Birmingham ranked 4th worst in Southeast for ozone pollution, new ALA report says

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Air quality in the United States has worsened since last year, with some places in the Gulf South showing drastic decreases, according to the American Lung Association’s “State of the Air 2025” report.

The ALA analyzed the amount of ozone and particle pollution in the air throughout the U.S. from 2021 to 2023 using data provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the report, which was released Wednesday.

For particle pollution, the ALA examined both short-term spikes in pollution, which can still be dangerous, and the year-round average level of particle pollution.

A few areas in the Gulf South received failing grades. Here is an overview of our region:

Alabama

The Birmingham metro area received an “F” grade for ozone pollution, down from a “C” grade in last year’s report. It was also ranked fourth worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution.

“We know that we’ve had extreme heat and wildfires that are contributing to worsening air quality across the country, certainly across the Southeast,” Ashley Lyerly, director of advocacy for the ALA, said.

Birmingham’s “B” grade for short-term particle pollution wasn’t much different than last year’s, but the area did have a failing grade for year-round particle pollution for having levels that were above the national standard.

The Mobile metro area also saw worsened ozone smog levels, with its grade dropping to a “B.” However, it was listed for the 15th consecutive year among the nation’s cleanest for daily particle pollution.

The Montgomery metro area is among the nation’s cleanest for ozone pollution and short-term particle pollution.

Louisiana

New Orleans’ levels of ozone and particle pollution both worsened compared to last year’s report, but still managed to receive a passing grade for particle pollution compared to the federal standard.

“We did see more unhealthy days in the New Orleans metro area,” Lyerly said.

Elsewhere in Louisiana, the Baton Rouge metro area tied for worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution, with ozone smog worsening since last year.

Other areas in the state did rank higher.

“For short-term particle pollution, we did see that Jefferson Parish was among the cleanest,” Lyerly said. The parish received a “B” grade.

Meanwhile, the Monroe metro area was listed among the nation’s cleanest for ozone smog for the 11th year in a row.

Mississippi

The Jackson metro area once again received a failing grade for year-round particle pollution, ranking as the 54th worst metro area out of 204. This is, however, an improvement since last year, when the area ranked 29th worst.

In metropolitan areas, particle pollution is often due to a variety of causes, such as industry and transportation.

“People are using their vehicles, which are causing vehicle emissions, diesel trucks and other cars, heavy-duty cars that are contributing to the unhealthy air quality,” said Lyerly.

Jackson’s ozone pollution also worsened, going from a grade of “A” to a “B” grade with an average of .07 unhealthy days a year.

Not all areas in the state had failing grades. The Gulfport-Biloxi area was listed among the nation’s cleanest for daily particle pollution for the third year in a row, though its grade worsened from a “B” to a “C.” The Tupelo metro area also received a “B” for ozone smog, down from its usual grade of “A.”

Recommended actions

According to the ALA, the combined emissions of six key air pollutants, which includes ozone and fine particle matter, has fallen by 78% since the passage of the 1970 Clean Air Act.

Despite decades of improvement, the “State of the Air” report found that nearly 25 million more people are living with poor air quality than last year, bringing it up to over 156 million people — or 46% of Americans — who live in places with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution.

This year, ALA is advocating for people to support and protect the EPA, which plays a vital role in improving air quality.

“If we don’t, we know that regulations may be removed and the air quality that we see and experience today, which is still unhealthy, could potentially get worse,” Lyerly said.

Lyerly pointed to what air quality was like before the passage of the federal Clean Air Act and other standards.

“If you live in the Birmingham area or even really anywhere in the Southeast, if you’re around in the 1960’s… You might have remembered walking outside and seeing that the air was not clear — because of pollution,” Lylerly said.

Without those protections, Lylerly said air quality could potentially worsen.

The ALA also recommended defending EPA rules that were designed to strengthen air quality, such as:

• Stronger annual fine particulate matter pollution standards 
• EPA rules to clean up methane and other air pollutants from the oil and gas industry 
• Stronger standards for future cars
• Stronger carbon pollution limits on future trucks and buses
• Limit is on carbon emissions from future gas-fired plants, current coal-fired plants and some current gas plants 

You can read the ALA’s full report here.

This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Alabama, WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana and NPR.