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Air pollution arguably started when humans first learned how to harness the power of fire, and it became the modern curse of industry, automobiles, and power plants.

Today, in the time of COVID-19, dirty air is even more dangerous to our health. Not only has the pandemic caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in the United States alone, but, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), many of the pre-existing conditions that put some segments of the population at greater risk of serious complications from COVID may be linked to long-term exposure to air pollution.

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Using air pollution data from 2000-2016, Findcare created a map of air pollution by county in the United States. Based on fine particulate matter pollution — particles mixed with liquid droplets in the air typically created by cars, industry, and power plants that can be inhaled —Findcare ranked the top 10 counties according to their average PM_2.5 pollution.

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The following are the top ten counties in the United States whose air pollution is above the EPA standard of 12.0µg/m3:

10. Clayton County, Georgia - 13.7 μg/m^3, 14.2% above EPA standard

9. Jefferson County, Alabama - 13.8 μg/m^3, 14.6% above EPA standard

8. Hamilton County, Ohio - 13.8 μg/m^3, 14.9% above EPA standard

7. Vanderburgh County, Indiana - 13.8 μg/m^3, 15.2% above EPA standard

6. Fulton County, Georgia - 13.8 μg/m^3, 15.2% above EPA standard

5. Marion County, Indiana - 14.3 μg/m^3,19.3% above EPA standard

4. Tulare County, California - 14.5 μg/m^3, 20.8% above EPA standard

3. Fresno County, California - 15.5 μg/m^3, 29.2% above EPA standard

2. Los Angeles County, California - 15.7 μg/m^3, 31.0% above EPA standard

1. Orange County, California - 15.8 μg/m^3, 31.6% above EPA standard

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A study by scientists at Harvard University looked at whether long-term average exposure to fine particulate matte was associated with a higher risk of dying from COVID-19 in the United States. By comparing PM_2.5 data to the Johns Hopkins University count of COVID-19 deaths in more than 3,000 counties in the spring of 2020, they found long-term average exposure to this type of pollution was associated with worse outcomes from COVID-19.