Report: Climate change snags push 'to protect human health'

摘要

As air pollution gets renewed attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, overall air quality in the United Statescontinued to slip in recent years, according to a new report that draws a direct connection to the impact of awarming climate.From 2016 to 2018, 150 million Americans - or close to half - lived in areas that suffered unhealthy levels ofozone or fine particle pollution, the American Lung Association said in its latest annual "State of the Air" reportreleased today.A comparable report three years ago, covering the period from 2013 to 2015, put the number of people in thatcategory at 125 million, and their ranks have steadily grown since then."The 'State of the Air' 2020 report adds to the evidence that a changing climate is making it harder to protecthuman health," the report says.As the authors with the public health advocacy group note, the latest total is still well below the 166 millionreported in 2016. But the subsequent increases pose an implicit challenge to the presumption of industry figuresand Trump administration officials that national air quality is steadily getting better.