Downtown Southfield in  a haze caused by the smoke from the Canadian wildfires in 2023.
Downtown Southfield in a haze caused by the smoke from the Canadian wildfires in 2023. Stock photo.
Modified Green Text Box with List
  • According to the new report, Detroit and Wayne County experienced increased particulate matter and ozone levels.
  • Air pollution driven by climate change has intensified due to wildfires, eroding prior environmental progress.
  • More than 11.7 million more people now live with unhealthy air conditions across the U.S.

A new report on U.S. air quality shows metro Detroit performing poorly when it comes to annual PM 2.5 or fine particulate matter pollution, while the Grand Rapids area deals with high levels of ozone.

The American Lung Association’s annual State of the Air Report says that the climate crisis is worsening air pollution, with wildfires and heat increasing ozone and particulate matter pollution, erasing some of the progress made since the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970. 

Detroit has seen an increase in PM 2.5 pollution in recent years, reflecting this national trend as well as the disproportionate harm that communities of color suffer from air pollution. These fine particulates are 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair and can travel deep into the lungs and bloodstream.

The study only examined data between 2000 and 2022, so it doesn’t account for the historic wildfire smoke in 2023, which made Midwestern cities like Columbus, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Detroit the worst in the nation for particulate matter pollution.

Katherine Pruitt, national senior director for policy at the American Lung Association, said the trend of increasing poor air quality days is expected to intensify in next year’s report, reflecting the 2023 Canadian wildfires that blanketed the heavily populated eastern U.S. with smoke.

The 2024 report ranked the metro Detroit area 13th among the 25 cities most polluted by annual particulate matter. Grand Rapids was 25th among those most affected by ozone.

Ozone pollution can cause respiratory problems and increase the frequency of asthma attacks, while PM 2.5 is linked to cardiopulmonary problems and premature mortality.

“Wildfires in the western United States and Canada remain the major contributing factor to the increasing number of days and places with unhealthy levels of particle pollution in recent years,” the report says. It notes a record number of days designated as very “unhealthy” or “hazardous,” with 135 and 79, respectively. The government Air Quality Index defines unhealthy days as a risk to members of the public and hazardous days as an emergency where everyone is likely to be affected.

The State of the Air report shows the dramatic increase in poor air quality days nationwide over the last decade. Via American Lung Association “State of the Air” report.

The report found that 11.7 million more people were living with unhealthy air compared to the previous year. However, this partially reflects the adoption of the Environmental Protection Agency’s new standard for annual PM 2.5 under the Clean Air Act, which reduced the allowable level by 25%.

State of the Air finds high levels of ozone and particulate matter in Detroit

All 25 cities most affected by high daily PM 2.5 levels were located west of the Mississippi, reflecting the impact of wildfire smoke. Detroit was among a handful of eastern cities in the top 25 for annual PM 2.5 levels.

Pruitt noted that particulate matter pollution in Detroit has been climbing for several years. The area’s most recent annual concentration of 11.7 micrograms per cubic meter was above the EPA’s new standard of 9 µg/m3.

Pruitt said annual levels have generally reflected industrial and transportation pollution, whereas high daily levels are more likely to indicate events like wildfires.

According to the report, short-term particulate pollution is more likely to lead to acute problems like increased mortality in infants, heart attacks and strokes, or hospital admissions for COPD or asthma attacks. Year-round PM 2.5 pollution is associated with impacts like preterm birth and low birth weight, childhood asthma, lung cancer and impaired cognitive function. However, Pruitt said that both short-term and long-term exposure were linked to many of the same problems.

Ozone pollution also continues to be an issue in Michigan, especially on the west side of the state, where emissions from vehicles and industry, heat and evaporation from Lake Michigan help drive ozone formation. Yet, Pruitt said the overall situation was much better than when the American Lung Association first began issuing these reports 25 years ago.

“It really jumps out at me, the improvement that’s been made over time,” she said. In 2020, Ohio had 27 counties with failing grades for ozone, indicating they generally had enough days of poor air quality to place them in nonattainment for the national ozone standard. In the most recent report, there were just four. 

Michigan also saw declines from 15 counties with failing grades in 2020 to eight in 2023. Unfortunately, metro Detroit remains a hot spot for this ozone pollution, with Wayne and Macomb counties receiving failing grades.

Addressing environmental injustice and lowering the ozone standard

Pruitt said more needs to be done to address “sacrifice zones” or areas with vulnerable populations who are exposed to high levels of air pollution where industry has concentrated. The State of the Air report found that in the most polluted counties with failing grades for all measures of air pollution, people of color made up 63% of the population, although they are just 41.6% of the overall population.

Some efforts are being made to address the concentration of heavy industry in communities of color, like New Jersey’s cumulative impact law that restricts permits for new facilities or expansions in overburdened communities. Pruitt said lowering the standard for ozone pollution could also help protect people across the nation. The American Lung Association is calling for a standard that lowers the allowable ozone level from 70 parts per billion to 60 ppb.

The report also notes that the Biden administration has made significant progress toward addressing air pollution recently by updating particle pollution standards, addressing leaks from oil and gas production facilities, and improving pollution standards for cars, trucks, and buses.

“The EPA has made a lot of progress on the wish list that the current administration came into office with,” Pruitt said.


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Brian Allnutt is a senior reporter and contributing editor at Planet Detroit. He covers the climate crisis, environmental justice, politics and open space.