Colorado has 4th worst air quality

DJ Summers

2 years ago

My name isJames Few and I took this photo from Plaza Tower One in DTC. I love the view of our mountains and skyline that this building provides; however, too often that view is completely obstructed by the disgustingly dense smog that blankets and suffocates our city. Today, I can’t take it anymore. I had to share this and hopefully you will too, encouraging people to use public transportation and reduce their carbon footprint.

DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado is in the middle of the pack when it comes to two key indicators of pollution, according to a new report.

Insurance broker QuoteWizard analyzed air and drinking water data from the Environmental Protection Agency and America’s Health Rankings to find which states had the highest rates. They combined both these measurements into a single gauge for pollution levels.

The Centennial State ranked 19th overall, in between Georgia and Mississippi. It would have ranked higer on the list but for its air. Colorado’s water quality is some of the nation’s best, but its air quality is the opposite.

Only 0.1% of Colorado’s population is affected by drinking water violations, according to the data compiled from America’s Health Rankings – the 14th lowest among U.S. states. In West Virginia, 10.2% of the population is affected by violations.

Air quality, though, is some of the worst in the U.S.

In 2022, about 70% of the days in the year had “good” air quality – the fourth lowest share of good quality days in the U.S.

Southwestern states have the nation’s lowest levels of good quality air days. California, Arizona and New Mexico have the lowest, along with Colorado, Utah, Oklahoma and Texas.