by Stanley Dunlap, Georgia Recorder, [This article first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, republished with permission]

April 23, 2025

The American Lung Association’s 2025 annual air quality index gives failing grades to Georgia’s population center for smog and air pollution.

The American Lung Association’s “State of the Air” report released Wednesday ranks Atlanta third worse in ozone pollution and fourth worse in year-round counts for particle pollution in the Southeast. The association’s annual report examines data during a three-year window from  2021 to 2023, a period during the transition out of a pandemic that had kept the roads clearer due to more people working from home.  

Atlanta’s grade also slips from a C to F for ground-level ozone pollution after recording 5.5 unhealthy days per year compared to 1.8 days in the 2024 report. 

Atlanta’s ozone emissions ranks 48th worst out of 228 cities across the country, which is the third worst metro area in Southeast. Atlanta ranked 67th worst nationally in the association’s 2024 findings.

The 2025 report issued Atlanta a failing grade for short-term spikes in particle pollution levels recorded above the federal standard. 

Atlanta, which received a failing grade in 2024, was ranked 34th worst out of 204 nationally and tied for fourth worst metro area in Southeast. 

The report measures levels of ozone, which is one of the components of smog that becomes worse during the summer as Georgia’s dog days set in. The program also tracks the amount of particle pollution emitted from industrial sources such as power plants.

Nearly half of the U.S. population live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution, the report says.

Danna Thompson, advocacy director for the lung association in Georgia, said that poor air quality, particularly caused by ozone, poses a health risk to children and the elderly, as well as people suffering with pre-existing conditions like asthma or heart disease.

She said it’s important that commuters help reduce emissions, especially in metropolitan areas where the amount of smog is affected by the number of cars and trucks traveling along roads and highways.

“When heading into higher temperatures in the summer in the South, we certainly really encourage people to consider taking and using other forms of transportation, whether it’s biking, walking, taking trains because cars and the trucking industry do impact air quality,” Thompson said.

According to the Atlanta Regional Commission, there has been a significant reduction in air pollution emissions since 2010. ARC publishes online transportation-related emissions data, which has included Environmental Protection Agency data since 2020.

According to the regional commission, transportation contributes about 10% of air pollution in the region, while power generation and manufacturing are also major sources of air pollution.

Thompson said the lung association is concerned about the potential rollback to Clean Air Act regulations that are designed to protect the public and environment.

Last week, the Trump administration’s EPA granted a two-year exemption  allowing several power plants across the nation, including Georgia Power’s coal-firing Plant Bowen and Plant Scherer, to bypass federal emission regulations for mercury and other air pollutants.

Thompson said it’s tough to determine what is the largest factor that changes the levels of pollution recorded on a year-to-year basis.  

Thompson said the report highlights the need for the EPA to set up more air quality monitors in Georgia since only 27 of 159 counties currently have the equipment used to measure how safe air is.

“It’s hard to pinpoint one factor that causes the air quality to to be worse,” she said. “The ozone is like a powerful oxidant. It’s like household bleach. When it’s inhaled, ozone damages the tissues in our respiratory tract.”

The 2025 American Lung Association report’s other notable findings for Georgia include Augusta ranking among cleanest in the nation for ozone smog while also tying for fourth worst in the Southeast for year-round level of particle pollution.

Savannah was dinged from an “A” to a “B” because of higher levels of ozone smog.

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.