Climate Change

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🏭 Most polluted cities

Data: American Lung Association. (Days when air pollution was worse received a greater weighting in the calculation.) Chart: Alex Fitzpatrick/Axios Nearly half of Americans (44%) are living in places with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution, Alex Fitzpatrick writes from the American Lung Association's 2026 State of the Air report. That's over 152 million people, and despite "decades of successful efforts to reduce sources of air pollution." 🔥 The big picture: Climate change is fueling extreme heat, drought and wildfires that contribute to unhealthy air conditions nationwide, the group says. That's making it "harder to protect ... hard-fought progress on air quality and human health." 📊 Zoom in: Three California metros — L.A., Visalia and Bakersfield — had the most high ozone days across 2022-2024, on average. Fairbanks, Alaska; Eugene, Ore.; and Bakersfield, Calif. topped the list for average daily particle pollution. Read the report.

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🏗️ The Center for Climate Integrity released a new report this month detailing how the oil and gas industry colluded to promote the lie of natural gas as a clean alternative to oil, “despite knowing that it is a significant source of air pollution and a major contributor to climate change.”

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As Lake Powell shrinks, marinas are having to adapt to dwindling water levels Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir in the United States, is shrinking. Overuse, drought and climate change have pummeled the lake fed by the imperiled Colorado River to near historic lows, made worse by the driest winter on record and extreme heat. Marinas in this important tourist destination have had to adapt. Boat ramps have closed or moved, new ones have been added and marinas have been temporarily relocated to deeper waters. "The Colorado River is in full-blown crisis mode," said John Berggren, regional policy manager with Western Resource Advocates, an environmental nonprofit. Read more.

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NOAA report finds Gulf of Maine warming slowed for now, but ecosystem remains unstable

Maine’s fishing ports are doing well for now, but climate change is destabilizing the Gulf of Maine, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s latest “State of the Ecosystem” report for New England waters. Federal scientists presented the report to the New England Fishery Management Council in April, and published it online last week. Read More.