Ozone Alert: Students are finding it harder to breathe due to worsening air quality in Kansas City

  Kansas City was ranked the 34th-worst city in the country for ozone levels, according to the American Lung Association’s (ALA) 2025 report.

   The ALA ranking is based on data collected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a government agency tasked with protecting public and environmental health.

   Since the EPA began tracking air quality in the 1970s, Kansas City has consistently had high levels of pollutants. 

   Worsening air quality can be due to many reasons, such as summer heat and global warming, according to Dr. Amy Christiansen, assistant professor of chemistry. 

   “We are always on the cusp of being too high,” said Christiansen. “Reaction rates increase as temperatures increase, ozone forms more rapidly.” 

   For Kansas City, the main issue is location. Wind currents directing air pollution towards the area and urban sprawl can lead to more emissions in the city.

   Wildfires from California to Canada both have an impact on the air in Kansas City due to where the wind is directing the pollution. 

   “These massive fires burning hundreds and hundreds of acres worth of biomass, these particulates, especially the fine particulate matter, can travel for thousands of miles,” said senior environmental science major Taylor Trudell. 

   A high level of air pollutants can lead to numerous health issues including asthma, cardiovascular diseases and can intensify preexisting conditions. 

   Poor air quality can also impact mortality rates and other areas of the environment, such as water quality and plant growth. 

   However, many are hopeful that UMKC could lead the way for environmental advocacy through positive change.

   “The first step to beating a problem is knowing it,” said Trudell. “UMKC could be a poster child for creative solutions.” 

   Biking, carpooling and the streetcar expansion may help students to decrease emissions. Students may also decrease their personal carbon footprint by eating locally grown food, thrifting and voting for environmentally friendly policies. 

   Student organizations such as the Student Environmental Coalition, Environmental Student Council, the Gardening Club and Thrift-A-Roo all offer students the ability to take part in helping the local community. 

 Environmental students also want to urge the university itself to take part in advocacy by making long-term environmental commitments, such as paying faculty to lead in environmental efforts.

   “With the current administration threatening to dismantle the EPA and to repeal the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, it’s really important that we resist that kind of destruction and advocate for strengthening of those laws,” said Charlene Hanson, vice president of the Student Environmental Coalition.

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