Author: Janina Millis
May is Asthma Awareness Month, a time to educate friends, family, and patients about asthma and promote awareness about how this disease can be controlled. Every year, Asthma Awareness Month is kickstarted by World Asthma Day on the first Tuesday in May. That’s today!
Asthma is a long-term disease that inflames and narrows your lungs' airways. Have you ever tried to breathe through a flat straw? It makes breathing harder and can be scary. That's how people who have asthma can feel when they are exposed to pollutants like dirty air, whether it's from ozone, wildfire smoke or other pollution.
Asthma affects the quality of life for over 26 million Americans, including more than 4 million children, according to the EPA.
How does air quality affect asthma?
Air pollution can harm people's health and damage the environment. Air pollution can harm you even if you can't see it or smell it. It also can hurt trees and wildlife, cause haze that blocks scenic views, and contribute to water pollution and climate change.
Air pollution irritates the lungs and respiratory system, and can even affect the heart. Air pollution can make asthma worse, trigger asthma attacks, or cause the onset of asthma. Two common air pollutants — ground-level ozone and fine particle pollution — can affect people with asthma and should be watched closely.
Even healthy people can have trouble taking deep breaths on “bad air” days, and can experience damage to lung tissues. Repeated damage, especially during childhood, can reduce lung function permanently. Particle pollution has been linked to serious cardiac problems including arrhythmias and heart attacks.
North Carolina’s air quality has greatly improved!
The good news is North Carolinians today are breathing the cleanest air in decades. Emissions of harmful air pollutants like nitrogen oxides and particulate are at historic lows, according to the “Air Quality Trends in North Carolina” report published by DEQ’s Division of Air Quality.
The report found that emissions of Criteria Air Pollutants, regulated under the federal Clean Air Act, have dropped precipitously statewide from 1990 through 2020. Specifically, emissions fell:
- 94% for sulfur dioxide (SO2)
- 73% for carbon monoxide (CO)
- 72% for oxides of nitrogen (NOx)
- 49% for fine particulate matter (PM2.5)
- 68% for volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
North Carolina has reduced emissions from powerplants, cars and trucks, and other sources of pollution. For example, the Clean Smokestacks Act, passed in North Carolina in 2022, achieved significant reductions in emissions from coal-fired plants, reducing levels of ozone and improving visibility in North Carolina’s western mountains.
Air pollution can impact anyone
While air quality has greatly improved over the last 50 years, there can still be a handful of days each year where air pollution levels trigger Air Quality Action Days. This means the forecast Air Quality Index (AQI) is high enough to impact public health.
Anyone can experience health effects – whether noticed or unnoticed – at air pollution levels of Code Red or above on the AQI. But these sensitive groups can be affected at lower levels:
- All children. Children breathe at a higher respiratory rate, their lungs are still developing, and they are likely to be active outdoors. Children also have a higher rate of asthma.
- Older adults, because they are more likely to have diagnosed or undiagnosed heart or lung disease.
- Anyone with respiratory disease such as asthma or emphysema, and anyone with a heart condition such as coronary artery disease or congestive heart failure.
- Anyone who is frequently active outdoors.
In addition, certain “unusually sensitive” individuals can experience breathing problems even at code yellow levels.
How can I protect my heath?
Know the Code! Paying attention to the air quality forecast will help you decide when it is the best time to be outside and what activity level is most appropriate for that day.
Know your body. Be aware of any health conditions that may increase your risk. Notice if you experience breathing difficulties or other problems on bad air days.
Limit your outdoor physical activity on code orange or worse days, especially if you’re a member of a sensitive group. Pollution exposure depends on the length of tie and level of exertion. Any activity that raises your breathing rate increases your risk. You don’t need to stay indoors, but “take it easy” outdoors to reduce your risk.
You can get your air quality forecast by checking the Air Quality Portal, subscribing to email or text forecast notifications from EPA's EnviroFlash, or downloading EPA's AirNow app to your phone. You can also check your newspaper’s weather page, local TV weather report, or your smartphone’s weather app. (Some TV news broadcasts report Code Orange, Red, or Purple forecasts only.)
It’s Air Quality Awareness Week!
May 5-9 marks Air Quality Awareness Week 2025. DAQ and our partners this week will be highlighting the many ways our air quality has improved in recent decades, while helping residents understand how they can
This blog post will be one in a series talking about air quality this week. Check out yesterday's post about wildfire smoke.
Be sure to check back and read the full series!