The "State of the Air" report from the American Lung Association is in, and things are not looking all that great at the moment for Sioux Falls.

It appears the city of Sioux Falls has a short-term particle pollution problem.

Dakota News Now is reporting that the American Lung Association just released the findings of its 24th annual "State of the Air" report for South Dakota's largest city. The report which covered a 3-year period from 2019-2021, examined things like, exposure to unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone air pollution, annual particle pollution, and short-term spikes in particle pollution.

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What did the report show?

Sioux Falls is beginning to develop a short-term particle pollution problem.

What exactly does that mean?

Simply put, it means the city experienced more unhealthy days so far this year than healthy ones when it comes to overall air quality.

According to Dakota News Now, last year, Sioux Falls was on the cleanest cities list with no unhealthy days in terms of short-term particle pollution reported. Now, we rank 59th worst on that list.

Overall, Minnehaha County received a "C" grade when it comes to short-term particle pollution. All the wildfires in the country back in 2021 did us no favors, as they helped to worsen our air quality grade for the year. Particles reached far across the nation and impacted the air quality in many areas throughout the country.

There is a bit of good news, however, Dakota News Now is reporting that the city's ozone levels are getting better.

MORE: Two Minnesota Cities Have Some of the Cleanest Air in America

When you analyze the data from the most recent report compared to the one released in 2022, you will find that Sioux Falls experienced fewer unhealthy days of high ozone.

Sioux Falls now holds the title of being the 111th most polluted city for ozone pollution, last year we held the 84th ranking in the nation.

Even more good news, Minnehaha County also received a better grade in terms of ozone pollution. This year we got a "B" grade, compared to the "C" grade we received in 2022.

Source: Dakota News Now

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