Individuals have been dwelling with questionable air high quality longer than they know. Nonetheless, latest fires in New Jersey have affected the AQI within the state and in areas throughout the New York Metropolis metro space, together with in Lengthy Island. A brand new report from the American Lung Affiliation has sounded the alarm, and beneath, we’re breaking down every thing we find out about how the air high quality impacts nearly everybody in the US.
Why Is the Air High quality Dangerous?
Per an April 2025 “State of the Air” report from the American Lung Affiliation, the poorer air high quality in America may be attributed to a wide range of causes.
“Years of profitable cleanup of emissions from transportation, power technology and industrial processes have contributed to falling ozone ranges throughout a lot of the nation,” the report signifies. “Sadly, as was proven in 2023, one unhealthy hearth season has the potential to offset that progress, at the least quickly, creating new challenges for air air pollution management efforts and placing the well being of the communities affected at elevated threat.”
The 2023 “unhealthy hearth” notice from the report was referring to the Canadian wildfires that created a blanket of smoke over the Northeast and the Midwest in mid-2023.
Look ahead to hazy skies in #NYC. 🌫️ @GuyBrownWeather says an Air High quality Alert is in impact as smoke from a New Jersey wildfire drifts into the 5 boroughs. ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/8WS1Gv4cA2
— NY1 Climate (@NY1weather) April 24, 2025
“This 12 months’s report exhibits the dramatic impression that air air pollution has on a rising variety of individuals,” ALA President and CEO Harold Wimmer mentioned, in response to USA As we speak. “Households throughout the U.S. are coping with the well being impacts of air air pollution each day, and excessive warmth and wildfires are making it worse. Air air pollution is inflicting youngsters to have bronchial asthma assaults, making individuals who work outside sick, and resulting in low delivery weight in infants.”
In April 2025, New York Metropolis and Lengthy Island residents reported poorer air high quality, which resulted from the New Jersey fires.
The place Is the Air High quality Poor within the U.S.?
In response to the Lung Affiliation’s 2025 report, the highest 10 metro areas throughout the U.S. which have the worst “each day particulate matter air pollution” this 12 months are the next: Bakersfield, California, Fairbanks, Alaska, Eugene-Springfield, Oregon, Visalia, California, Fresno-Madera-Hanford, California, Reno-Carson Metropolis-Gardnerville Ranchos, Nevada-California, Los Angeles-Lengthy Seaside, California, Yakima, Washington, Seattle-Tacoma, Washington, and Sacramento-Roseville, California.
By way of the most polluted metro areas by “short-term particles” are the next areas: Eugene-Springfield, Oregon, Los Angeles-Lengthy Seaside, Sacramento-Roseville, Seattle-Tacoma, Washington, Reno-Carson Metropolis, Nevada, and Fairbanks, Alaska.