Article courtesy of the Clean Air Partnership
The American Lung Association’s latest “State of the Air” report finds that even after decades of successful efforts to reduce sources of air pollution, 46% of Americans – 156.1 million individuals – are living in places that received failing grades for unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution. This is nearly 25 million more people breathing unhealthy air compared to the years covered in last year’s report (2020-2022), and more than in any other “State of the Air” report in the last 10 years. The data reinforces the need to protect our local communities from the continued risks to public health resulting from a combination of factors, including extreme heat, drought, wildfire, smoke and more.
Looking back at the “State of the Air” data from almost 30 years ago, when the average number of high ozone days in the St. Louis region approached 50 in the summers of 1996-1998, the drop to just 10.5 high ozone days in the most recent report is a sign of progress. But that progress is tainted by the fact that, for the first time in nine years, the St. Louis region ranked among the top 25 most ozone-polluted U.S. cities, coming in at number 21 on the list for high ozone days out of 228 metropolitan areas. The region also ranked 17th on the list for most polluted cities by annual particle pollution, which is up 13 spots from the previous year. Additionally, St. Louis was reported among the top two cities with the largest change in rank, worsening from 30th to 21st for the topmost ozone-polluted U.S. cities.
According to the 2025 report, exposure to unhealthy levels of ozone air pollution continues to make breathing difficult for more people living in the U.S. than any other single pollutant. For the three years covered in this year’s report (2021-2023), 37% of the population – some 125.2 million people – were exposed to levels of ozone that put their health at risk. Nine states saw the number of unhealthy days for ozone get worse in every one of their counties monitored for this pollutant, including all 23 monitored counties in Illinois and all 17 in Missouri. This encompasses the combined eight counties on both sides of the Mississippi River that fall into the designated non-attainment area in the bi-state region.
Despite the widespread worsening in parts of the country, the list of the worst 25 cities for ozone pollution and their order of ranking remains relatively stable compared to those in last year’s report. In one other small piece of good news, none of the cities on the list reported the worst-ever average number of days of ozone smog, which is created in part from sources like vehicle exhaust.
For more on ways to do your share for cleaner air this summer and to stay alert about regional ozone pollution levels, sign up to receive the daily air quality forecasts at CleanAir-StLouis.com, like the Clean Air Partnership on Facebook, or follow us on X at @gatewaycleanair.
To access the full 2025 “State of the Air” report, visit Lung.org.