PM2.5 stands for particulate matter 2.5 microns or smaller. These particles are 30 times thinner than a human hair and come from car exhaust, power plants, wildfires, and burning fuel. They are small enough to bypass your body's natural defenses and enter your bloodstream.

How does air pollution affect the body?

Air pollution affects virtually every organ in the body. PM2.5 particles enter your lungs, pass into your bloodstream, and travel to your heart, brain, kidneys, liver, and other organs. This causes chronic inflammation, increasing risks of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, dementia, and many other conditions.

How many people are affected by air pollution?

99% of the global population breathes air that exceeds WHO safety guidelines. Air pollution kills approximately 8 million people every year—more than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.

United States's Alaska Air Pollution Report

Overview

Air Pollution in Alaska

Alaska faces significant air pollution challenges. 15% of districts exceed the WHO guideline for clean air. This is putting 706 thousand across 26 districts at risk.

The average PM2.5 over 2023 was 3.6µg/m³. That's 0.7 times the WHO guideline for clean air of 5µg/m³.

This is equivalent of everybody, including children, smoking about 60 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 Alaska met the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, the average person would live 0.09 years longer.

That's 64K years of life stolen from 706 thousand 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 Alaska. These areas face the greatest health burden from air pollution.

1.Fairbanks North Star
0.6 years lost
2.Southeast Fairbanks
0.3 years lost
3.Yukon-Koyukuk
0.1 years lost
4.Denali
0.1 years lost
5.Haines
0 years lost
6.Wrangell-Petersburg
0 years lost
7.Northwest Arctic
0 years lost
8.Ketchikan Gateway
0 years lost
9.Valdez-Cordova
0 years lost
10.Juneau
0 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

83.9%

593K

5-10 µg/m³

2.1%

15K

10-15 µg/m³

14%

99K

15-25 µg/m³

25-35 µg/m³

> 35 µg/m³

Districts

All 26 Districts in Alaska

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

District	Population	PM2.5 µg/m³	Years Lost
Anchorage	301K	2.4	0.0 years
Matanuska-Susitna	102K	2.4	0.0 years
Fairbanks North Star	99K	11.4	0.6 years
Kenai Peninsula	58K	0.7	0.0 years
Juneau	30K	2.7	0.0 years
Bethel	18K	2.0	0.0 years
Kodiak Island	12K	1.7	0.0 years
Ketchikan Gateway	12K	2.8	0.0 years
Wade Hampton	8K	2.1	0.0 years
Sitka	7K	2.1	0.0 years
Southeast Fairbanks	7K	8.0	0.3 years
Valdez-Cordova	7K	2.7	0.0 years
Yukon-Koyukuk	6K	6.2	0.1 years
Nome	5K	2.1	0.0 years
Wrangell-Petersburg	5K	2.9	0.0 years
Northwest Arctic	5K	2.9	0.0 years
Aleutians West	4K	2.1	0.0 years
Dillingham	4K	1.8	0.0 years
Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchi	4K	2.5	0.0 years
Skagway-Yakutat-Angoon	4K	2.6	0.0 years
Denali	2K	5.6	0.1 years
Aleutians East	2K	2.0	0.0 years
Haines	2K	3.3	0.0 years
Bristol Bay	1K	1.9	0.0 years
Lake and Peninsula	1K	1.9	0.0 years
North Slope	0	0.0	0.0 years

Showing 26 districts, sorted by population (largest first). PM2.5 values are for 2023. Years lost calculated against WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.

Breathing in Alaska is Injurious to Health.