A new study from the American Lung Association has ranked Cincinnati as one of the 25 most polluted cities in the country.Cincinnati was ranked 14th in the nation in the ALA report, which is worse than its 22nd ranking last year.The ALA states the report issues rankings based on a city's exposure to unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone air pollution, annual particle pollution, and short-term spikes in particle pollution over a three-year period.The report included data from 2021 through 2023. During that time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a new annual particle pollution standard.Along with tighter standards from the EPA, in 2023, most of the Midwest was dealing with significant smoke from wildfires in Canada. According to the Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency, this wildfire smoke could have likely brought the city's ranking up on this latest report. Data from the Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency shows that in southwest Ohio, wildfire smoke contributed to 23 air quality alerts and 21 days that exceeded at least one air quality standard in June, July, and August. Particle matter concentrations also reached 185 on the Air Quality Index, which was the highest levels recorded in southwest Ohio in 20 years of monitoring. More specifically, on June 28, 2023, almost every particle matter and ozone monitor in the agency's network recorded an exceedance of an air quality standard, totaling 23 individual exceedances across 15 different sites. Cincinnati's metro area ranked 40th in the nation for ozone pollution, as measured by levels of ozone "smog," the air pollutant affecting the largest number of people in the United States.The ranking was based on the area's worst county's average number of unhealthy days, 6.7 days per year, which the ALA gives an F grade, in Hamilton County, Ohio, which was worse than last year's report, with 4.5 days per year, an F grade.The report also tracked short-term spikes in particle pollution, which they said can be extremely dangerous and even deadly.Cincinnati's metro area ranked 40th worst in the nation for short-term particle pollution, according to the report. The ranking was based on the area's worst county's average number of unhealthy days, which was 4.7 day per year. The ALA gives that number a F grade.While the latest ALA report paints a dim picture of air pollution in Cincinnati, the Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency says that overall, our air quality has drastically improved over the past few decades. With the national shuttering of coal factories, levels of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides have helped reduce air pollution. The Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency encourages all businesses and citizens to protect air quality by adopting good energy conservation habits, such as turning off lights, appliances, and other technology not in use. They also suggest not idling your vehicles if they are sitting still for some time, and waiting to mow or refuel on hot summer days until after 7 p.m., when the temperatures and air pollution concentrations tend to fall.