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Nearly half of US children live in counties with failing air quality
The report says ozone pollution worsened and nearly half of U.S. children live in areas with failing air quality grades.
- About 44% of Americans, or 152.3 million people, live in areas receiving failing grades for air quality, according to the American Lung Association's 2026 State of the Air Report.
- Nearly half of children breathe unhealthy air, risking impeded lung growth, asthma, and respiratory infections because children breathe more air per body size and spend more time outdoors.
- Communities of color face disproportionate exposure to unhealthy air; only 926 U.S. counties have air quality monitors while 2,295 counties lack tracking systems entirely.
- Experts attribute worsening air quality to extreme heat and wildfires driven by climate change, while the Environmental Protection Agency rolls back clean air protections and data centers demand fossil fuel energy.
- Bangor, Maine, stands as the only U.S. city meeting all clean air measures. Diana Van Vleet, director of clean air advocacy for the American Lung Association, warned "the data center boom is also harming air quality.
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