DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – As a new bundle of green energy laws hits Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s desk, Detroit was ranked first in the world for clean air on the night of November 8.

IQAir, a Swiss company that provides continuous air quality monitoring across more than 7,000 locations around the world, recommended that Detroit residents enjoy their outdoor activities and keep their windows open.

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According to the IQAir 2022 World Air Quality Report, Detroit’s annual air quality averaged better than other major U.S. cities such as Raleigh, NC; Houston, TX; and Columbus, OH. Average annual particle pollution levels in Detroit were about the same as levels in Washington, D.C., and Portland, OR.

Despite California’s stricter environmental protection laws, the IQAir report also found that Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Fresno, Sacramento, and Long Beach were on average more polluted than Detroit in 2022.

The report ranked cities based on PM2.5 concentration measured in the air, which includes particles small enough to be inhaled that are often produced by combustion of gasoline, diesel fuel, oil, or wood. PM2.5 has been linked to premature death and short-term health conditions such as worsening asthma.

A separate metric, the Air Quality Index, was used to indicate air quality across four major pollutants including sulfur dioxide, ground-level ozone, particle pollution, and carbon monoxide (components of smog and soot). Using AQI values, air quality in Detroit over the past 30 days showed only two days exceeding the “good” threshold, reaching “moderate” levels.

Since 1996, Detroit and the surrounding metro area has seen a decrease in high ozone days, high particle pollution days, and annual particle pollution, according to the American Lung Association. Around 2017, the mostly steady decline gave way fluctuations and a mild upward trend in particulate matter, both daily and annual.

Despite these improvements, IQAir found that Detroit remains one of the most polluted cities in Michigan, as four of the state’s heaviest polluters are located in southwest Detroit near the Boynton neighborhood. That ZIP code is considered the most polluted region of Michigan.

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COVID shutdowns did not noticeably improve air quality, according to the ALA, which still ranks the Detroit-Warren Ann Arbor area as among the most polluted of U.S. metro areas considered in the study. Unlike the IQAir report, the ALA considered a four-year period from 2018-2022.

IQAir’s forecast for Detroit over the coming week predicts “good” conditions every day, with the average AQI hitting a low of 9.

Meanwhile, the world’s most polluted city—Delhi, India, according to IQAir—had an AQI of 554 on the morning of November 9.