New Report: Charlotte’s Air Quality Worsens; Residents Exposed to More Air Pollution

According to the American Lung Association’s “State of the Air” report, released today, air quality in the Charlotte metro area has worsened. Residents are being exposed to more unhealthy ozone smog and particle pollution. Additionally, the report found that nearly half of the U.S. population live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution. Extreme heat and wildfires contributed to worsening air quality in much of the country.

The Lung Association’s 26th annual “State of the Air” report grades exposure to unhealthy levels of ozone, also known as “smog,” and particle pollution, also known as “soot,” over a three-year period (2021-2023). Findings for the Charlotte metro area include:

• Ground-level Ozone Pollution:
  • Number of Unhealthy Days per Year: 2.7 days (1 day in 2024 report)
  • Grade: D (C in 2024 report)
  • National Ranking: 79th worst out of 228 (79th worst in 2024 report)
• Short-Term Spikes in Particle Pollution:
  • Number of Unhealthy Days Per Year: 1.3 days (1 day in 2024 report)
  • Grade: C (C in 2024 report)
  • National Ranking: 125th worst out of 223 (85th worst in 2024 report)
• Year-Round Average Level of Particle Pollution:
  • Grade: Failing grade, pollution levels above the federal standard (passing grade in 2024 report)
  • National Ranking: 59th worst out of 204 (84th worst in 2024 report)

Ozone and particle pollution are widespread and can impact anyone’s health. Both pollutants can cause premature death and other serious health effects such as asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes, preterm births and impaired cognitive functioning later in life. Particle pollution can also cause lung cancer.

“Unfortunately, too many people in the Charlotte metro area are living with unhealthy levels of ozone and particle pollution. This air pollution is a threat to human health at every stage of life—increasing the risk of premature birth and low birth weight in babies to causing or worsening lung and heart disease to shortening lives,” said Danna Thompson, director of advocacy for the Lung Association in North Carolina. “We urge North Carolina policymakers to take action to improve our air quality, and we are calling on everyone to support the incredibly important work of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Without EPA staff and programs, North Carolinians won’t know what’s in the air they’re breathing, and efforts to clean up air pollution will be undone”

In addition to the Charlotte metro area, other notable findings across North Carolina include:

• Both daily and year-round particle pollution levels worsened in the Raleigh-Durham metro area, with the grade for daily particle pollution dropping from a “B” to a “C.”
• The Wilmington metro area is listed among the nation’s cleanest for ozone smog and year-round particle pollution. Daily particle pollution increased, dropping its grade from an “A” to a “B.”
• While the Asheville metro area is ranked among the nation’s cleanest cities for short-term particle pollution, it experienced worsening ozone smog, with its grade dropping from a “B” to a “C.”

“We’re encouraging North Carolinians to join our efforts and take action for clean air,” said Elaine Loyack, advocacy chair of the Lung Association’s North Carolina Leadership Board. “Make your voice heard by signing the Lung Association’s petition at Lung.org/sota. Because, when you can’t breathe, nothing else matters.”

The “State of the Air” report relies on data from air quality monitors managed by state, local and Tribal air pollution control authorities in counties across the U.S. In North Carolina, only 34 out of 100 counties could be graded for at least one measure of air quality. This underscores the need for more monitors and access to air quality data so that people and communities can take measures to safeguard their health. 

On a national level, the “State of the Air” report found that 156 million people in the U.S. (46%) live in an area that received a failing grade for at least one measure of air pollution. 42.5 million people live in areas with failing grades for all three measures. The report also found that a person of color in the U.S. is more than twice as likely as a white individual to live in a community with a failing grade on all three pollution measures. Notably, Hispanic individuals are nearly three times as likely as white individuals to live in a community with three failing grades.

The Lung Association is calling on everyone to support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA is essential to protecting people’s health from ozone and particle pollution. Join the American Lung Association in advocating to protect EPA’s expert staff and lifesaving programs. See the full report results and take action at Lung.org/sota.