Nearly half of US children are breathing dangerous levels of air pollution, report warns

Key Points:

• Nearly half of children in the US (33.5 million) live in areas with dangerous air pollution levels, with 10% exposed to failing grades across all pollution measures, according to the American Lung Association's 27th annual air quality report.
• Communities of color face disproportionate exposure to unhealthy air, making them more vulnerable to chronic conditions like asthma and heart disease; people of color are 2.42 times more likely than white people to live in areas failing all pollution measures.
• Smog (ground-level ozone) affects 38% of the US population, marking the highest exposure in six years, driven by factors such as extreme heat, drought, wildfires, and climate change which intensify ozone pollution.
• Datacenters are emerging as a growing source of pollution due to their heavy reliance on fossil-fuel-based electricity grids and diesel backup generators, with their electricity consumption projected to rise significantly over the next decade.
• Environmental rollbacks by the Trump administration and the current EPA, including weakened pollution standards and relaxed regulations on power plants and oil and gas facilities, are raising concerns about worsening air quality and public health risks.