San Diego Named In U.S.’ Most Polluted Cities

The American Lung Association released its 'State of The Air' report and San Diego was named in the top 10!

Which city's air do you think is the most polluted in America?

#10 New York City, New York

The American Lung Association released its list of 10 most polluted cities in the U.S.A. The New York - Newark area was tenth.

Getty Photo Source: KENA BETANCUR / Stringer

#9 Red Bluff, California

California's Redding/Red Bluff area came in ninth. According to the report, Shasta and Tehama counties had unhealthy ozone days of 9.3 and 25.7 days, respectively.

Getty Photo Source: Justin Sullivan / Staff

#8 Phoenix, Arizona

Arizona's Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale region came in eighth, with Phoenix recently experiencing three consecutive high pollution advisory days.

Getty Photo Source:  AFP Contributor / Contributor

#7 Modesto, California

The San Joaquin Valley's city of Modesto was seventh. Efforts to combat air pollution include restricting fireplace burning to specific days.

Photo Source:  By Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA (Modesto, California) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

#6 San Diego, California

The San Diego metro area had a 42% increase in total number of unhealthy ozone pollution days since 2015. While clean car standards are effective, rising temperatures are increasing the frequency of ozone days.

Getty Photo Source:  Sandy Huffaker / Stringer

#5 Sacramento, California 

Some Sacramento regions have experienced an average increase of 9 bad ozone days, with per annum days totaling nearly one month.

Getty Photo Source: David Paul Morris / Stringer

#4 Fresno, California

In one of its west side neighborhoods, where freeways, agriculture, and industry commingle, air pollution has proven particularly troublesome.

Clotee Pridgen Alloc… [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

#3 Visalia, California

The city of Visalia, with thousands of trucks traveling daily on the adjacent Highway 99, suffers from particulate and smog air pollution.

Getty Photo Source: David McNew / Stringer

#2 Bakersfield, California

With a strong petroleum industry presence, Bakersfield's air pollution is exacerbated by agriculture, rail freight, and automobile emissions.

Getty Photo Source: FREDERIC J. BROWN / Staff

#1 Los Angeles, California

La La Land tops the list for American cities with the most harmful ozone pollution. A recent study indicated that 53% of urban air pollution may come from consumer products such as hair spray and cleaning agents.

Getty Photo Source: MARK RALSTON / Staff

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