Americans have been living with questionable air quality longer than they know. However, recent fires in New Jersey have affected the AQI in the state and in areas across the New York City metro area, including in Long Island. A new report from the American Lung Association has sounded the alarm, and below, we’re breaking down everything we know about how the air quality affects almost everyone in the United States.
Why Is the Air Quality Bad?
Per an April 2025 “State of the Air” report from the American Lung Association, the poorer air quality in America can be attributed to a variety of reasons.
“Years of successful cleanup of emissions from transportation, energy generation and industrial processes have contributed to falling ozone levels across much of the country,” the report indicates. “Unfortunately, as was shown in 2023, one bad fire season has the potential to offset that progress, at least temporarily, creating new challenges for air pollution control efforts and putting the health of the communities affected at increased risk.”
The 2023 “bad fire” note from the report was referring to the Canadian wildfires that created a blanket of smoke over the Northeast and the Midwest in mid-2023.
Watch for hazy skies in #NYC. 🌫️ @GuyBrownWeather says an Air Quality Alert is in effect as smoke from a New Jersey wildfire drifts into the five boroughs. ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/8WS1Gv4cA2
— NY1 Weather (@NY1weather) April 24, 2025
“This year’s report shows the dramatic impact that air pollution has on a growing number of people,” ALA President and CEO Harold Wimmer said, according to USA Today. “Families across the U.S. are dealing with the health impacts of air pollution every day, and extreme heat and wildfires are making it worse. Air pollution is causing kids to have asthma attacks, making people who work outdoors sick, and leading to low birth weight in babies.”
In April 2025, New York City and Long Island residents reported poorer air quality, which resulted from the New Jersey fires.
Where Is the Air Quality Poor in the U.S.?
According to the Lung Association’s 2025 report, the top 10 metro areas across the U.S. that have the worst “daily particulate matter pollution” this year are the following: Bakersfield, California, Fairbanks, Alaska, Eugene-Springfield, Oregon, Visalia, California, Fresno-Madera-Hanford, California, Reno-Carson City-Gardnerville Ranchos, Nevada-California, Los Angeles-Long Beach, California, Yakima, Washington, Seattle-Tacoma, Washington, and Sacramento-Roseville, California.
In terms of the most polluted metro areas by “short-term particles” are the following areas: Eugene-Springfield, Oregon, Los Angeles-Long Beach, Sacramento-Roseville, Seattle-Tacoma, Washington, Reno-Carson City, Nevada, and Fairbanks, Alaska.
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