Vast swaths of US will be exposed to polluted air by 2054, says report

Researchers say the number of Americans exposed to unhealthy air will rise by 50% by the middle of the century

Vast swaths of the continental US will be exposed to unhealthy, polluted air by 2054, according to an alarming new report.

Researchers at First Street Foundation, a non-profit that analyzes climate risk, found that one in four Americans are already exposed to air that is deemed unhealthy" by the Air Quality Index (AQI), which provides daily air quality readings. That number is expected to grow by 50% in the next few decades, with an estimated total of 125 million Americans experiencing dangerous air pollution by the middle of the century.