Nearly half of US children are breathing dangerous levels of air pollution, report warns
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- American Lung Association reports 33.5 million U.S. children (46 % of those under 18) live in areas with at least one failing air‑quality grade.
- Will Barrett warns that developing lungs make children especially vulnerable, linking exposure to long‑term developmental harm and asthma.
- Communities of color are 2.42 times more likely than white communities to fail all three pollution measures, comprising 54.2 % of those in failing counties despite being 42.1 % of the population.
- Ozone exposure reached a six‑year high, affecting 38 % of the U.S. population (≈129.1 million people) between 2022‑2024, up 3.9 million from the prior year.
- Trump’s rollback of environmental protections is cited as a factor that will worsen the crisis, tying policy to the health data.
Why it matters: Children and families in polluted districts lose health; the 33.5 million affected will see higher asthma rates that will drive up healthcare spending and strain school resources.
