Philly gets failing grades for air pollution that makes asthma worse

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Philadelphia received straight “F’s” for air quality in the American Lung Association’s annual assessment of the nation’s air pollution, highlighting levels of common pollutants that exacerbate asthma and can even trigger heart attacks.

For particulate pollution, Philly’s grade declined from last year’s report — reflecting what the association called “worsening levels of air pollution across much of the U.S.”

“Citizens of Philly and the surrounding area need to be more aware than ever that their air is polluted, and that it’s having very real impacts on their health,” said Dr. Hari Shankar, a pulmonary critical care physician and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Failing grades for pollutants that worsen asthma

Philly was one of 17 Pennsylvania counties that received an F grade for particle pollution in the American Lung Association’s latest annual State of the Air report. The rating is based on the city experiencing more than five days of unhealthy levels of particle pollution on average per year from 2021 through 2023. The pollutant comes from sources including construction sites, fires, vehicles and power plants. It can aggravate asthma and other lung issues, and is even linked with heart attacks.

“It can lead to higher rates of heart disease, it can lead to elevated blood pressure as well as a variety of other long-term effects,” Shankar said.

The Philly metro area ranked 30th worst in the country for short-term particulate pollution and third worst in the Mid-Atlantic region.

“That’s really serious,” Stewart said.

The city also received a failing grade for ground-level ozone pollution, which can inflame airways, make asthma attacks more likely and leave lungs more vulnerable to infections. The city saw on average more than six days per year of unhealthy ground-level ozone levels between 2021 and 2023, according to the report. The pollutant forms from chemicals released by vehicles and industrial facilities.

Young children and elderly people, as well as pregnant people and those with underlying heart or lung diseases are most likely to experience adverse health impacts from poor air quality.

“Even one bad air day can be one bad air day too many for someone in a high-risk group,” Stewart said.