For someone with a breathing issue, living life can be a bit challenging. It becomes harder when you reside in one of the worst cities to live in with breathing issues. These environmental triggers can only severe your breathing hassles. More so, living in an infected city would make your symptoms worse, thereby negatively impacting your quality of life. So, which are the cities you should avoid?

1. Los Angeles, CA
The award for the smog capital of 2020 goes to the metro area in Los Angeles surrounding Long Beach. It inhabits 18.7 million Americans. Los Angeles is one of the worst cities to live in with breathing issues, and its disappointing ozone levels are probably because of the several trucks and cars, which swamp the byways and the highways. Unfortunately, even the beautiful sun of Los Angeles is no respite for those living in this part of the city. The sunshine only increases smog levels. As a result, Los Angeles has more than 1.5 million people suffering from one or the other kind of asthma.

2. Visalia, CA
This Californian city is placed second in the country’s worst-affected ozone cities and third in the annual air particulate matter. Tulare County and Visalia house over one million cattle, which is more than twice its human population. A significant contributor to the air pollution of Visalia is the industries, which yield excessively high methane levels. This makes Visalia one of the worst cities to live in with breathing issues.

3. Bakersfield, CA
Nestled in the smog-trapping San Joaquin Valley, Bakersfield is also not the city for people who have asthma or any other breathing issue. The primary cause of air pollution in the city is gas and oil production. Many of the city’s plants even contravene the greenhouse gas clause under the Clean Air Act. Approximately 40,000 people in the city suffer from heart diseases. The poor quality only aggravates the susceptibility to a life-threatening heart attack.

4. Fresno, CA
The metro area of Fresno-Madera-Hanford is home to 1.3 million people. Even though the city’s ozone levels underwent a drastic decline in the last couple of years, the air quality index of the city is nowhere close to the country’s requisite standard. The prime reason for the poor AQI is the city’s location. The San Joaquin Valley traps massive emissions from the motor vehicles running around the city, making it impossible for Fresno to meet the national air quality requirements.

5. Sacramento, CA
Even though the ozone levels of the Sacramento-Roseville region have been relatively steady over the last couple of years, it is the air particle levels, which have increased drastically. It impacted the city’s air quality, making this city the wrong choice for people with lung disorders. The problem only gets worse during the summers when residents burn fire pits or fireplaces.