Breathe easy.
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Few things in life feel as natural as breathing. So when the air quality index swings into unhealthy territory, simply stepping outside can be a jarring experience. Hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. have been exposed to heavy and hazy air in recent years—and not just folks in major cities.
Earlier this month, the catastrophic wildfires in LA coincided with a 16-fold rise in hospital visits for fire-related injuries, including smoke exposure, according to the Los Angeles Times. In 2024, Hurricane Helene devastated the Southeast, including Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, triggering concerns about mold, dust, and toxic chemicals in the aftermath of record-breaking rainfall. In 2023, plumes of smoke from Canada’s most destructive wildfire season clouded the skies of the Great Lakes region, from Illinois to Ohio to New York and beyond.
