The air you're breathing outside is considered unhealthy, but the good news is: it hasn't gotten worse over the past few years, according to a Florida air quality report released Wednesday.
The American Lung Association uses local data that municipalities voluntarily send to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to release its 26th annual State of the Air Report.
They determine the level of ozone, also known as smog, and particle pollution spikes within a 24-hour period, as well as particle pollution year-round.
Ozone is a gas that's created when pollutants from things like cars and power plants react to sunlight exposure.
Year-round particle pollution consists of everyday activities like cars and delivery trucks on the road, while an event such as a chemical fire is an example of a spike within a 24-hour period.
Overall, the report found that residents are being exposed to more unhealthy ozone smog and daily particle pollution, though year-round particle pollution levels improved.
And nearly half of the U.S. population live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution. Also, extreme heat and wildfires contributed to worsening air quality in much of the country.
Breathing ozone smog and particle pollution can impact anyone's health, said Ashely Lyerly, the association’s senior director of advocacy.
"It can cause premature deaths," she said.
Those with asthma and other lung conditions can go into respiratory distress.
"We also know that particle pollution and ozone breathing in can cause heart attacks. It can cause strokes," Lyerly said. "And even for those who maybe a child that's in womb, can cause preterm labor or preterm birth. And we know that there has also been links to causes of lung cancer and exposure to particle pollution."
How Florida did
Between 2021 and 2023 Florida wasn't at the bottom of the air quality list compared to other states, but it also wasn't at the top.
"Broadly across Florida, I think air quality is still unhealthy,” Lyerly said. “We didn't see a ton of change in Florida. We saw some counties that did have improved rankings, but the number of unhealthy days was the same."
Only 35 of Florida's 67 counties submit air quality reports to the federal government, so the overall state data is incomplete.
What we do know is the greater Tampa Bay region got a "C" grade for the last three years of ground-level ozone, a “B” for particle pollution spikes over a 24-hour period, and a “passing” grade for year-round particle pollution.
The Jacksonville metro area did have particle pollution and ozone worsen slightly — both dropped from an “A” to a “B” grade, while there was a slight improvement in year-round particle pollution.
The Orlando and Miami metro areas had similar results.
Air quality in the Tallahassee metro area didn't change, and it ranked among the cleanest in the nation for ozone pollution and recorded its new best-ever level of year-round particle pollution.
Click here to view the full report, including a county-by-county list.
Top 10 Cities Most Polluted by Ozone Pollution:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA
- Visalia, CA
- Bakersfield-Delano, CA
- Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
- Fresno-Hanford-Corcoran, CA
- Denver-Aurora-Greeley, CO
- Houston-Pasadena, TX
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
- Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem, UT-ID
- Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK
Top 10 Cities Most Polluted by Short-Term Particle Pollution:
1. Bakersfield-Delano, CA
2. Fairbanks-College, AK
3. Eugene-Springfield, OR (tied for 3rd)
3. Visalia, CA (tied for 3rd)
5. Fresno-Hanford-Corcoran, CA
6. Reno-Carson City-Gardnerville Ranchos, NV-CA
7. Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA
8. Yakima, WA
9. Seattle-Tacoma, WA
10. Sacramento-Roseville, CA
Top 10 Cities Most Polluted by Year-Round Particle Pollution:
1. Bakersfield-Delano, CA
2. Visalia, CA
3. Fresno-Hanford-Corcoran, CA
4. Eugene-Springfield, OR
5. Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA
6. Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI (tied for 6th)
6. San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA (tied for 6th)
8. Houston-Pasadena, TX
9. Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH
10. Fairbanks-College, AK
What can be done?
At the individual level, Lyerly said there are ways that you can adjust your day-to-day life which will help improve air quality.
You can switch to an electric vehicle. If you have a regular gas car, consider filling up your tank in the morning instead of the afternoon when the pollutants would be exposed more to sunlight, therefore creating more ozone.
"We have pollutants that are out there. We have warming temperatures. We're going to see increases in ozone and others," Lyerly said.
You can monitor your energy consumption, as utilities burn heat-trapping fossil fuels to create our electricity.
Then at the government level, Lyerly said to continue implementing the regulations that are already on the books, like the Clean Air Act.
The current administration has halted a deadline for some coal-fired power plants to meet certain pollution standards.
Lyerly said the association is concerned about the funding cuts being made at the EPA, which has been their source for this report for 20-plus years.
"We really are calling for everyone to stand up and support EPA," Lyerly said. "We know that it's essential to protecting public health and especially for monitoring our data as it relates to ozone and particle pollution, but also to curb pollution in our country."
