Air quality in the country has seen a fluctuation over the last decade or so. It was improving between 2009-2016. However, this trend turned upside down in the year 2016. As per the National Bureau of Economic Research, there have been almost 10,000 deaths because of air pollution alone. Here, we will discuss some of the most air-polluted cities in the US.

1. Fresno-Madera in California
This part of California is among the most air-polluted cities in the US. It experiences constant lingering and persistent air pollution because of warm and stable weather fronts and valley walls. It is often ranked high as far as high ozone days are concerned out of 220 metropolitan areas.

2. Newark and Jersey City in New Jersey
These cities in New Jersey have a median and max AQI of 53 and 210, respectively. It has at least three days in a year which are hazardous or very unhealthy for the population. Apart from that, it has almost 206 days in a year, which are either unhealthy or just moderate for sensitive groups.

3. Fairbanks, Alaska
It was ranked as number one on the list of most air-polluted cities in the US in 2018. The highest contributors to pollution over here are wood heaters and wood stoves that residents utilize to keep their homes warm. Also, the community faces several cold inversions every winter. This city exhibits short-term and all-year-round particle pollution.

4. Los Angeles, California
This city in California is famous for the thick layers of smog that occur in the city year-round. One of the contributors to this smog is the high rate of community that owns cars. The surrounding mountains combine with temperature inversions to trap polluted air and, as such, create a natural pollution trap.

5. St. Louis, Missouri
While the city has 157 days every year where the general pollution receives good air quality, there are approximately 206 days during the year, which are either moderately unhealthy or completely unhealthy for sensitive groups. The most common pollutant in St. Louis, Illinois, is fine particulate matter that measures PM2.5.

6. Visalia, Portville, and Hanford in California
These towns in California are among the most air-polluted cities in the US. They are surrounded by high mountain ranges, which trap pollution. That is not the only contributor to pollution. Around the year, people burn a lot of residential wood, and there are a great number of trucks that pass through, which further adds to the pollution.

The above-mentioned list is alarming but at the same time presents an opportunity to the future generation to decrease air pollution by several means. The onus lies not only on these polluted states but also on those that do not exhibit this amount of air pollution to enhance their air quality further.