The "State of the Air" across the cities of Albany and Schenectady is "unhealthy." That’s according to new data presented in the American Lung Association's 2025 report.
Since 2000, the American Lung Association has evaluated data from air quality monitors to put together its “State of the Air” report, handing out grades based on levels of ozone, year-round particle pollution, and short-term particle pollution.
The latest “State of the Air” report lists the Albany-Schenectady metro area as 73rd most polluted in the nation for particle pollution, also showing an increase in ozone pollution.
Nationally, the report finds that 156 million people, nearly half the population, are living in areas that had unhealthy levels of air pollution.
Michael Seilback serves as Assistant Vice President for nationwide advocacy for the American Lung Association. He says the report finds local air is dirtier due to the impacts of climate change.
"We saw in the Capital Region that air quality worsened," said Seilback. "We saw in Albany, for example, we went from a C grade, which wasn't great, to a D grade when it comes to particle pollution and when it comes to ozone pollution, both Albany and Saratoga's grades worsened from an A to a B. This year's report, you know, includes that time where our region was affected by the Canadian wildfires, and what we saw with our own eyes, was what it looks like when your sky is literally changing color due to the pollutants that are in the air and unfortunately are being breathed into our lungs."
Seilback says the combustion of wood in the wildfires enhances formation of ozone gas, contributing to worsening air quality at a time when we've been moving steadily toward cleaner air.
Dr. David Hill, a pulmonologist and chairperson of the National Board for the American Lung Association, says the worsening air pollution in the Albany area exacerbates asthma and lung disease. Hill also notes a rise in lung cancer in non-smokers, linked to air pollution.
"In women, about 25% of lung cancers are never-smokers. In men, it's about 20%. And air pollution is associated with that, and we know from prior severe air pollution episodes that there can be long-term consequences to the health of the community from episodes where there are spikes in particle pollution, like we saw during those Canadian wildfires a couple years ago. So it's too soon to know, but the anticipation is these events are going to lead to lung disease in the general population," said Hill.
Seilback says he's hoping the report strikes a chord with local, state and federal agencies to continue enforcing laws and regulations applying to air pollution.
"We saw that people of color are more than twice as likely as white people to live in a community with a failing grade on all three pollution measures. And we believe that this year's report shows that air pollutants are widespread, and can impact everyone's health. We want to make sure that decision makers understand that ozone and particle pollution can impact people's health in many ways, not just lung health, but heart attacks, strokes, premature births and impaired cognitive functioning," Seilback said.
As summer nears, Hill recommends paying attention to local air quality reports.
"We tend to listen to the weather and we pay attention to the, you know, the temperature and whether we're going to get rain, but air quality is really important when you're planning your outdoor activities," said Hill. "Certainly, if there are wildfires that are happening, either locally or with big wildfires elsewhere, it's really important to pay attention to that data, because you want to avoid exercising outside when the air quality is bad or spending prolonged amount of time. This is particularly important for people with lung disease or children or the elderly. But unfortunately, there's people whose jobs require them to work outside, and it's hard for them to avoid it."
Hill says you can instantly check air quality in your zip code by going to https://www.airnow.gov/
