These California cities have the worst air quality in the U.S.
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A recent national air quality “report card” shows that Southern California has the worst ozone pollution in the U.S., with more than eight in 10 Californians living in an area with unhealthy air quality.
Data from the American Lung Association’s 2024 State of the Air report shows Los Angeles-Long Beach ranked the “smoggiest” metropolitan area in the nation for the 24th time, making it the worst place for ozone pollution. Bakersfield topped the lists of cities with the worst year-round and short-term particle pollution.
San Diego among cities with most eco-friendly homes in the U.S.
Meanwhile, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad ranked No. 8 on the list of most ozone-polluted cities in the U.S. It was also named one of the top cities with the most short-term particle pollution.
The report graded areas based on exposure to unhealthy levels of ozone air pollution, annual particle pollution and short-term spikes of particle pollution collected over a three-year period.
Twelve cities in California were ranked on at least one of the lists of the 25 most polluted cities in America. Los Angeles-Long Beach, Bakersfield, Fresno-Madera-Hanford, Sacramento-Roseville, San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland and Visalia appeared in all three lists.
This year’s report showed the metropolitan areas that ranked the worst for each of the three pollutant trends were the same ones as last year.
Pacific Ridge in Carlsbad named a U.S. Green Ribbon school
The methodology for grading the ozone and short-term particle pollution included assigning weighting factors to the orange, red, purple and maroon categories of the Air Quality Index, which range from “unhealthy for sensitive groups” to “hazardous.” Then, researchers multiplied the number of days within each category by their weighting factors to calculate a total and divided the total by three (the number of years data was collected) to determine the weighted average. The full methodology can be found here.
According to the association, both ozone and particle pollution may cause premature death as well as other serious health conditions, including asthma, heart attacks and impaired cognitive function.
To find the full list of cities with the worst air pollution in the U.S., visit the American Lung Association’s website.
The report found that communities of color are disproportionately exposed to air pollution and are more likely to be living with health conditions that make them more vulnerable, such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease. It showed 63% of nearly 44 million residents who lived in the areas with the worst air quality identified as people of color.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
