Sacramento among California cities with filthiest air in the US, new study says. What to know
Sacramento has some of the filthiest air, according to a new air quality study.
The American Lung Association’s “State of the Air 2022” is based on the data of air quality throughout the United States, obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality System. The study focuses on the years 2018 to 2020.
According to the 155-page air quality report, the area ranked No. 7 out “25 Cites Most Polluted by Daily Particulate Matter.” The 11 other state cities ranked include: Fresno, No. 1, Bakersfield, No. 2, San Jose, No. 4, Redding, No. 5, Chico, No. 6, Los Angeles, No. 8, Visalia, No. 9, San Diego, No. 13, Salinas, No. 14 and San Luis Obispo, No. 22.
What’s up with California’s air?
Fine particulate matter air pollution, also known as PM2.5, comes from wildfires, wood-burning stoves, coal-fired power plants, diesel engines and more, according to the American Lung Association. The particles can cause asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes and lung cancer.
According to the report, improvement in the nation’s air quality has been offset by climate change, noting wildfires in the western U.S. were responsible for a sharp rise in particle pollution spikes in several states.
“’State of the Air 2022’ shows that an unacceptable number of Americans are still living in areas with poor air quality that could impact their health,” said Harold Wimmer, CEO of the American Lung Association in a statement introducing the air quality study. “More than 137 million Americans live in counties that had unhealthy levels of particle pollution or ozone.”
And Californians make up a significant portion of those affected as several of its cities ranked in the air quality study’s top five “most polluted” lists.
The Fresno area (Fresno-Madera-Hanford) ranked No. 1 out of the “Top Five Cities Most Polluted by Short-Term Particle Pollution” and Bakersfield took the second spot, according to the air quality summary report. The Bay area (San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland) took the fourth spot, followed by Redding (Redding-Red Bluff) at No. 5.
Fairbanks, Alaska, took the No. 3 spot, the only non-California city in the top five list.
Bakersfield ranked No. 1 out of the “Top 5 Cities Most Polluted by Year-Round Particle Pollution.” The Fresno area (Fresno-Madera-Hanford) took the second spot, follwed by Visalia, No. 3, the bay area (San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland), No. 4 and Los Angles, No. 5.
This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 3:04 PM.