A report released Tuesday reveals that Los Angeles has the most polluted air among large cities in the United States while San Diego fares considerably better.
The report by Switzerland-based IQAir analyzed the air at 6,475 locations worldwide during 2021 and found that in 97% of them pollution exceeded the World Health Organization‘s guidelines.
In the United States, Los Angeles ranked 2,034 with air pollution that exceeded the WHO standards by three to five times. For San Diego, the rank was 3,013 with pollution that exceeded the guidelines by two to three times.
“The country’s reliance on fossil fuels, increasing severity of wildfires, as well as varying enforcement of the Clean Air Act from administration to administration have all added to U.S. air pollution,” the report found.
The most polluted large cities were in Asia, with New Delhi ranking 4 and Beijing at 335.
Only 222 of the 6,475 locations analyzed met the WHO standards. In Southern California, only Yucca Valley, Twentynine Palms and Blythe were were in that category.
“Air pollution is now considered to be the world’s largest environmental health threat, accounting for seven million deaths around the world every year,” according to the report.
