Maryland is still stuck in a smoggy rut, with the latest State of the Air report showing little statewide progress and plenty of bad news for its biggest metro areas. Urban and suburban counties are again logging unhealthy ozone levels and sharp spikes in fine-particle pollution, while a few rural counties manage to stay relatively clean. The numbers keep the spotlight on serious public health risks for children, older adults, and people living with lung disease across the state.
According to the American Lung Association, the 27th annual State of the Air report finds that more than 570,000 children in Maryland live in counties with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution. The group assigns letter grades to counties for ground-level ozone and both long-term and short-term particle pollution, using three-year averages to gauge local risk. While some counties managed to climb a grade, the association warns that broader regional forces, including wildfire smoke and stagnant summer weather, are driving new pollution spikes.
County Grades: Bright Spots, Repeat Offenders
Coverage of the report notes that Anne Arundel County pulled its ozone grade up from an F to a C and Prince George's County improved from an F to a D, but Baltimore County once again landed among the worst performers with an F, according to WBAL NewsRadio. On the other end of the spectrum, Garrett County held onto the state's lone A for ozone, continuing its multiyear run near the top of national rankings. The split makes it clear that the air Marylanders breathe still depends heavily on their ZIP code and local conditions.
Why It Matters: Health Risks, Climate And Wildfire Smoke
Aleks Casper, an advocacy director for the Lung Association, told WBAL NewsRadio that recent spikes in fine-particle pollution are "the worst they've been in 25 years." The association links elevated ozone and PM2.5 to higher rates of asthma attacks, heart attacks, preterm births, and other serious health effects, with children and older adults among the most vulnerable. Wildfire smoke and stagnant weather patterns are flagged as key drivers of the recent backslide, adding a climate-era twist to Maryland's long-running air quality problems.
Staying Safe On Bad Air Days
When air quality readings turn ugly, health officials advise residents to limit outdoor exercise, keep windows closed, and rely on high-efficiency filtration indoors. Real-time conditions are available at AirNow and through the monitoring program run by the Maryland Department of the Environment's forecasts. For those who have to be outside during heavy smoke or high PM2.5 periods, NIOSH-approved N95 respirators are recommended over cloth masks, and people with respiratory or heart conditions are urged to follow their provider's guidance. Over the longer term, experts point to community-level steps such as cleaner transportation and cutting local emissions as part of the playbook for reducing exposure.
The American Lung Association is calling on lawmakers to strengthen policies, from cleaner transportation to expanded monitoring, to better protect children and other vulnerable groups, according to its Maryland briefing on the report. The latest grades signal that reversing years of harmful trends in smog and soot will take more than incremental changes at the margins and will require both state and federal action.
