‘State of the Air’ reports half of U.S. kids inhaling dangerous pollution

Nearly half of America’s children — 46%, which is 33.5 million — live in areas with air pollution levels that can pose a health risk, according to the latest American Lung Association “State of the Air” report released Wednesday.

And 7 million children live in areas with three unhealthy pollution problems: too high ground-level ozone air pollution — smog — and both year-round and short-term spikes in particle pollution, as measured over a three-year period. That’s 1 in 10 U.S. kids.

The report grades each U.S. county’s air quality based on whether there are unhealthy levels of those pollutants. Then the annual reckoning also ranks counties and metro areas in terms of being the cleanest or most polluted.

The report is based on completed air quality data collection from 2022-2024.

In a news release, the association reported that “infants, children and teens as a group are more susceptible to the health impacts of air pollution,” as their lungs continue to develop. It also noted they breathe more air for their body size compared to adults and they tend to be outdoors more.

“Air pollution exposure in childhood can cause long-term harm, including reduced lung growth, new asthma cases, increased risk of respiratory diseases and impaired cognitive functioning later in life. More broadly, both ozone and particle pollution can cause premature death and other serious health effects.”

The list includes asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, preterm births and other issues. Particle pollution can cause lung cancer.

Children are not the only people exposed or at risk. The report said that 44% of people of all ages in the U.S. (152 million total) live in a county that got a failing grade on at least one of the pollution measures, while 32.9 million live in areas that failed all three.

“Clean air is not something we can take for granted. It takes work. For decades, people in the U.S. have breathed cleaner air thanks to the Clean Air Act. Unfortunately, that progress is now at risk due to extreme heat and wildfires, fueled by climate change, and policy changes that are making the problem worse,” said Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the American Lung Association, in a written statement.

He added, “Now is the time to strengthen air pollution standards, but EPA is doing the opposite. In the last year, EPA has weakened enforcement and rolled back rules that would have protected kids from power plant and vehicle pollution. Children need clean air to grow and play, and communities need clean air to thrive. Leaders at every level must act to improve and protect America’s air quality.”

Health impacts

The report lists some harm that both children and adults can suffer from air pollution, including a bunch that are respiratory. Wheezing and coughing, shortness of breath, asthma attacks, worsening chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer all make the list.

Outside of respiratory, the list includes premature death, susceptibility to infections, heart attacks and strokes, impaired mental function, metabolic disorders and preterm births and low birth weight are potential consequences of air pollution exposure.

Anyone can face health consequences, but those most at risk include children, older adults, those with underlying health conditions, women who are pregnant and the babies they carry, people of color, those living in poverty and those with a history of smoking.

Area with the most pollution

Four of the five cities the report says are most polluted by ozone are in California. The top five are:

1. Los Angeles-Long Beach, California
2. Visalia, California
3. Bakersfield-Delano, California
4. Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona
5. Fresno-Hanford-Corcoran, California

The report said that fine particulate matter air pollution, PM2.5, can kill. The pollution particles, which are sometimes called soot, can come from wildfires, wood-burning stoves, coal-fired power plants and diesel engines, among other sources The report breaks the pollution into short-term and year-long exposures

The top five cities for short-term particle pollution are:

1. Fairbanks-College, Alaska
2. Eugene-Springfield, Oregon
3. Bakersfield-Delano, California
4. Brownsville-Harlingen-Raymondville, Texas
5. Visalia, California

For long-term particle pollution, the results are similar but not exactly the same. Particle pollution year-round is especially bad in:

1. Bakersfield-Delano, California
2. Brownsville-Harlingen-Raymondville, Texas
3. Eugene-Springfield, Oregon
4. Fresno-Hanford-Corcoran, California
5. Visalia, California, and San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, California (tied for 5th)

Areas with the least pollution

The cleanest are those that have no high ozone or particle pollution days and rank among the 25 cities with the lowest year-round particle pollution levels.

Bangor, Maine, was the only one to make the list on all three measures. “Last year, there were two cities on this list and in 2024, there were five cities.” The report said that “reflects an overall worsening of air quality across the country.”

The cities for ozone and short-term particle pollution were not ranked because they all had no days of unhealthy air in those categories. The clean cities list is available online, and includes about three dozen cities without notable ozone. They spread across the country and are found in each region, including Idaho Falls-Rexburg-Blackfoot, Idaho; Myrtle Beach-Conway, South Carolina; Salinas, California; and Ithaca-Cortland, New York.

Twenty-one cities had no short-term particle pollution days, including St. George, Utah; Hot Springs-Malvern, Arkansas; Peoria-Canton, Illinois; and Shreveport-Bossier City-Minden, Louisiana.

The cleanest cities by year-round particle pollution were:

1. Bozeman, Montana
2. Casper, Wyoming
3. Kahului-Wailuku, Hawaii
4. Urban Honolulu, Hawaii
5. Burlington-South Burlington-Barre, Vermont
6. St. George, Utah
7. Anchorage, Alaska
8. Cheyenne, Wyoming
9. Grand Junction, Colorado and
10. Bangor, Maine (which was clean on all three lists)

Data center pollution

The report also looks briefly at data centers, which are predicted to pose air quality challenges for their communities. “While the report doesn’t have specific information quantifying emissions,” it notes that the quick pace in building those centers, which are powered by fossil fuels, could “contribute significantly” to local pollution levels.