These Are MN's Top 15 Most-Polluted Cities, Report Says

MINNESOTA — Unprecedented wildfires in Canada prompted a record number of smoke and air quality alerts in Minnesota and elsewhere in the country. The smoke obscured city skylines and decreased visibility in much of the Upper Midwest.

The poor air quality conditions were of particular concern for those with asthma and lung conditions.

The World Health Organization noted that air pollution causes one out of every nine deaths worldwide and considers air pollution to be the greatest environmental threat to human health. Poor air quality exacerbates health conditions such as asthma, stroke, lung disease, and cancer.

A new study from IQAir has pollution statistics for cities around the world from 2018 to 2023. The report examined 7,812 locations across the world using data collected from air quality monitoring stations.

However, to keep it in perspective, North Saint Paul's air quality index was 13.6. Compare that to Delhi, India, which last week was at 347, or Dhaka, Bangladesh at 185, or Milano, Italy at 143.

The most-polluted municipality in the U.S. was Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, a town of 5,740, which came in at 19.9.

Here are Minnesota's top 10 most-polluted cities, according to IQAir, with numbers expressing the concentration of air pollutants in micrograms per cubic meter of air:

1. North Saint Paul: 13.6
2. Minneapolis: 13.3
3. Alexandria: 13.1
4. Renville: 12.7
5. Rochester: 12.7
6. Eagan: 12.6
7. Saint Paul: 12.5
8. Mankato: 12.4
9. Minnetonka: 12.3
10. Edina: 11.9
11. Burnsville: 11.8
12. Forest Lake: 11.5
13. Savage: 11.5
14. Pine City: 11.3
15. Shakopee: 11.3

Read the full study from IQAir here.