American Lung Association Reveals Top Unhealthiest Cities for Air Quality in New List

How clear is the air you're breathing in? That's a good question. The American Lung Association has released its annual "State of the Air" report and has found that half of Americans still live in counties where ozone or particle pollution levels make the air unhealthy to breathe.

Air pollution is a serious issue. Particle pollution in particular can cause lung cancer, and poor air quality remains a significant public health concern. In addition, a changing climate makes it more difficult to protect human health since levels of ozone, also known as smog, are continuing to rise. That said, there is some good news in the new report.

"We are happy to report continued reduction of year-round particle pollution across the nation, thanks to cleaner diesel fleets and cleaner power plants," said Harold Wimmer, National President and CEO of the American Lung Association, in a news release. "However, this improvement represents only a partial victory. We know that warmer temperatures increase risk for ozone pollution, so climate change sets the stage for tougher challenges to protect human health. We must meet these challenges head on to protect the health of millions of Americans living with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."

The new report also ranked the most polluted and the cleanest cities. So who was at the top of the list? By ozone levels, Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA topped the most polluted list. Yet it was beaten by Fresno-Madera, CA when it came to year round particle pollution and short-term particle pollution. Also on the tops of these lists were Modesto-Merced, CA and Bakersfield, CA.

There were also some unfortunate findings. It turns out that 22 of the 25 most ozone-polluted cities, including Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago, had more high ozone days on average when compared to the 2013 report. While this could be due to yearly weather fluctuations, it's certainly something to keep an eye one.

You can read the rest of the report here.