Breathing in Alberta is Injurious to Health.

Air pollution threatens the health of 4.5 million people across 19 districts in Alberta. The average PM2.5 level is 15.2 µg/m³—3.0× higher than the WHO guideline.

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Brought to you by Amrit Sharma

Overview

Air Pollution in Alberta

Alberta faces significant air pollution challenges. 100% of districts exceed the WHO guideline for clean air. This is putting 4.5 million across 19 districts at risk.

The average PM2.5 over 2023 was 15.2µg/m³. That's 3.0 times the WHO guideline for clean air of 5µg/m³.

This is equivalent of everybody, including children, smoking about 252 cigarettes in a year.

Trends

Air Quality Trend

Annual PM2.5 levels from 2014 to 2023. The WHO guideline for safe air is 5 µg/m³.

Health Impact

Life Expectancy Impact

If Alberta met the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, the average person would live 1 years longer.

That's 4.5M years of life stolen from 4.5 million people. Years of watching children grow up. Years of building a career. Years of quiet mornings and celebrations.

Lives cut short. Breathing kills.

Most Polluted

Districts with Highest Pollution

The top 10 most polluted districts in Alberta. These areas face the greatest health burden from air pollution.

  • 1.Division No. 17
    3.1 years lost
  • 2.Division No. 16
    1.8 years lost
  • 3.Division No. 12
    1.6 years lost
  • 4.Division No. 19
    1.5 years lost
  • 5.Division No. 13
    1.4 years lost
  • 6.Division No. 11
    1.2 years lost
  • 7.Division No. 18
    1.1 years lost
  • 8.Division No. 10
    1.1 years lost
  • 9.Division No. 14
    0.9 years lost
  • 10.Division No. 7
    0.8 years lost
Exposure

Population Exposure by Pollution Level

Distribution of population across different PM2.5 pollution levels. The WHO guideline is 5 µg/m³—only populations below this threshold are breathing safe air.

< 5 µg/m³
0%
0
5-10 µg/m³
7.2%
319K
10-15 µg/m³
46.8%
2.1M
15-25 µg/m³
44.5%
2.0M
25-35 µg/m³
0%
0
> 35 µg/m³
1.5%
67K
Districts

All 19 Districts in Alberta

Complete air quality data for every district in Alberta, sorted by population.

DistrictPopulationPM2.5 µg/m³Years Lost
Division No. 61.6M
12.7
0.8 years
Division No. 111.5M
17.7
1.2 years
Division No. 8229K
12.9
0.8 years
Division No. 2186K
8.2
0.3 years
Division No. 19132K
20.4
1.5 years
Division No. 10107K
15.8
1.1 years
Division No. 191K
10.0
0.5 years
Division No. 1681K
23.4
1.8 years
Division No. 1377K
19.8
1.4 years
Division No. 1273K
20.9
1.6 years
Division No. 1767K
36.9
3.1 years
Division No. 561K
11.7
0.7 years
Division No. 746K
13.5
0.8 years
Division No. 343K
7.9
0.3 years
Division No. 1542K
11.4
0.6 years
Division No. 1432K
14.7
0.9 years
Division No. 923K
11.0
0.6 years
Division No. 1816K
16.6
1.1 years
Division No. 411K
11.1
0.6 years

Showing 19 districts, sorted by population (largest first). PM2.5 values are for 2023. Years lost calculated against WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.