In a shocking twist that no one saw coming (except maybe anyone who’s tried to breathe in California lately), the latest air quality report has crowned Ontario, Bloomington, and Huntington Park as North America’s top three cities for… well, having the worst air.
Congratulations, California! Your prize is a lifetime supply of air purifiers and a complimentary cough drop.
The report, brought to you by IQAir, revealed that only 17% of the 8,954 cities analyzed worldwide actually met the World Health Organization’s air quality guidelines.
That’s right, folks—83% of the world is basically breathing soup. And while the U.S. did manage to reduce its PM2.5 levels by 22% last year (yay, progress!), it seems California missed the memo and decided to keep its air extra spicy.
But hey, it’s not all bad news! North America is killing it in the air quality monitoring game, boasting 56% of the world’s ground-based monitoring stations. That’s right—we’re really good at watching our air get worse.
Scientists love it, policymakers are taking notes, and the rest of us are just over here Googling “best air purifiers under $500.”
Meanwhile, only 12 countries and regions managed to keep their PM2.5 levels below WHO guidelines. Most of these overachievers are chilling in Latin America, the Caribbean, or Oceania, probably sipping coconut water and breathing deeply without coughing.
The report also called on governments to invest in renewable energy and tighten emission limits for vehicles and industries. But let’s be real—until that happens, we’ll just keep blaming our neighbor’s diesel truck for our morning wheeze.
So, here’s to North America’s worst air cities—may your skies clear, your emissions drop, and your residents finally stop coughing long enough to enjoy a deep breath. Until then, keep those masks handy and maybe consider relocating to Oceania. They seem to have this whole “clean air” thing figured out.
Leave a Reply