Latest news with #2025StateoftheAir
Axios
12-05-2025
- Health
- Axios
San Antonio air pollution ranks among worst in U.S., report finds
The San Antonio area is among the top 25 metros in the U.S. with the worst ozone pollution, according to the American Lung Association's 2025 State of the Air report. Why it matters: Air pollution threatens everyone's health — especially children, older adults, and people with asthma, heart disease or other lung conditions. By the numbers: San Antonio, New Braunfels and Kerrville jointly ranked 20th among the nation's most ozone-polluted cities, with nearly 2.8 million residents — including 1.8 million people of color — at elevated risk from unhealthy air. Hispanic people are almost three times more likely than white people to live somewhere with poor air quality, according to the report. The big picture: Nearly half of Americans — about 156 million people — live in areas with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution, according to the American Lung Association's 2025 State of the Air report. Zoom in: Bexar County received an F grade for ozone pollution, with 32 days of high ozone levels (designated orange) during 2021-2023. The area also had two days of elevated short-term particle pollution, earning a B grade for that category. Context: San Antonio's air quality challenges are driven in part by high temperatures that create "ideal conditions for ozone formation," according to the American Lung Association. The latest: In March, the EPA approved Texas' plan to reduce vehicle emissions in Bexar County through a mandatory inspection and maintenance program. The program aims to help the region reach compliance with federal ozone limits by November 2026. It would require annual emissions testing for gas-powered vehicles two to 24 years old, per the San Antonio Report. What they're saying: "Clearly, we need to do more to control the pollutants that are impacting our changing climate and worsening the factors that go into the wildfires and the extreme heat events that are threatening our health, instead of thinking about how to roll them back," says Katherine Pruitt, senior director of nationwide clean air policy at the American Lung Association and report author.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Report: Charlotte air quality worsening
CHARLOTTE, N.C. () – The American Lung Association released its '2025 State of the Air' report Wednesday, showing air pollution is on the rise in the Charlotte metro area. The annual report found wildfires and extreme heat contributed to an increase in ozone smog and particle pollution. The association grades regions based on smog and soot concentrations, and Charlotte earned a D for smog, or ground-level ozone pollution, and a C for spikes in soot, or particle pollution. Data collectors consider these scores to be a failing grade. Ongoing construction keeping fans away from Panthers training camp The Queen City area is not unique in its backward slide. They say public health across the nation is at risk. Researchers found nearly half of the U.S. population (46%) lives in areas with unhealthy levels of pollution. The latest report covers data from 2021 to 2023 and does not measure the effects of the latest round of wildfires in the Carolinas or from Hurricane Helene. North Carolina director of advocacy for the American Lung Association, Danna Thompson, said air pollution from natural disasters is a major concern. 'Smoke from wildfires can harm anybody nearby, even miles away,' she said. 'Breathing that smoke does shorten lives. It causes heart attacks, asthma attacks and other dangerous health side effects. So even adults, healthy adults, can be at risk for coughing and wheezing.' The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality continues to monitor quality in impacted counties, and officials recommend anyone cleaning in disaster areas to wear personal protective equipment to guard against dust, mold and chemicals in debris. Thompson said national organizations can be limited due to a lack of resources, so the State of the Air report utilizes additional data from state, local and Tribal authorities. They found only 34 out of North Carolina's 100 counties measure air quality with enough data to assign a grade. 'I think that really underscores the fact that we need more monitors and we need access to quality data so that we can be informed and take measures to safeguard our health,' Thompson said. Officials with the American Lung Association said the Environmental Protection Agency faces the risk of cuts to staffing and programs, which they said could limit progress on anti-pollution measures. 'We're encouraging North Carolinians to join our efforts and take action for clean air,' said Elaine Loyack, advocacy chair of the Lung Association's North Carolina Leadership Board in a statement. 'Because, when you can't breathe, nothing else matters.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
