The American Lung Association has released its newest annual State of the Air report, and ranked the Philadelphia region’s air among the most polluted in the nation, writes Sophia Schmidt for WHYY.
According to the report, the Philadelphia-Reading–Camden statistical area is the nation’s 17th worst for its average particulate pollution level between 2022 and 2024.
This is a rather big jump from the region’s No. 26 rank in last year’s report.
Particulate pollution — which comes from dust, fires, and traffic — is known to cause lung and heart issues for many.
“The more days that people are exposed to bad air, the more likely they are to experience asthma attacks, to need medication, to go to the hospital, end up in emergency rooms,” said Kevin Stewart, director of environmental health for the American Lung Association. “Sometimes, people even die from air pollution.”
Philadelphia has notoriously high levels of pollution, with the dirtiest air out of all of the counties in the area. Furthermore, Philadelphia’s average annual level of particulate matter in Philadelphia exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s health-based standard.
According to Jim Garrow, spokesperson for the city’s Department of Public Health, smoke from New Jersey wildfires and the western U.S. increased Philadelphia’s particulate levels in 2024.
Read more about Philadelphia’s air quality level compared regionally and nationally at WHYY.
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on PHILADELPHIA.Today in May 2026.
