New Report: Raleigh-Durham’s Air Quality a Mixed Bag; Ozone Smog Increases, But Particle Pollution Remains Low

The American Lung Association’s 2024 “State of the Air” report, released today, found that while the Raleigh-Durham metro area set a new best-ever level for year-round particle pollution, levels of ozone smog increased. Nationally, the report found that more than 131 million people, or nearly four in ten people, in the U.S. live in counties that had unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution.

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 Raleigh-Durham still has work to do,” said Danna Thompson, Director of Advocacy for the American Lung Association in North Carolina. “Unfortunately, across the nation, there are more than 131 million people who live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution. “Climate change is making air pollution more likely to form and more difficult to clean up. So, there are actions we can and must take to improve air quality, such as calling on EPA to set long-overdue stronger national limits on ozone pollution.”

Ground-level Ozone Pollution in the Raleigh-Durham 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 Raleigh-Durham metro area ranked 116th worst in the nation for ozone pollution. The ranking was based on the area’s worst county’s average number of unhealthy days—0.3 days per year, a “B” grade, in Granville County. This was worse than 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 Raleigh-Durham metro area:
The report also tracked short-term spikes in particle pollution, which can be extremely dangerous and even deadly. The Raleigh-Durham metro area ranked 124th 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—0.3 days per year, a “B” grade, in Wake County. This was better than the area's ranking in last year's report of 118th worst, with 0.3 days per year, a “B” grade. 

For the year-round average level of particle pollution, the area’s worst county, Durham County, received a passing grade for pollution levels below the federal standard that was recently updated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The Raleigh-Durham metro area ranked 162nd worst in the nation. This was better than the area's ranking in last year's report of 112th worst in the nation.

Beyond Raleigh-Durham:
In addition to the Raleigh-Durham, other notable findings across North Carolina include:

• The Charlotte metro area’s air quality improved, earning its first-ever passing grade for ozone pollution and passing grades for particle pollution.
• The Wilmington metro area was ranked one of the cleanest cities in the nation for the 8th consecutive year.

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.