New York Among Most Polluted Cities In the U.S., Analysis Shows

NEW YORK CITY — New York ranks among the most polluted cities in the nation, according to a new air quality study.

New York ranked 15th in a list of the most polluted U.S. cities released by environmental experts at BuyAutoInsurance.com on Monday.

The city had 206 days in 2018 when the air quality was deemed unhealthy for sensitive groups: elderly, children, and people with lung disease, the analysis of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency statistics show.

New York had hazardous, or very unhealthy, air quality for three days and good air quality for 156 days, the analysis shows.

The most common pollutant in New York is the fine particulate matter PM2.5, which comes from cars, power plants, wood burning and forest fires, the study found.

The Columbia University blog "State of the Planet" reports PM 2.5 is responsible for about 3,000 deaths and 8,000 hospital and emergency room visits in New York City a year.

California cities claimed five of the top 15 slots, including first place for most polluted metro area: San Bernardino, Ontario and Riverdale.

Analysts' pointed to California's dense population, high temperatures and increase forest fires as causes of the extensive pollution.

About 137 million people nationwide live in counties where air pollution levels exceeded air quality standards and the U.S. emitted 76 million tons of pollution into the atmosphere in 2018, according to EPA estimates.

Read the full report here.