The American Lung Association’s “State of the Air 2025” report has awarded San Juan, Puerto Rico, an A for air quality. In fact, Sean Juan showed 0.0 high-ozone days and 0.0 particle pollution (in a 24 hour measurement). The American Lung Association uses three different metrics to judge air cleanliness, and this year there were only two cities that made the cleanest cities lists for all three criteria: San Juan and Bangor, Maine.
Last year, there were five cities in that group. This year, nearly half of all Americans live in areas that received a failing grade on at least one of the three measures. The three measures are for ozone (smog), particle pollution (soot) measured over 24 hours, and spikes in particle pollution over the course of a year.
Why does air quality matter?
Poor air quality has health effects on people, including increased rates of asthma and respiratory infections as well as heart disease and stroke. Air pollution is also associated with higher rates of cancer and dementia. Birth defects are more common in areas with poor air quality as well.
What’s causing worsening air quality?
Wildfires and excessive heat are the causes of the drop in air quality across the nation. Both are associated with climate change. Wildfires obviously release smoke and soot into the air, putting cities on the West Coast in top spots on the list of dirtiest cities. However, wildfires in Canada also affected air quality in the midwest in recent years.
Extreme heat increases smog. Chemical reactions among pollutants are sped up by the heat, making thicker layers of smog that are harder to disperse. Since air during heat waves is more likely to be stagnant, there is also less wind to cause dispersal.
At the same time, pollution increases heat through climate change, and climate change increases the number and severity of wildfires. Thus, climate change and pollution create a vicious circle, each increasing the other.
Climate change is a serious problem for Puerto Rico. San Juan deserves kudos for keeping clean in spite of it.
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