The Erie-Meadville, Pennsylvania metro area was ranked one of the cleanest cities in the nation for both ozone smog and daily measure of particle pollution. 

The metro area received A grades, according to the American Lung Association's 2024 State of the Air Report. 

The Lung Association's 25th annual State of the Air report grades exposure to unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone air pollution, annual particle pollution and short-term spikes in particle pollution over a three-year period. 

This year's report includes air quality data from 2020-2022. 

“In the 25 years that the American Lung Association has been doing our ‘State of the Air’ report, we have seen incredible improvement in the nation’s air quality. Unfortunately, more than 131 million people still live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution, and the nation still has work to do,” said Aimee VanCleave, Director of Advocacy for the American Lung Association. “Climate change is making air pollution more likely to form and more difficult to clean up, so there are actions we can and must take to improve air quality in Pennsylvania, including adopting zero-emission standards for passenger vehicles and heavy-duty trucks. We are also calling on EPA to set long-overdue stronger national limits on ozone pollution.”

The State of the Air report looked at levels of ozone smog, the air pollutant affecting the largest number of people in the United States. 

For the third consecutive year, the Erie-Meadville metro area ranked among the nation's cleanest cities for ozone pollution. 

"There have been some controls on emissions," said Kevin Stewart, director of Environmental Health at the American Lung Association. "But we also know that, for instance, vehicles are improving power plants [which] have reduced the amount of air pollution they're putting out."

According to the Lung Association, the ranking was based on the area's worst county's average number of unhealthy days. Erie County earned an A grade (0 days per year). 

The report also tracked short-term spikes in particle pollution, which can be extremely dangerous and even deadly. 

For the eighth year in a row, the Erie-Meadville metro area ranked among the nation's cleanest cities for short-term particle pollution. The ranking was based on the area's worst county's average number of unhealthy days. 

Erie County received an A grade (0 days per year). 

The Lung Association said both ozone and particle pollution can cause premature death and other serious health effects such as asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, preterm births and impaired cognitive functioning later in life. 

Additionally, particle pollution can cause lung cancer. 

More information on this year's State of the Air report can be found here.