More than one-third of people in the US exposed to harmful air pollution - report
Source: The Guardian
Wed 24 Apr 2024 00.01 EDT
Nearly four in 10 people in the US are exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution, a new report has found. Four of the five most polluted cities are in California, where wildfires, drought and extreme heat are driving the rise in hazardous air quality.
More than 131 million people are exposed to harmful ozone and particle (PM 2.5) pollution, according to the American Lung Association’s annual State of the Air report. That figure, which incorporates new, more stringent federal standards for particle pollution, represents an 11.7 million increase from the previous year.
Exposure to these pollutants can raise the risk of lung and heart disease, asthma attacks, as well as reproductive ailments. “Climate change is not remote, it’s not an abstraction. It is a reality impacting the health of millions of people from coast to coast every year,” said Paul Billings, senior vice-president for advocacy at ALA.
Since the passing of the Clean Air Act in 1970, the combined emissions of six widespread air pollutants including PM 2.5 dropped by 78%, according to the EPA. But in recent years, pollution from wildfire smoke has reversed the improvements to air quality stemming from federal protections.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/24/air-quality-pollution-unhealthy
Link to American Lung Association REPORT (viewer) is here.
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