Air Quality Improves in Dallas-Fort Worth, But It’s Still Among Most Polluted U.S. Cities, Report Finds

The air North Texans breathe has improved, but the ozone makes Dallas-Fort Worth one of the most polluted metropolitan areas in the U.S., according to the 2019 "State of the Air" report.The report, released this week, is produced annually by the American Lung Association and measures high ozone days, as well as short-term and long-term particle pollution. Across the U.S., the report found that air quality worsened in many cities, and that more than 43.4 percent of people in the U.S. live in counties with unhealthy air. In Dallas-Fort Worth, air quality got better — albeit not by much. In this year’s report, the area dropped to 17th on the list of most-polluted cities, one spot better compared with the 2018 report.At No. 9, Houston was the only Texas city to rank higher on the "most-polluted" list, according to the report. North Texas suffered through fewer days with unhealthy levels of ozone and lower year-round particle pollution, according to the report. For the recorded period, the area had no days when short-term particle pollution — days when smog levels spike — climbed to unhealthy levels. That made Dallas-Fort Worth one of the cleanest cities for short-term particle pollution, the report found.  Continue reading...