Nearly Half of US Children Are Breathing Dangerous Levels of Air Pollution

Source: Slashdot

Key Findings

• 33.5 million children (46 % of those under 18) live in areas that received a failing grade for at least one measure of air pollution.
• 7 million children (10 % of all U.S. children) live in communities that failed all three pollution measures.

The data come from the 27th annual air‑quality report by the American Lung Association (ALA), which evaluated ground‑level ozone (smog) and particle pollution (soot) using quality‑assured data collected between 2022 and 2024. The full report is available on the ALA website: https://www.lung.org/research/sota.

Disproportionate Impact on Communities of Color

• People of color constitute 42.1 % of the U.S. population but 54.2 % of residents in counties with at least one failing grade.
• A person of color is 2.42 times more likely than a white person to live in a community that fails all three pollution measures.

These communities also have higher rates of chronic conditions—such as asthma, diabetes, and heart disease—that increase vulnerability to air pollution.

Ozone and Smog

• Between 2022 and 2024, 38 % of the U.S. population (≈ 129.1 million people) were exposed to ozone levels that pose health risks.
• This represents the highest exposure recorded in the ALA’s reports over the past six years, an increase of 3.9 million people from the previous year.

Contributing Factors

• Extreme heat, drought, and wildfires have amplified ozone formation, especially in the southwestern states from California to Texas and much of the Midwest.
• Smoke from Canada’s 2023 wildfires, combined with high temperatures and favorable weather patterns, drove ozone spikes in 2023‑2024.
• Climate change intensifies ozone pollution by boosting precursor emissions and creating atmospheric conditions (higher temperatures, lower wind speeds) that allow pollutants to accumulate.
• Data centers contribute to pollution by relying on regional electricity grids still powered by fossil fuels (methane, coal) and by operating diesel‑powered backup generators that emit carcinogenic particulate matter.

Expert Commentary

“Children’s lungs are still developing,” said Will Barrett, assistant vice‑president of the ALA’s Nationwide Clean Air Policy. “For their body size, they’re breathing more air. And also, kids play outdoors, they’re more active, they’re breathing in more outdoor air … So, air pollution exposure in children can contribute to long‑term developmental harm to their lungs, new cases of asthma, increased risks of respiratory illness and other health considerations later in life.”

Source: The Guardian (April 22, 2026) – Read the full article.