Did you know air quality in the D.C. area is ranked as one of the worst in the country?
The American Lung Association recently released it’s 2024 “State of the Air” report — it breaks down the amount of exposure to clean air days, particle pollution, and unhealthy levels of ozone air pollution impacting the region.
The results? Dr. Amit “Bobby” Mahajan, a spokesperson for the association, said “we’re still not doing that great” when it comes to air pollution.
“You know, ozone smog, we’re still an F grade. We’re still seeing a C grade for pollution,” he said. “Now, that being said, we’re doing better than we did do in the past.”
The D.C. area did have less short-term particle pollution and ground-level ozone pollution compared to the association’s report last year, which slightly improved the area’s national rankings for both categories.
Nationally, the report found that more than 131 million people live in an area with a failing grade for at least one measure of air pollution.
Mahajan pointed out how the Canadian wildfires may be partially to blame for last year’s worst air quality periods in the D.C. area.
“We saw a number of wildfires over the summer and the spring which pushed a lot of particle pollution down the mid-Atlantic into our area… And on certain days, you could see it outside, that it was very dense,” Mahajan said.
The report also highlighted how the District adopted more healthy air policies in 2023, including regulations mandating that every new car registered in the D.C. region will have to be a zero-emission vehicle by 2035.
Mahajan told WTOP there has been more attention on lung health than ever before, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mahajan’s advised those who are affected by air pollution to keep wearing masks outside during a bout of bad air quality.
“You kind of enhance the use of masks, just when you’re going outside on some of those days when it’s worse,” he said. “If someone does have or feels their emphysema or asthma is getting worse, contact your physician early. Let them know you are having some underlying issues.”
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