United States: About half of the population in America – 156 million – live in areas with failing air quality ratings, according to the newest report from the American Lung Association.
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East Coast cities have recently experienced much more air pollution, thanks to wildfires and heatwaves, which is pushing West Coast cities down the ranking for most exposure to fine particulate matter.
Canadian wildfires and sweltering heatwaves are mainly responsible for the increases in the numbers mentioned in the 2021-2023 “State of the State” report, US News reported.
The researchers used three measures to check air quality: ozone pollution, short-term particle pollution, and long-term particle pollution. Poor air quality is bad for a person’s health and increases their risks of stroke, ischemic heart disease, intense attacks of asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and pneumonia.
Almost half of the U.S. population lives with “unhealthy” levels of harmful air pollution, and two Texas cities ranked among the worst for ozone pollution in the nation, according to a new report from the American Lung Association. https://t.co/u8gloXsfx4
— Spectrum News 1 Texas (@SpectrumNews1TX) May 1, 2025
It also raises the risks of babies and infants dying and mothers having difficulties during pregnancy.
Research showed that certain groups are more often exposed to dirtier air, and they are often members of communities of color.
Pollution rose in the East, but in the West, people benefited from a yearly decrease in particle pollution.
Yet, most of the top spots stayed in California’s cities, and the Bakersfield area kept the first place for the sixth straight year, US News reported.