A report from the American Lung Association shows a decline in air quality for Wichita and Sedgwick County.
The Association released its 2024 “State of the Air” report. It gives Sedgwick County a grade of C, compared to a B grade the previous year. It grades exposure to unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone pollution, annual particle pollution and short-term spikes in particle pollution over a three year period.
The report said wildfires in the western United States and Canada have been the major contributing factor in the increasing number of days and places with unhealthy levels of particle pollution over the past few years.
The Wichita metro area ranked 60th worst in the nation for ozone pollution, based on the area’s worst county average number of unhealthy days, two days per year. Last year’s ranking was 91st worst. The City of Wichita reported an air quality index of 189 in early April, and that was rated as “very unhealthy.” Smoke from range burning in the Flint Hills was the reason for the index.
Both ozone and particle pollution can cause premature death and other serious health effects such as asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, preterm births, and impaired cognitive functioning later in life. Particle pollution can also cause lung cancer.
The EPA recently finalized new air pollution rules that will help clean up particle pollution and address climate change. The Lung Association has been urging the EPA to set long overdue stronger national limits on ozone pollution. Stronger limits would help people protect themselves and drive cleanup of polluting sources across the country.
