Breathing in Alabama is Injurious to Health.

Air pollution threatens the health of 5.2 million people across 67 districts in Alabama. The average PM2.5 level is 8.7 µg/m³—1.7× higher than the WHO guideline.

AboutMake Air Quality Great AgainAQLI Data

Brought to you by Amrit Sharma

Overview

Air Pollution in Alabama

Alabama faces significant air pollution challenges. 100% of districts exceed the WHO guideline for clean air. This is putting 5.2 million across 67 districts at risk.

The average PM2.5 over 2023 was 8.7µg/m³. That's 1.7 times the WHO guideline for clean air of 5µg/m³.

This is equivalent of everybody, including children, smoking about 144 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 Alabama met the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, the average person would live 0.36 years longer.

That's 1.9M years of life stolen from 5.2 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 Alabama. These areas face the greatest health burden from air pollution.

  • 1.Jefferson
    0.5 years lost
  • 2.Shelby
    0.4 years lost
  • 3.Mobile
    0.4 years lost
  • 4.Tuscaloosa
    0.4 years lost
  • 5.Russell
    0.4 years lost
  • 6.Lee
    0.4 years lost
  • 7.Montgomery
    0.4 years lost
  • 8.Etowah
    0.4 years lost
  • 9.Bibb
    0.4 years lost
  • 10.Morgan
    0.4 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
100%
5.2M
10-15 µg/m³
0%
0
15-25 µg/m³
0%
0
25-35 µg/m³
0%
0
> 35 µg/m³
0%
0
Districts

All 67 Districts in Alabama

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

DistrictPopulationPM2.5 µg/m³Years Lost
Jefferson730K
9.8
0.5 years
Mobile433K
9.3
0.4 years
Madison431K
8.6
0.3 years
Montgomery258K
9.1
0.4 years
Tuscaloosa248K
9.2
0.4 years
Baldwin235K
8.3
0.3 years
Shelby223K
9.5
0.4 years
Lee184K
9.1
0.4 years
Morgan126K
8.6
0.4 years
Calhoun123K
8.3
0.3 years
Houston114K
7.7
0.3 years
Etowah105K
8.7
0.4 years
Limestone104K
8.0
0.3 years
Marshall101K
8.1
0.3 years
Lauderdale93K
7.8
0.3 years
Cullman89K
8.2
0.3 years
Saint Clair83K
8.4
0.3 years
Talladega82K
8.6
0.3 years
Elmore81K
8.6
0.3 years
De Kalb70K
7.8
0.3 years
Walker64K
8.2
0.3 years
Colbert61K
7.9
0.3 years
Russell55K
9.2
0.4 years
Autauga54K
8.5
0.3 years
Coffee53K
7.6
0.3 years
Jackson51K
8.1
0.3 years
Dale51K
7.9
0.3 years
Blount51K
7.9
0.3 years
Tallapoosa41K
8.5
0.3 years
Chilton41K
8.3
0.3 years
Dallas39K
8.3
0.3 years
Covington38K
7.6
0.3 years
Escambia37K
7.8
0.3 years
Pike35K
7.8
0.3 years
Franklin31K
7.5
0.2 years
Chambers31K
8.4
0.3 years
Marion29K
7.8
0.3 years
Lawrence28K
7.5
0.2 years
Barbour27K
8.1
0.3 years
Geneva24K
7.4
0.2 years
Winston24K
7.9
0.3 years
Clarke24K
8.2
0.3 years
Cherokee22K
8.5
0.3 years
Bibb21K
8.7
0.4 years
Randolph20K
8.0
0.3 years
Monroe20K
7.7
0.3 years
Marengo20K
8.6
0.3 years
Macon19K
8.4
0.3 years
Butler19K
7.6
0.3 years
Pickens17K
8.3
0.3 years
Henry16K
7.6
0.3 years
Fayette15K
8.2
0.3 years
Clay14K
8.0
0.3 years
Cleburne13K
7.9
0.3 years
Washington13K
8.4
0.3 years
Hale13K
8.2
0.3 years
Lamar13K
8.1
0.3 years
Choctaw12K
8.4
0.3 years
Crenshaw12K
7.4
0.2 years
Sumter12K
8.4
0.3 years
Conecuh11K
7.6
0.3 years
Wilcox11K
8.0
0.3 years
Bullock10K
7.8
0.3 years
Lowndes9K
7.6
0.3 years
Coosa9K
8.2
0.3 years
Perry7K
8.0
0.3 years
Greene7K
8.3
0.3 years

Showing 67 districts, sorted by population (largest first). PM2.5 values are for 2023. Years lost calculated against WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.