A view of the Las Vegas valley from Stewart Ave and N. Hollywood Blvd., Tuesday, April 21, 2020.
Monday, Aug. 15, 2022 | 2 a.m.
Las Vegas remains among the worst U.S. cities for smog, despite fewer unhealthy days of high ozone levels within the past few years, according to an American Lung Association report.
Las Vegas ranked as the 11th most ozone-polluted city in the U.S. in this year’s State of the Air report. The report's top five ozone-polluted cities were: Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Calif., Visalia, Calif., Fresno, Calif., and Phoenix. Las Vegas ranked No. 12 in 2021.
The report tracks unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone, also referred to as smog, and particle pollution or soot within a three-year period.
From 2017 to 2019, Las Vegas had an average of 23.5 days with unhealthy levels of ozone, and 2018 to 2020 had an average of only 21.7 days. This has been a downward trend from 2016 to 2018, which generated an average of 30.2 days.
While Las Vegas had fewer smoggy days last year, its ranking got worse because other cities improved more dramatically, said Bo Smith, senior communications director of the American Lung Association’s western division.
Two major contributors to air pollution in Las Vegas are vehicle exhaust emissions and smoke from wildfires, said Kevin MacDonald, a spokesman for the Clark County Department of Environment and Sustainability.
Las Vegas is “at a disadvantage” because it has a “pretty high population density and traffic,” which makes emissions more concentrated, said Dr. Lung-Wen Antony Chen, an associate professor in UNLV’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health.
There are some 1.65 million vehicles registered in Clark County.
MacDonald said that in four of the past five years, most days of unhealthy ozone levels were influenced by wildfires, many in California.
“We can do everything correctly in our power in terms of our community, and still wildfire smoke can come in and create an ozone exceedance,” he said.
Chen said even moderate levels of ozone can cause health problems for people, especially those with breathing conditions, children and older adults. Animals can be impacted as well, Chen said.
Smith described smog as a “sunburn to the lungs,” with particle pollution known to cause conditions like lung cancer.
The American Lung Association and the Clark County Department of Environment and Sustainability have recorded a steady decline of high-ozone days in Clark County since 2016.
Local governments and communities have to work together to further reduce air pollution, Chen said.
This year, Clark County has had eight days of high ozone levels through Aug. 2. There are about two more months of “ozone season” left.
MacDonald said people can help reduce ozone by doing things such as not letting their cars idle excessively and using public transportation.
