The American Lung Association has released a new report showing that the air quality in California is the worst in the nation.
According to the latest “State of the Air” report released by the American Lung Association on Wednesday, nearly 4 out of every 10 people in the United States live in areas where air pollution levels are severe enough to endanger health.
The association analyzed air quality in three categories: unhealthy ozone pollution days, unhealthy particle pollution days, and annual levels of unhealthy particle pollution.
The report reveals that California has the worst air quality in the entire country. Despite significant progress in clean air initiatives and pollution reduction efforts over the past several decades, over 8 out of every 10 Californians live in areas that fail in all three categories.
Based on measurements, the area with the poorest air quality in California is Bakersfield. Among over 200 metropolitan areas measured in the report, Bakersfield ranks third in unhealthy ozone pollution days and first in both unhealthy particle pollution days and annual levels of unhealthy particle pollution.
Following closely are Fresno, Madera, and Hanford in the Central Valley region, ranking fourth in unhealthy ozone pollution days, third in unhealthy particle pollution days, and second in annual levels of unhealthy particle pollution.
Of the 25 most polluted cities in the United States, California has 12 cities on the list. Los Angeles, Long Beach, Bakersfield, Fresno, Madera, Hanford, Sacramento, Roseville, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Visalia all appear on the list of cities with the most severe pollution.
In the Bay Area, air quality ranks in the top ten or near the top ten in all three categories. The composite ranking for San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland places high ozone days at 12th, 24-hour particle pollution at 7th, and annual particle pollution at 5th.
The American Lung Association is a charitable organization dedicated to improving lung health and addressing lung disease issues. Since 2000, they have published the “State of the Air” report annually. This year’s air quality report is based on pollution data collected by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 2020, 2021, and 2022.