Smog worse in Raleigh, Durham compared to last year, 'State of the Air' report shows

The Raleigh and Durham metro area is seeing a slight increase in ozone smog, according to the American Lung Association's 25th annual "State of the Air" report.

Nearly four in 10 people across the country live in counties that experience unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution.

The ALA graded areas based on unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone pollution, as well as annual and short-term spikes in particle pollution over a three-year period. This year’s report includes air quality data from 2020-2022 and is updated to reflect the new annual particle pollution standard that the Environmental Protection Agency finalized in February.

“Climate change is making air pollution more likely to form and more difficult to clean up. So, there are actions we can and must take to improve air quality, such as calling on EPA to set long-overdue stronger national limits on ozone pollution,” said Danna Thompson, Director of Advocacy for the American Lung Association [ALA] in North Carolina.

Ozone pollution, often called smog, forms in the atmosphere when chemicals directly emitted from sources including vehicles and power plants react with heat and sunlight. This type of pollution impacts the largest number of Americans, according to the ALA.

Katherine Pruitt is the senior director for nationwide clean air policy with the American Lung Association and says ozone pollution can reduce the volume of air that the lungs can breath in and cause a shortness of breath. "It causes inflammation in your lungs, so we sometimes say breathing ozone is like getting a sunburn on your lungs," Pruitt said.

The Raleigh-Durham metro area ranked 116th worst in the nation for ozone pollution. The ranking was based on the area’s worst county’s average number of unhealthy days—0.3 days per year, a “B” grade, in Granville County. In last year's report, the area received an "A" grade and was among the nation's cleanest cities, with zero days per year.

While ozone pollution nationwide is better than it was two decades ago due to pollution-reduction technology and emissions regulations, but progress has started to plateau. Pruitt says ozone levels have started to tick up again in recent years, in part, due to climate change.

"Climate change is making the world hotter, including the Southeast, meaning more hot, sunny days," Pruitt said. "And hot, sunny days are the perfect cooker for ozone pollution."

Short-term spikes in particle pollution or soot an be extremely dangerous and even deadly. The Raleigh-Durham metro area ranked 124th worst in the nation for short-term particle pollution, according to the report. The ranking was based on the area’s worst county’s average number of unhealthy days—0.3 days per year or a “B” grade, in Wake County. This was better than the area's ranking in last year's report of 118th worst, with 0.3 days per year, a “B” grade.

"Unfortunately, more than 131 million people still live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution, and Raleigh-Durham still has work to do,” Thompson said.