A pedestrian walks during sunset as a layer of pollution can be seen hovering over the downtown skyline in Los Angeles on April 24, 2019. – The city retains its dubious dinstinction as the city with the dirtiest air in the US, according to the annual ‘State of the Air’ report from the American Lung Association. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
Los Angeles, along with other California regions, ranked among the locations with the poorest air quality.
Story at a glance
- The American Lung Association released its 2021 State of the Air report.
- It noted that western wildfires have contributed to increasing levels of air pollution.
- People of color were also more likely to live in highly polluted areas.
About 40 percent of Americans are living in places with unhealthy air quality, according to the American Lung Association’s (ALA) most recent issue of its State of the Air report.
This amounts to more than 135 million people. It includes data from 2017 to 2019.
The report authors highlight that Americans of color are about three times more likely to consistently breathe polluted air than their white counterparts. They were up to 61 percent more likely than white Americans to live in a county with failing air quality grades.
“More than four in ten Americans…are living in the 217 counties across the nation with monitors that are capturing unhealthy levels ozone or particle pollution,” the report reads. It focuses on tracking fine particulate matter in the air emitted from sources like transportation, manufacturing and power plants.
[…]
The Most Revolutionary Act 