Air Pollution Worsening in the West?

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Air Pollution Improves Nationally, but Western States See Unhealthy Spikes

Although air pollution in the United States has decreased overall in recent years, California and other Western states are experiencing more severe short-term spikes in air pollution, according to the American Lung Association’s “State of the Air” report released on Wednesday. From 2019 to 2021, approximately 120 million people, or 36% of the population, lived in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution, which decreased from the prior period of 137 million people from 2018 to 2020.

However, the report also reveals that the pollution levels in California and other Western states have worsened, with nearly half a million more people living in counties with unhealthy daily particle pollution spikes from 2019 to 2021 than in 2018-20. Wildfires are the primary cause of these short-term spikes, and they have become more frequent in recent years due to climate change.

The report identifies two types of air pollution, particle pollution, and ozone smog, and measures air quality in cities and counties based on their average levels of these pollutants. Particle pollution results from a mixture of small pollutants emitted by factories, power plants, vehicles, wildfires, and fireplaces. On the other hand, ozone smog is formed by chemical reactions between pollutants from vehicles, factories, or other industrial activities in the presence of sunlight.

Fewer people in the U.S. are breathing unhealthy air now than a few years ago, but California and other Western states are seeing more dramatic short-term spikes in air pollution, according to a new report. https://t.co/wDiyok7Q0S

— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 19, 2023

Richard Peltier, an environmental health sciences associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who was not involved in the report, attributes the short-term spikes in air pollution to wildfires. The fires have been responsible for the significant rise in particle pollution, a significant health risk to individuals, especially those with underlying health conditions.

California cities dominate the report’s list of the most polluted metropolitan areas in the country. According to the report, Bakersfield, located north of Los Angeles, was the most polluted city in the US, with high levels of transportation pollution generated by agricultural production in the area, especially from trucks. Los Angeles ranked first for ozone pollution, maintaining its top spot for only one year of the report’s 24-year history.

Although air quality has improved in the United States, California, and other Western states continue to face significant challenges in controlling air pollution levels, particularly due to the increasing frequency of wildfires. To ensure healthy air for all Americans, policymakers must take action to address the root causes of air pollution, including emissions from transportation and industrial sources.