Poor air quality in North State

Redding-Red Bluff area in top 10 for worst ozone pollution

Air quality in Northern California has a lot of room for improvement.

The Redding/Red Bluff area ranked ninth for the worst ozone pollution in the nation, ahead of New York City, according to the American Lung Association’s 2018 State of the Air report. Chico is ranked 21.

Shasta, Tehama and Butte counties saw a significant increase in unhealthy air days for ozone, all receiving an F grade. Chico saw fewer days of short-term particle/soot pollution, however, and Butte County also improved, with an average of 1.5 unhealthy air days in 2014-16.

For more info, go to stateoftheair.org/california2018.