Albany-Schenectady, NY metro area Ranked Among the Cleanest Cities in the U.S. for Ozone Pollution, According to the 25th Annual ‘State of the Air’ Report

The Albany-Schenectady, NY metro area was named among the cleanest in the nation for ozone pollution for the second year in a row, according to the American Lung Association’s 2024 “State of the Air” report, which was released today. However, the report also found that the daily measure of particle pollution remains unchanged at “C” grade, tying for worst place (with New York-Newark metro area) in the Northeast region.

The Lung Association’s 25th annual “State of the Air” report grades exposure to unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone air pollution, annual particle pollution and short-term spikes in particle pollution over a three-year period. This year’s report includes air quality data from 2020-2022 and is updated to reflect the new annual particle pollution standard that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized in February.

“In the 25 years that the American Lung Association has been doing our ‘State of the Air’ report, we have seen incredible improvement in the nation’s air quality. Unfortunately, more than 131 million people still live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution, and Albany still has work to do,” said Trevor Summerfield, Director of Advocacy for the American Lung Association. “Climate change is making air pollution more likely to form and more difficult to clean up - and there are actions we can and must take to improve air quality, including and calling on EPA to set long-overdue stronger national limits on ozone pollution.”

Ground-level Ozone Pollution in the Albany-Schenectady, NY metro area: 
The “State of the Air” report looked at levels of ozone “smog,” the air pollutant affecting the largest number of people in the United States. The Albany-Schenectady, NY metro area ranked among the nation's cleanest cities for ozone pollution. The ranking was based on the area’s worst county’s average number of unhealthy days—0 days per year, an A grade, in Albany, New York. This was comparable to the area's ranking in last year's report among the nation's cleanest cities, with 0 days per year, an A grade.  

Particle Pollution in the Albany-Schenectady, NY metro area: 
The report also tracked short-term spikes in particle pollution, which can be extremely dangerous and even deadly. The Albany-Schenectady, NY metro area ranked 64th worst in the nation for short-term particle pollution. The ranking was based on the area’s worst county’s average number of unhealthy days—1.7 days per year, a C grade, in Albany, New York. This was worse than the area's ranking in last year's report of 66th worst, with 1.7 days per year, a C grade.  

For the year-round average level of particle pollution, the area’s worst county, Albany, received a passing grade for pollution levels below the federal standard that was recently updated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The Albany-Schenectady, NY metro area ranked 162nd worst in the nation. This was better than the area's ranking in last year's report of 150th worst in the nation. 

In addition to the Albany-Schenectady, NY metro area metro area, other notable findings across New York State include: 

• The New York-Newark metro area ranked 13th worst for ozone pollution in the nation and was ranked worst in Northeast region for all three pollutant measures.
• Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean, NY metro area was named 98th most polluted in the nation for ozone and 101 worst for particle pollution 
• The Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY metro area ranked among the nation's cleanest cities for short-term particle pollution 

The “State of the Air” report found that nationally, more than 131 million people live in an area that received a failing grade for at least one measure of air pollution, and 43.9 million people live in areas with failing grades for all three measures. In the three years covered by this report, individuals in the U.S. experienced the highest number of days when particle pollution reached “very unhealthy” and “hazardous” levels in the history of reporting the “State of the Air.” Communities of color are disproportionately exposed to unhealthy air and are also more likely to be living with one or more chronic conditions that make them more vulnerable to air pollution, including asthma, diabetes, and heart disease. The report 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.

Both ozone and particle pollution can cause premature death and other serious health effects such as asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, preterm births, and impaired cognitive functioning later in life. Particle pollution can also cause lung cancer. 

EPA recently finalized new air pollution rules that will help clean up particle pollution and address climate change. Now, the Lung Association is urging EPA to set long overdue stronger national limits on ozone pollution. Stronger limits would help people protect themselves and drive cleanup of polluting sources across the country. See the full report results and sign the petition at Lung.org/SOTA.

Get involved and help the mission of the American Lung Association. The LUNG FORCE Walk Hudson Valley is coming up on June 15th. Register today at lungforce.org/HudsonValley