State of the Air 2020

The “State of the Air” 2020 found that, in 2016-2018, more cities had high days of ozone and short-term particle pollution compared to 2015-2017 and many cities measured increased levels of year-round particle pollution. 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the Clean Air Act, the landmark law that has driven dramatic improvements in air quality over its history. This is critical because far too many communities reported air pollution that still threatens health, and climate change impacts continue to threaten to progress. Further, harmful revisions and setbacks to key protections currently in place or required under the Act threaten to make air quality even worse in parts of the country. “State of the Air” 2020 shows that we must not take the Clean Air Act for granted. The “State of the Air” 2020 report shows that too many cities across the nation increased the number of days when particle pollution, often called “soot,” soared to often record-breaking levels. More cities suffered from higher numbers of days when ground-level ozone, also known as “smog,” reached unhealthy levels. Many cities saw their year-round levels of particle pollution increase as well. The “State of the Air” 2020 report adds to the evidence that a changing climate is making it harder to protect human health. The three years covered in this report ranked among the five hottest years on record globally. High ozone days and spikes in particle pollution followed, putting millions more people at risk and adding challenges to the work cities are doing across the nation to clean up. The 2020 report—the 21st annual release—uses the most recent quality-assured air pollution data, collected by the federal, state and local governments and tribes in 2016, 2017 and 2018.