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Air pollution is defined as the presence of substances in the atmosphere that have negative health effects on human beings and other living organisms. Air pollution is a threat health as it results to a number of health complications such as lung diseases and asthma. California, the most populated state in the United States is regarded as the home for the most polluted cities. In addition to human activities, climate change has been significantly linked to air pollution in California as wildfires produce smoke that results in poor air quality within the state. In addition to climate change, factories and industries in California together with vehicle emissions have significantly contributed in air pollution. Air monitoring shows more than 90 percent of residents in California are exposed to unhealthy levels of one or more air pollutants in some parts of the year. According to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), some pollutants are toxic and can result in severe and long-term impacts such as cancer (CARB, 2020). Furthermore, poor air quality contributes to a long year trend of faltering progress which reduces ozone thus triggering asthma attacks and other air pollution related health problems. This paper seeks to research on factors that contribute to increased air pollution in California and measures that can be put in place to reduce air pollution.

Air pollution continues to be an essential public health concern in California. The reason why it matters is because it is associated to heart and lung problems and also leads to premature death. Therefore, there is need for urgent response to the increasing levels of air pollution in California. Following it high population density, California continues to be one of the most polluted states in the U.S. a number of air pollutants, coming out from wildfires and a number of other air pollutants such as emissions from vehicles and factories. According to studies, more than 90 percent of residents in California breathe unhealthy levels of one or more air pollutants. The California Air Resources Board sets health-based ambient air quality standards to identify outdoor pollutant levels that are safe for the public. Certain persons are more vulnerable to health risks of air pollutions. For instance, people with heart and respiratory complication experience severe effects from pollution. Elderly are more likely to be affected by air pollution as well children because their lungs are still developing (Jerrett et al., 2013). Furthermore, adults in the cities are more likely to be exposed to air pollution because of greenhouse gas emissions from factories and automobiles.

Wildfires contribute significantly to air pollution in California. Bay area in California is hardly hit with some of the worst air quality globally. The smoke from the wildfires is all over the space in California exposing residents to low quality air. Wildfires have diverted the attention on human activities that contribute to air pollution within the state. On top of the wildfires, smog high levels and summer intense heat waves result in the worst ozone pollution in the area (Barboza, 2020). Experts are working to uncover the influence of wildfires, climate change, and automobile emissions on air pollution. They have argued that the pandemic has given them unparalleled natural experiment following movement restrictions which has significantly reduced human activities that contribute to air pollution such as vehicle emissions. The pandemic has shown what happens when one source of air pollution is drastically curtailed. From the pandemic, scientists learned that decades of regulating passenger vehicles to reduce vehicle emissions is no longer the dominant source of smog forming pollution in California (Barboza, 2020). Furthermore, the pandemic helped scientists learn that if they take half of vehicles off the road, they will clean CO2 significantly, however, CO2 does not contribute to smog formation.

Los Angeles city in California is regarded as one of the most polluted cities in the U.S. It is a smog-choked city in California, and this has been the trend in the last 19 years. Smog formed in the city forms under warm temperatures, which have been attributed to climate change and made worse by chemicals that exit vehicle tailpipes and industrial smokestacks. Furthermore, warmer temperatures resulting from wildfires and climate change makes the ozone layers more likely to form. According to John Balmes, “California’s air quality is worsening despite having the strongest environmental regulations in the nation” (Rice, D. (2019). The increasing population and topography in California allows air pollution to overcome the strict environmental laws of the state. The increase in population results in an increase in cars and automobiles would put a great strain on efforts towards reducing air pollution.

There are a number of ways in which California can put in place to ensure that they reduce air pollution in the state. Air pollution is attributable to human activities causing climate change. California can control air pollution by implementing and enforcing strict regulations to control emission of greenhouse gases. High temperatures are the main reason why air is so dirty in California (Rice, D. (2019). Air temperatures can be lowered by reducing emission of gases such nitrogen and oxides. Focusing reduction of ozone generating pollutants will help minimize air pollution in general. Furthermore, California needs to achieve ecologically significant change by focusing on preventing or minimizing outbreak of wildfires. In order to avoid catastrophic wildfires, California has to prevent them as well as address factors that contribute to wildfires. If nothing is done to combat global warming, air pollution will continue to increase might significantly put the health of Californians at great risk (Rice, D. (2019). They will be exposed to more respiratory complications more than ever. Fossil fuels need to be completely phased out in the transportation sector and industrial sector. Furthermore, homes should be energy efficient. Shifting to green energy will help reduce global warming significantly. Shifting towards green energy means use of renewable energy sources and more electric vehicles.

In conclusion, air pollution in California has become an issue of health concern. If the right measures are not put in place to control wildfires and greenhouse emissions, the problem of air pollution is going to continue and it might escalate to uncontrollable levels. Right policy is need to control greenhouse emissions as well as prevent wildfires.

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