The American Lung Association released its 2025 State of the Air Report Cards for cities and counties in the United States. The report looked at high ozone days, 24-hour particle pollution and annual average rates of particle pollution. Cuyahoga County and the Cleveland-Akron-Canton metropolitan area received a failing grade in all three categories. The grades of F in all three categories are based on the number of unhealthy air days for either ozone pollution or particle pollution. The data from the report is for the three-year period from 2021 to 2023.

     In its report, the American Lung Association includes population statistics and the number of people in at risk groups. According to the report Cuyahoga County has a population of 1,233,088 people. At risk groups include: 250, 704 children under the age of eighteen; 247,380 adults ages 65 or older; 16,980 children with pediatric asthma; 108,355 adults with asthma; 78,178 individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD); 755 people with lung cancer; 97,180 people with cardiovascular disease; 13,571 pregnant women; 193,220 people estimated to be living in poverty; and 524,954 people of color.

     The American Lung Association also looked at metropolitan areas for pollution levels.

     The Cleveland-Akron-Canton metropolitan area ranked 50th worst for high ozone areas among 228 metropolitan areas.  This ranking was based on 5.3 unhealthy days.

     The Cleveland-Akron-Canton metropolitan area ranked 46^th worse for 24-hour particle pollution out of 225 metropolitan areas. This was based on 4.2 unhealthy days.

     The Cleveland-Akron-Canton metropolitan area ranked 9^th worse for year-round average particle pollution out of 208 metropolitan areas.

     “The air pollutants covered in this report are widespread and can impact anyone’s health. Both ozone and particle pollution can cause premature death and other serious health effects such as asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes, preterm births, and impaired cognitive functioning later in life. Particle pollution can also cause lung cancer,” said Kezia Ofosu Atta, Advocacy Director for the Lung Association in Ohio.

     “Unfortunately, too many people in Cleveland are living with unhealthy levels of ozone and particle pollution. This air pollution is causing kids to have asthma attacks, making people who work outdoors sick and unable to work, and leading to low birth weight in babies. We urge Ohio policymakers to take action to improve our air quality.”

     The “State of the Air” report found that 156 million people in the U.S. (46%) live in an area that received a failing grade for at least one measure of air pollution and 42.5 million people live in areas with failing grades for all three measures. The report also found that a person of color in the U.S. is more than twice as likely as a white individual to live in a community with a failing grade on all three pollution measures. Notably, Hispanic individuals are nearly three times as likely as white individuals to live in a community with three failing grades. To view the full report, visit Lung.org/sota.