Hudson Valley Air Quality Slips as Wildfire Smoke Fuels Pollution Spike

The American Lung Association’s 2025 State of the Air report, released this week, finds that 156 million Americans — about 46% — live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution.Michael Sback, Assistant Vice President of State Public Policy at the Lung Association, discussed the findings with Radio Catskill’s Tim Bruno, noting the impact of 2023’s Canadian wildfire smoke on air quality throughout New York.“That orange sky wasn’t just dramatic — it was dangerous,” Sback said. The smoke contributed to worsening grades in areas like Albany and Monroe counties, while Rochester dropped off the list of cleanest cities. Even Elmira-Corning and Syracuse-Auburn, recognized for clean year-round air, saw harmful short-term spikes.In the Hudson Valley, Putnam County received a “C” and Dutchess a “B” for ozone pollution — results Sback described as a “wake-up call” for local and state leaders.The report urges strong environmental policies, warning against cuts to the EPA and rollbacks to clean air laws. Poor air quality is linked to asthma, heart disease, lung cancer, and early death.The full report is available at lung.org.