United States: The respiratory health of Americans could face risks due to air contamination affecting 156 million people living in half of the United States.
The American Lung Association produced a new report revealing that 156 million Americans experience breathing environment hazards in their areas.
More about the news
The annual State of the Air report released by the group demonstrates how airborne contaminants continue to worsen rather than show improvement.
The analysis evaluated air quality records spanning the years 2021 to 2023.
According to the new evaluation, the research team conducted 25 million additional individuals who faced “unhealthy air pollution present in their environment” compared to the results of their previous study.
The association stated that this report presented the highest number of affected people in comparison to every “State of the Air” report during the last ten years.
What are the experts stating?
The Clean Air Act of 1970 has resulted in overall improvements in air quality based on information provided by Laura Kate Bender, who serves as an assistant vice president at the Lung Association and spoke to CBS News.
“The challenge is that over the last few years, we’re starting to see it tick back up again, and that’s because of climate change, in part,” she stated.
“Climate change is making some of those conditions for wildfires and extreme heat that drive ozone pollution worse for a lot of the country,” she continued.
What city has the worst year-round and short-term particle pollution? Bakersfield, California, for the sixth year in a row.
The city occupied position three for recording the highest number of excessive ozone day occurrences.
According to CBS News reports, Casper, Wyoming, emerged as the top city in terms of year-round particulate pollution cleanliness.
The research established that air contamination affects regions beyond the western part of the nation.
Extreme heat conditions, together with exceptional wildfires, serve as pollution transmitters throughout the nation.
Research indicates that Canadian wildfire smoke produced unhealthy air quality throughout eastern United States territories in 2023, according to the report.