Some Americans are breathing dirtier air than they were a decade ago, says a new study from researchers at the American Lung Association. For the study the ALA researchers studied the levels of pollution in air in 1,000 U.S. cities between 2009 and 2011.
Of the 25 most polluted cities half were found to have improved in the last ten years while the other have fell backwards. In total, 254 counties were found to have unhealthy levels of ozone and pollution in their air:
"The long-term trend is positive and headed to much cleaner air," said report author Janice Nolen, assistant vice president of national policy and advocacy for the American Lung Association. "[However], there is an uptick in some areas that are a concern and some areas where the problem remains very, very serious."
Some of the worst offenders were California cities as well as Houston, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Cincinnati, New York City and Washington, D.C.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.