Roughly 40% of Americans live in areas with high air pollution

The American Lung Association (ALA) said this Wednesday that about 40% of the U.S. population, approximately 131 million people, live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution.

The data was revealed in the "State of the Air" report, corresponding to the period analyzed between 2020 and 2022. In the report, the medical institution analyzes air quality data from the previous three years, focusing specifically on ozone exposure, short-term and long-term exposures year-round to particle pollution.

The latter, particle pollution, consists of pollution generated by a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets, such as dust, dirt, soot or smoke, which are found in the air and contaminate the environment.

After analyzing the data, the ALA establishes a rating for each measure and then, based on that rating, announces which regions pass or fail in each of these three metrics. There are areas that fail in one or two of the values but, the report states, about 44 million people currently reside in areas that fail in all three.

Bakersfield, Calif., has the nation's worst particle pollution

For the fifth consecutive year, the place with the worst particle pollution is Bakersfield, Calif. The rest of the regions located in the state governed by Gavin Newsom are not doing much better, and six of the metropolises with the worst particle pollution belong to The Golden State. Along with Bakersfield, the regions of Visalia, Fresno-Madera-Hanford, San José-San Francisco-Oakland, Los Angeles-Long Beach and Sacramento-Roseville all make the list

The regions of Eugene-Springfield (Oregon), Medford-Grants Pass (Oregon), Phoenix-Mesa (Arizona) and Fairbanks (Alaska) close the top 10 metropolises most contaminated by particles during the period analyzed.

Regarding ozone pollution, California is also home to several of the 10 cities with the highest level of pollution. Los Angeles-Long Beach holds the top spot, followed by Visalia, Bakersfield and Fresno-Madera-Hanford. In fifth place is Phoenix-Mesa (Arizona), and in sixth is Denver-Aurora (Colorado). Sacramento-Roseville and San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad (California) occupy the following spots, while Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem (Utah) and Houston-The Woodlands (Texas) close out the top 10.