Study gives Columbus an ‘F’ in air pollution, says it’s the equivalent of smoking 136 cigarettes per year
Some of us in Cbus could have the lungs of a smoker even if we’ve never touched a cigarette.
According to a report by the American Lung Association, Columbus is coming in at the 54th worst city in the United States for air pollutants. Their “State of the Air” annual report looks at air pollution levels across the country, using letter grades to measure unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone air pollution (smog) and year-round and short-term spikes in particle pollution (soot) over a three-year period. So, this 2025 report is actually data collected from 2021 to 2023.
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Some startling findings came from this report, including “nearly half of the people living in the U.S. breathe unhealthy levels of air pollution.”
In Columbus particularly:
Ground-level Ozone Pollution in the Columbus metro area:
• Number of Unhealthy Days per Year: 1 day (1 day in 2024 report)
• Grade: C (C in 2024 report)
• National Ranking: 139th worst (79th worst in 2024 report)
Particle Pollution in the Columbus metro area:
• Number of Unhealthy Days Per Year: 4.2 days (0.3 days in 2024 report)
• Grade: F (B in 2024 report)
• National Ranking: 46th (124th worst in 2024 report)
Year-Round Average Level of Particle Pollution in Detroit metro area:
• Grade: Failing grade, pollution levels above the federal standard (passing grade in 2024 report)
• National Ranking: 54th worst (78th worst in 2024 report)
HouseFresh, an air purifying company, used the findings by the American Lung’s Association report to find that the amount of PM2.5 concentration in Columbus is the equivalent to smoking 136 cigarettes each year. They found that the city with the highest PM2.5 level is Boise, Idaho.
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