air pollution – A new air quality report finds 46% of US children live where pollution fails key health measures, with smog and particle spikes driving risk.
Nearly half of US children are breathing levels of air pollution that fail public-health benchmarks, according to a new report released this week by Misryoum.
The 27th annual Air Quality Report from the American Lung Association (ALA) graded air across the country using ground-level ozone—commonly called smog—as well as year-round and short-term spikes in particle pollution. often described as soot.. Misryoum reports that the assessment relied on quality-assured monitoring data collected between 2022 and 2024. turning recent years of elevated pollution into a clear snapshot of who is exposed.
The headline finding is stark: 33.5 million children—about 46% of those under 18—live in areas that received a failing grade for at least one of the three measures of air pollution.. Misryoum says this is not a marginal issue.. For many families. air quality is the background risk that lingers whether skies look hazy or not. and for children that risk coincides with critical stages of lung development.
That developmental factor is central to why pediatric exposure matters.. Children breathe more air relative to their body size than adults. and they tend to spend more time outdoors and be more physically active during play.. Misryoum explains that this combination can increase the number of pollution particles and ozone molecules entering their airways.. In practical terms. the report’s authors warn that exposures can contribute to long-term lung impacts. new cases of asthma. and increased risk of respiratory illness later in life.
The report also ties air quality to health inequality.. Communities of color are disproportionately represented in counties with failing air grades, Misryoum notes.. Even though people of color make up 42.1% of the US population. they represent 54.2% of those living in counties with at least one failing pollution measure.. The disparity is larger still when looking at the most severe category: Misryoum says a person of color is 2.42 times more likely than a white person to live in communities that fail all three pollution measures.
Smog emerges as the most widespread driver of unhealthy exposure.. Between 2022 and 2024. Misryoum reports that 38% of the US population—about 129.1 million people—were exposed to ozone levels considered harmful to health.. The figure marks the highest number recorded in the ALA report in six years. and Misryoum says it represents an increase of 3.9 million from the previous year.
Several forces are pushing ozone in the wrong direction.. Misryoum points to extreme heat and drought. along with wildfires. all of which can increase the conditions that allow ozone to form and accumulate.. Ozone is not just a “local” problem; it is shaped by weather patterns and regional chemistry.. The report identifies areas most affected by high ozone levels across the Southwest—from California to Texas—plus much of the Midwest. Misryoum adds. with smoke transport from Canada’s 2023 wildfires cited as a key contributor.
A longer-term backdrop, Misryoum says, is climate change itself.. Rising temperatures and shifting atmospheric conditions can intensify ozone pollution by increasing key precursor emissions and by creating weather patterns that favor the buildup of pollutants.. Lower wind speeds and hotter air help pollution linger long enough for smog to form. turning what used to be seasonal volatility into a more frequent health hazard.
Technology and infrastructure are also showing up in the data in new ways.. Misryoum reports that the ALA highlights data centers as a growing pollution source, driven largely by their electricity demand.. The report estimates data centers consume about 4.4% of total US electricity today. with a possible rise to as much as 12% within the next decade.. Their impact is linked to the regional mix of power generation. and the report emphasizes that many data centers also rely on diesel-powered backup generators that emit carcinogenic particulate matter—pollution that is especially relevant for respiratory health.
Behind the numbers is a policy debate that the report frames as urgent.. Misryoum says the ALA warns that environmental rollbacks could make air quality worse by weakening protections and delaying or undoing key health rules.. The report’s discussion points to changes affecting standards for particles. vehicle emissions. federal responsibilities related to health impacts from climate pollution. and allowances for increased emissions from oil and gas facilities.. Misryoum also flags mercury—an air contaminant associated with coal plants—as a concern tied to hazardous air toxics.. For the families at the center of the report. this is less about government process and more about whether children’s lungs are protected during outdoor hours. during commutes. and across entire seasons.
Taken together. the report paints a clear message for Misryoum’s readers: air pollution is not evenly distributed. not equally experienced. and not confined to a single pollutant or region.. If heat. wildfire smoke. and electricity demand continue to rise. then the health burden described in this report could expand as well.. The challenge for policymakers and industry—Misryoum says—is to reduce emissions fast enough to keep ozone and particle pollution from reaching failing grades. while also ensuring that growth in energy-hungry technologies does not deepen exposure where it already falls hardest.