Nearly Half of Americans Are Breathing Unhealthy Air—Here's What You Need to Know

Nearly half of all Americans—156 million people—are breathing unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the American Lung Association's latest "State of the Air" report. This represents a staggering increase of 25 million more people than last year's findings, with extreme heat and wildfires contributing to worsening air quality nationwide.

What Types of Air Pollution Are Affecting Americans?

The report examines two main types of dangerous air pollution that threaten respiratory health. Ground-level ozone pollution, commonly known as smog, acts like "a sunburn of the lungs" and can trigger asthma attacks, shortness of breath, and may even shorten life spans. Meanwhile, fine particulate matter (PM2.5)—also called particle pollution or soot—comes from sources like wildfires, diesel engines, and coal-fired power plants.

These microscopic particles are particularly dangerous because they're small enough to penetrate deep into lung tissue and even enter the bloodstream. Once there, they can travel to other organs throughout the body, causing widespread health problems.

Which Health Problems Are Linked to Poor Air Quality?

Air pollution affects people at every stage of life, from unborn babies to elderly adults. The health impacts are far more extensive than many people realize:

• Respiratory Issues: Wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, asthma attacks, and worsening chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Cardiovascular Problems: Heart attacks, strokes, and increased hospital admissions for heart disease
• Pregnancy Complications: Preterm births, low birth weight babies, and increased fetal mortality risk
• Cognitive Effects: Impaired brain function and increased risk of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and other dementias later in life
• Cancer Risk: Higher likelihood of developing and dying from lung cancer, even among people who never smoked

Researchers estimate that PM2.5 particle pollution alone is responsible for more than 50,000 premature deaths in the United States every year.

Who Is Most at Risk From Air Pollution?

While air pollution can harm anyone, certain groups face disproportionate risks. The report found troubling disparities in exposure levels: people of color are more than twice as likely as white individuals to live in communities with failing grades for all three pollution measures. Hispanic individuals face even greater risks, being nearly three times as likely as white individuals to live in areas with the worst air quality.

"Families across the U.S. are dealing with the health impacts of air pollution every day, and extreme heat and wildfires are making it worse," said Harold Wimmer, President and CEO of the American Lung Association. "Air pollution is causing kids to have asthma attacks, making people who work outdoors sick, and leading to low birth weight in babies."

Children are particularly vulnerable because their lungs are still developing, while older adults face higher risks of premature death even when pollution levels remain below current federal standards. People with existing respiratory conditions like asthma or COPD also experience more severe symptoms during high pollution days.

What's Driving the Increase in Air Pollution?

Climate change is playing a significant role in worsening air quality across the country. Warmer temperatures make ozone pollution more likely to form and harder to clean up. The summer of 2023 was particularly problematic, when smoke from Canadian wildfires significantly impacted midwestern and eastern states, resulting in some of the worst particle pollution levels in 26 years of reporting.

More than 125 million people now live in areas with unhealthy ozone pollution—an increase of 24.6 million from the previous year. Meanwhile, 77.2 million people experienced unhealthy spikes in particle pollution, the highest number recorded in the last 16 years.

The monitoring situation is also concerning: out of 3,221 counties in the United States, only 922 counties are able to monitor for at least one pollutant. This means more than 72.8 million people live in areas where neither ozone nor particle pollution levels are being tracked.

Despite these alarming trends, there is hope. Research consistently shows that cleaning up particle pollution leads to improved respiratory health in children and reduced mortality rates in adults. The key is maintaining strong environmental protections and monitoring systems to track progress and identify problem areas before they become health crises.