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2024 Air Quality Report Roundup: The Impact of Climate Change
In a world increasingly attuned to the impacts of climate change, the air we breathe has never been more scrutinized. From the swirling dust of city streets to the seasonal flourish of pollen, understanding the quality of the air around us is key to our well-being.
Here, we distill key findings from two notable reports: State of the Air and Allergy Capitals. The role of climate change is prominent in both reports and underscores the need for awareness and action.
Understanding the data
Since 2003, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) has released the Allergy Capitals report. It gives a detailed overview of factors impacting changes in allergy seasons and pollen release — and subsequent impacts on other industries and the environment.
The American Lung AssociationⓇ (ALA) also publishes an annual report: State of the Air. For 25 years, the ALA has analyzed data retrieved from air quality monitors around the U.S. during a set time period. This year’s report analyzes data from 2020 to 2022. The report focuses on two of the most threatening air pollutants: fine particles and ozone.
Climate change is making allergy season longer and more intense.
According to the 2024 Allergy Capitals report, allergy season is now longer and more intense than it was 30 years ago, highlighting the continued impact of the climate crisis.
A big factor is that trees are releasing pollen earlier and earlier in the year, with pollen seasons starting 20 days earlier and lasting 10 days longer on average.
The pollen released is also more potent due to increased carbon dioxide emissions, raising temperatures and causing plants to grow sooner than expected. Reduced snowfall and increasingly long, warm seasons creates a compounding effect, making the allergy season more severe than it has been in decades past.¹
The five most challenging places to live with pollen allergies in the U.S. are¹:
- Wichita, Kansas
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Greenville, South Carolina
- Dallas, Texas
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Climate change is also making it harder to clean the air.
The State of the Air report has historically highlighted the improvements in air quality resulting from initiatives like the Clean Air Act. These improvements have been driven by significant emissions reductions across key sectors, such as transportation, power generation and manufacturing.
Despite these achievements, recent iterations of the report have consistently highlighted a trend: Climate change is posing new and increasing challenges to the efforts aimed at protecting human health from air pollution.
The findings emphasize how a changing climate (including extreme heat, prolonged droughts and an uptick in wildfires) is intensifying air quality issues. This places millions of Americans at greater risk — with 39% living in places with unhealthy air — and complicates the efforts of states and cities across the nation trying to improve air quality.²
While air pollution is a pressing issue throughout the U.S., there are several cities that enjoy cleaner air.
The five U.S. cities with the cleanest air are²:
- Bangor, Maine
- Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia
- Lincoln-Beatrice, Nebraska
- Urban Honolulu, Hawaii
- Wilmington, North Carolina
Want to read the full State of the Air report? You can see how your city’s air pollution compares to the cleanest and dirtiest cities here (PDF, 2.1 MB).
Read the full Allergy Capitals report here (PDF, 3 MB).
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