, California Fresno-Madera-Hanford, California Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona Denver-Aurora, Colorado Sacramento-Roseville, California San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, California Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem, Utah Houston-The Woodlands, Texas
Of the 25 metropolitan areas most polluted by ozone, 10 were in California, and others in just six states – Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah – held 12 additional places. Only three cities in the eastern United States made the list, namely New York, Chicago and Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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Emily Mae Czachor
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