Albuquerque, NM –Albuquerque ranks in the top 20…..unfortunately. The American Lung Association’s annual State of the Air report ranks the Duke City in the number 19 slot of one of the most polluted cities in the country. According to their data, just Bernalillo County, alone, saw an average of 12 high ozone days between 2022 and 2024. That’s the county’s highest total since 2013, and is four times the amount that the American Lung Association considers as passing. The ALA also ranked the metro area as 45th-worst for short-term air particle pollution, and 96th for annual particle pollution. The new report estimates more than a million New Mexicans, including 227,000 kids, are at risk of breathing unhealthy air.
