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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Nina Lakhani

Nearly 120 million people in US exposed to unhealthy levels of soot and smog – report

Downtown Los Angeles covered with smog from numerous fires burning in California in 2021.
Downtown Los Angeles covered with smog from numerous fires burning in California in 2021. Photograph: Étienne Laurent/EPA

The climate crisis has upended progress on improving air quality, with one in three Americans currently living in areas with harmful levels of pollutants known to increase the risk of medical emergencies, pregnancy complications and premature death, new research reveals.

Almost 120 million people in the US are still exposed to unhealthy levels of soot and smog, according to the annual report by the American Lung Association (ALA), which found that people of color are almost four times more likely to live in the most polluted places than white Americans.

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