Despite California’s reputation for groundbreaking clean-air rules, Greater Los Angeles is the smoggiest region in the nation — a dubious title it has earned in 24 out of 25 reports from the American Lung Assn. And the streak continues, as several Southland counties earned F grades for the 25th consecutive time from the group, which released its latest report Wednesday.
Since the turn of the century, Southern California air regulators have drastically diminished the dense clouds of lung-searing pollution that once hung over the region .
Between 1996 and 1998, Greater Los Angeles experienced around 230 days when ozone (a major component of smog) exceeded federal health standards. With well over 1 million electric vehicles on California roads and massive installations of renewable energy, the region saw 55 fewer unhealthy smog days on average between 2020 and 2022, the American Lung Assn. said in its 25th annual “State of the Air” report.
“Overall, the nation has made dramatic progress in reducing air pollution,” said Laura Kate Bender, an executive with the American Lung Assn. “Measures to clean up vehicles, power plants and other industry — led, in many cases, by California — [have] made major progress. But 25 years later, there are still far too many people living with unhealthy air.”