Overview
- The American Lung Association’s 2026 State of the Air report finds 152.3 million people, or 44% of Americans, live in counties that fail ozone or particle-pollution grades.
- Nearly half of U.S. children — 33.5 million — live where at least one pollution measure fails, and about 7 million live where all three do.
- California dominates the worst-of lists, with Los Angeles ranked worst for ozone and Bakersfield-Delano worst for year-round fine particles, while Fairbanks, Alaska, leads for short-term particle spikes.
- The report, based on 2022–2024 monitoring, shows 38% of the population — about 129.1 million people — faced unhealthy ozone levels, the most in six years.
- Report authors link recent backsliding to extreme heat, drought, and wildfires and warn that recent EPA rollbacks could weaken protections for public health.