Overview of the air pollution in the United States of America
Looking down from the Hollywood Hills, with Griffith Observatory on the hill in the foreground, air pollution is visible in downtown Los Angeles on a late afternoon.
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials into the atmosphere, causing harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or damaging ecosystems. Air pollution can cause health problems including, but not limited to, infections, behavioral changes, cancer, organ failure, and premature death. These health effects are not equally distributed across the U.S. population; there are demographic disparities by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and education.[1] Air pollution can derive from natural sources (like wildfires), or anthropogenic sources. Anthropogenic air pollution has affected the United States since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.[2]
According to a 2009 report, around "60 percent of Americans live in areas where air pollution has reached unhealthy levels that can make people sick."[3] Analyzing data from 2016 to 2018, the American Lung Association found major declines in air quality, including increases in ground-level ozone.[4]
In 2016, a study found that levels of nitrogen oxides had plummeted over the previous decade,[5] due to better regulations, economic shifts, and technological innovations. NASA reported a 32% decrease of nitrogen dioxide in New York City and a 42% decrease in Atlanta between the periods of 2005–2007 and 2009–2011.[6]
During June 2023, due to the early season wildfires in Canada, cities like New York and Washington DC suffered from dangerous air quality pollution. It was the worst regional air quality in decades for this part of the United States.[7]
^O’Leary, Karen (2022-01-27). "Air pollution disparities in the USA". Nature Medicine. doi:10.1038/d41591-022-00029-9. ISSN 1078-8956.
^Enviornmental Protection Agency (July 21, 2023). "Climate Change Indicators: Atmospheric Concentrations of Greenhouse Gases". Retrieved September 20, 2023.
^"Top Polluted U.S. Cities With the World Air". ABC News. 2009-04-29. Archived from the original on 2014-01-06. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
^LaMotte, Sandee (21 April 2020). "Air quality in US dramatically worse, says new 'State of the Air' report". CNN. Archived from the original on 2020-04-21. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
^Lloret, Javier; Valiela, Ivan (1 August 2016). "Unprecedented decrease in deposition of nitrogen oxides over North America: the relative effects of emission controls and prevailing air-mass trajectories". Biogeochemistry. 129 (1–2): 16563. doi:10.1007/s10533-016-0225-5. S2CID 99196860.
^Garner, Rob (2014-06-20). "New NASA Images Highlight U.S. Air Quality Improvement". NASA. Archived from the original on 2022-01-20. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
^Christel Meredith, Stephanie. "Air Pollution Around the World: Data is Key". state.gov.
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