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4d ago

Air Pollution Worsens for 156 Million Americans as EPA Rollbacks Advance

The 2025 State of the Air report reveals a sharp increase in unhealthy air exposure, with climate change and regulatory rollbacks deepening the crisis.

File photo: Thick heavy black smoke from wildfires shrouds buildings in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, January 8, 2025.
Smoke lingers over a neighborhood devastated by the Eaton Fire, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The skyline in Chicago, Illinois, in late January 2025. Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI, ranked 15 on the worst cities with ozone pollution, according to a new report from the American Lung Association.

Overview

  • The American Lung Association's 2025 report shows that 46% of Americans—156 million people—now live in areas with unhealthy ozone or particle pollution, an increase of 25 million from last year.
  • Extreme heat, wildfires, and drought, driven by climate change, have reversed decades of air quality progress, with pollution shifting eastward due to events like the 2023 Canadian wildfires and Texas heat wave.
  • California cities like Bakersfield and Los Angeles remain the most polluted, but cities in the Midwest and East, including Chicago and Cleveland, are now among the worst for ozone and particle pollution.
  • Hispanic and Black communities face disproportionate exposure, with Hispanic residents nearly three times as likely as white residents to live in areas failing all three pollution measures.
  • The Trump administration and EPA are pursuing rollbacks of 31 key clean air regulations, raising concerns about further air quality declines and increased health risks across the U.S.