New Report: Jacksonville’s Air Quality Worsens; Residents Exposed to More Ozone Smog and Daily Particle Pollution

According to the American Lung Association’s “State of the Air” report, released today, air quality in the Jacksonville metro area has worsened. Residents are being exposed to more unhealthy ozone smog and daily 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 pollution, also known as “smog,” and particle pollution, also known as “soot,” over a three-year period (2021-2023). Findings for the Jacksonville metro area include:

• Ground-level Ozone Pollution:
  • Number of Unhealthy Days per Year: 0.3 days (0 days in 2024 report)
  • Grade: B (A in 2024 report)
  • National Ranking: 165th worst out of 228 (tied for 1st cleanest in 2024 report)
• Short-Term Spikes in Particle Pollution:
  • Number of Unhealthy Days Per Year: 0.3 days (0 days in 2024 report)
  • Grade: B (A in 2024 report)
  • National Ranking: 177th worst out of 223 (124th worst in 2024 report)
• Year-Round Average Level of Particle Pollution:
  • Grade: Passing grade, pollution levels below the federal standard (passing grade in 2024 report)
  • National Ranking: 134th 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 Jacksonville 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 Ashley Lyerly, senior director of advocacy at the Lung Association in Florida. “We urge Florida 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, Floridians 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 Jacksonville metro area, other notable findings across Florida include:

• The Miami metro area posted mixed results, with improved levels of year-round particle pollution, but worsened levels of ozone smog (“B” grade) and daily particle pollution (“C” grade).
• Both ozone and daily particle pollution worsened slightly in the Orlando metro area, with grades for both pollutants dropping from “A’s” to “B’s.” Levels of year-round particle pollution improved.
• Air quality in the Tallahassee metro area remained unchanged. It ranked among the cleanest in the nation for ozone pollution and recorded its new best-ever level of year-round particle pollution at 166th worst in the nation.
• Ozone and daily particle pollution levels in the Tampa metro area remained consistent (a “C” and “B” grade, respectively). Levels of year-round particle pollution improved.

“We’re encouraging Floridians to join our efforts and take action for clean air,” said Winton Mays, chair of the Lung Association’s North Florida 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 Florida, only 35 out of 67 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.

In this year’s “State of the Air” report, 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.