Approximately 156 million Americans, or 46% of the total population, lived in areas with an American Lung Association “F” rating for particle or ozone pollution, indicating poor air quality. The 26th annual review of air quality statistics by the organization shows a decline in clean air measures, with around 25 million more people living in hazardous air locations compared to the previous year’s survey. For example, heat, drought, and increased smoke from wildfires are some of the consequences of climate change that are causing changes in air quality across the country, the paper says.
Reports find an unprecedented air quality decline for at millions of Americans
The number of people exposed to hazardous air has increased significantly this year, according to Katherine Pruitt, senior director for clean air policy at the American Lung Association, largely due to worsening ozone levels. In 2023, the final year of the lung association’s study, the greatest worldwide temperatures were noted, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The temperature hit its fifth-highest point in U.S. history.
NASA scientists have set a record by calculating Earth’s temperature to be 1.47 degrees Celsius or 2.65 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than the historical average from 1850 to 1900. According to Pruitt, the principal author of the article, her research indicates that ozone, also referred to as smog, increased in states like Texas, which experienced a scorching heat wave in 2023. That year, temperatures in places like Del Rio topped 100 degrees for over two weeks in a row. Another factor that led to so many areas obtaining failing scores was the intense smoke from wildfires. In 2023, smoke from severe wildfires in Canada swept across population centers in the Northeast, resulting in the most smoke exposure per person in modern U.S. history.
Since Congress approved the Clean Air Act in 1963, improvements in air quality have been eroded by increases in wildfire smoke, which produces tiny particles that can enter the lungs and travel through people’s bloodstreams. According to a 2023 study by Stanford University associate professor Marshall Burke, the Clean Air Act’s gains had been reversed by roughly 25% due to a spike in wildfire smoke. Reports from the Lung Association demonstrate a comparable improvement in development, starting in 2016. Climate change is reversing, raising the danger of catastrophic weather events and making breathing worse for millions of Americans, according to Pruitt in 2016. Until we address the sources of pollutants that are causing environmental degradation, we will be affected.
Administrator Lee Zeldin of the Environmental Protection Agency declared last month that he would be implementing a vigorous rollback of environmental standards. The agency also plans to reexamine some programs authorized by the Clean Air Act, such as regulations governing power plants and vehicle emissions standards. Bakersfield, California, had the most filthy air in the nation in 2021–2023, according to the Lung Association research. In terms of ozone pollution, year-round particle pollution, and short-term particle pollution, the air quality index ranked the city first, indicating unhealthy or extremely unhealthy air levels.
Wildfires have worsened air quality in Wisconsin
According to a recent American Lung Association assessment, Sheboygan fell into the top 25 cities in the US for ozone pollution in recent years, and the Milwaukee metropolitan area’s air quality deteriorated. The annual “State of the Air” report ranks air quality between 2021 and 2023 based on ozone and fine particle pollution. For daily particle pollution, Milwaukee ranks 26th and 50th, respectively. Sheboygan is ranked 24th worst in the nation for ozone pollution.The American Lung Association’s senior director for national clean air policy, Katherine Pruitt, stated that ozone and fine particle pollution rose between 2021 and 2023 as a result of wildfires and warmer summer temperatures. Vehicle, power plant, and industrial pollution are frequently linked to the region’s poor air quality.
