SLC-Provo-Orem still among worst metros for ozone pollution
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The Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem area is the ninth-worst U.S. metro for ozone pollution, according to the American Lung Association's 2025 State of the Air report.
Why it matters: Inhaling ground-level ozone, more commonly known as smog, has been described as a "sunburn of the lungs" and may trigger symptoms like shortness of breath, coughing and asthma, per the report.
- It may also reduce life expectancy.
The latest: The findings come as the White House is rolling back U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules and regulations meant to curb pollution and promote cleaner air.
Zoom in: Transportation, industrial facilities, and oil and gas production are major emission sources in the state, per the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah.
Yes, but: Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill last month to end a program that allowed certain employees to work from home if the air quality was bad that day, Utah News Dispatch reported.
- State officials said the program, which ends in May, did not move the needle on the number of cars on the road during those days, according to the Dispatch.
The big picture: Nearly half of Americans are exposed to potentially dangerous levels of air pollution, the report shows.
- Three California metros — Los Angeles, Visalia and Bakersfield — lead the lung association's rankings.
- Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem's ranking remains unchanged from last year's report.
By the numbers: Just over 156 million Americans — 46% of the population — live in areas with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution, per the report.
- That's almost 25 million more than in the previous report and the highest number in the past decade.
Between the lines: Extreme heat, wildfires and drought are degrading air quality nationwide, the lung association says. All have been linked to climate change.
How it works: The report uses local air quality data to grade and rank locations based on ozone pollution, daily particle pollution and annual particle pollution.
- The report includes data from 2021-2023.
The bottom line: "Clearly, we need to do more to control the pollutants that are impacting our changing climate and worsening the factors that go into the wildfires and the extreme heat events that are threatening our health, instead of thinking about how to roll them back," says Katherine Pruitt, senior director of nationwide clean air policy at the American Lung Association and report author.