Air pollution has been a problem in California since the 1940s and seems to not be going away. California has the worst air quality in the United States due to industrial output and the large-scale wildfires that frequently occur.

According to Ca.gov the three main problems of air pollution in California correspond to large amounts of pollution being generated by activities of 33 million people, terrain or topography also traps pollution, and a warm climate helps form ozone and other air pollutants. The more people the more pollution. Other causes of pollution come from gasoline from motor vehicles, fireplaces, and most important factories and powerplants.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency shows that the impact of bad air quality has shown to cause increased respiratory symptoms, heart or lung diseases, or even death. The most at risk of these symptoms are children. The California Air Resources Board states that the state’s air pollution has caused cancer even at the lowest risk. The Resource Board also stated that 730 are at risk from toxics and 520 million are due to diesel particulate matter.

In Northern California fires raged a huge smoke plume roughly the size of Rhode Island loomed over the Bay Area and caused fear for the residents there, as reported by The Washington Post. Due to all of the fires in Northern California was recorded the worst air quality in the world last year. Over 6,000 wildfires have happened in Californian and are still a terrible threat to everyone. Countless homes and lives have been lost due to fires.

Riverside, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, and Bakersfield have been ranked the top worst of five cities in America for air pollution they all are located in California. According to The California Air Resource Board, 35 local air pollution control districts regulate factories and other establishments that produce pollution, smog, or any toxic properties in California.

According to Bakersfield’s website it has been ranked worst, second-worst and third-worst in the nation for three categories of air qualities that show high health risks for its residents. California’s poor air quality proved to be that 31.8 percent of the state’s population lived in low-income neighborhoods.