Breathing in New York is Injurious to Health.

Air pollution threatens the health of 19.8 million people across 62 districts in New York. The average PM2.5 level is 8.6 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 New York

New York faces significant air pollution challenges. 100% of districts exceed the WHO guideline for clean air. This is putting 19.8 million across 62 districts at risk.

The average PM2.5 over 2023 was 8.6µg/m³. That's 1.7 times the WHO guideline for clean air of 5µg/m³.

This is equivalent of everybody, including children, smoking about 143 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 New York met the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, the average person would live 0.36 years longer.

That's 7.1M years of life stolen from 19.8 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 New York. These areas face the greatest health burden from air pollution.

  • 1.New York
    0.5 years lost
  • 2.Kings
    0.5 years lost
  • 3.Queens
    0.4 years lost
  • 4.Richmond
    0.4 years lost
  • 5.Bronx
    0.4 years lost
  • 6.Nassau
    0.4 years lost
  • 7.Chemung
    0.3 years lost
  • 8.Erie
    0.3 years lost
  • 9.Broome
    0.3 years lost
  • 10.Tioga
    0.3 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%
19.8M
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 62 Districts in New York

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

DistrictPopulationPM2.5 µg/m³Years Lost
Kings2.4M
9.7
0.5 years
New York2.4M
10.0
0.5 years
Queens2.1M
9.4
0.4 years
Suffolk1.5M
7.7
0.3 years
Nassau1.4M
8.6
0.4 years
Bronx1.2M
9.3
0.4 years
Erie981K
8.4
0.3 years
Westchester966K
7.9
0.3 years
Monroe783K
7.9
0.3 years
Onondaga500K
7.9
0.3 years
Richmond442K
9.4
0.4 years
Orange390K
7.4
0.2 years
Albany362K
7.3
0.2 years
Rockland326K
7.4
0.2 years
Dutchess288K
7.3
0.2 years
Oneida235K
7.6
0.3 years
Saratoga222K
7.0
0.2 years
Broome204K
8.4
0.3 years
Niagara194K
8.0
0.3 years
Ulster171K
7.3
0.2 years
Rensselaer151K
7.1
0.2 years
Schenectady150K
7.3
0.2 years
Chautauqua125K
7.7
0.3 years
Jefferson116K
7.5
0.2 years
Tompkins114K
7.9
0.3 years
Ontario112K
7.6
0.3 years
Oswego106K
7.4
0.2 years
Saint Lawrence106K
7.4
0.2 years
Steuben90K
8.2
0.3 years
Putnam87K
7.1
0.2 years
Chemung83K
8.4
0.3 years
Wayne82K
7.4
0.2 years
Clinton79K
6.7
0.2 years
Sullivan75K
7.5
0.2 years
Cattaraugus73K
7.8
0.3 years
Cayuga70K
7.7
0.3 years
Warren68K
7.1
0.2 years
Madison62K
7.5
0.2 years
Livingston57K
7.6
0.3 years
Columbia57K
7.3
0.2 years
Otsego56K
8.0
0.3 years
Genesee56K
7.7
0.3 years
Washington55K
6.6
0.2 years
Herkimer55K
7.5
0.2 years
Fulton51K
7.7
0.3 years
Montgomery47K
7.3
0.2 years
Cortland45K
7.9
0.3 years
Franklin45K
7.1
0.2 years
Greene45K
7.2
0.2 years
Chenango44K
7.8
0.3 years
Allegany44K
8.1
0.3 years
Tioga42K
8.4
0.3 years
Delaware41K
7.6
0.3 years
Wyoming38K
7.5
0.2 years
Essex37K
6.9
0.2 years
Orleans36K
7.5
0.2 years
Seneca32K
7.7
0.3 years
Schoharie26K
7.6
0.3 years
Lewis23K
7.4
0.2 years
Yates21K
7.7
0.3 years
Schuyler16K
8.0
0.3 years
Hamilton5K
7.4
0.2 years

Showing 62 districts, sorted by population (largest first). PM2.5 values are for 2023. Years lost calculated against WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.