Choosing Appropriate Units for Mobile Home HVAC Upgrades

Coordinates: 35°28′7″N 97°31′17″W / 35.46861°N 97.52139°W / 35.46861; -97.52139CountryUnited StatesStateOklahomaCounties

FoundedApril 22, 1889^[3]IncorporatedJuly 15, 1890^[3]Government

 • TypeCouncil–manager • BodyOklahoma City Council • MayorDavid Holt (R) • City managerCraig FreemanArea

620.79 sq mi (1,607.83 km²) • Land606.48 sq mi (1,570.77 km²) • Water14.31 sq mi (37.06 km²) • Urban

421.73 sq mi (1,092.3 km²)Elevation

1,198 ft (365 m)Population

681,054  • Rank62nd in North America
20th in the United States
1st in Oklahoma • Density1,122.96/sq mi (433.58/km²) • Urban

982,276 (US: 46th) • Urban density2,329.2/sq mi (899.3/km²) • Metro

1,441,695 (US: 42nd)

Demonyms
GDP

 • Metro$100.054 billion (2023)Time zoneUTC−6 (Central (CST)) • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)ZIP Codes

Area code(s)405/572FIPS code40-55000GNIS feature ID1102140^[5]Websitewww.okc.gov

Oklahoma City (/ËŒoÊŠkləˈhoÊŠmÉ™ -/ ^ⓘ), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County,^[9] its population ranks 20th among United States cities and 8th in the Southern United States. The population grew following the 2010 census and reached 681,054 in the 2020 census.^[10] The Oklahoma City metropolitan area had a population of 1,396,445,^[11] and the Oklahoma City–Shawnee Combined Statistical Area had a population of 1,469,124,^[11] making it Oklahoma's largest municipality and metropolitan area by population.

Oklahoma City's city limits extend somewhat into Canadian, Cleveland, and Pottawatomie counties. However, much of those areas outside the core Oklahoma County area are suburban tracts or protected rural zones (watershed). The city is the eighth-largest in the United States by area including consolidated city-counties; it is the second-largest, after Houston, not including consolidated cities. The city is also the second-largest by area among state capital cities in the United States, after Juneau, Alaska.

Oklahoma City has one of the world's largest livestock markets.^[12] Oil, natural gas, petroleum products, and related industries are its economy's largest sector. The city is in the middle of an active oil field, and oil derricks dot the capitol grounds. The federal government employs a large number of workers at Tinker Air Force Base and the United States Department of Transportation's Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (which house offices of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Department's Enterprise Service Center, respectively).

Oklahoma City is on the I-35 and I-40 corridors, one of the primary travel corridors south into neighboring Texas and New Mexico, north towards Wichita and Kansas City, west to Albuquerque, and east towards Little Rock and Memphis. Located in the state's Frontier Country region, the city's northeast section lies in an ecological region known as the Cross Timbers. The city was founded during the Land Run of 1889 and grew to a population of over 10,000 within hours of its founding. It was the site of the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, in which 167 people died,^[13] the deadliest terror attack in U.S. history until the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.

Since weather records have been kept beginning in 1890, Oklahoma City has been struck by 14 violent tornadoes, 11 of which were rated F4 or EF4 on the Fujita and Enhanced Fujita scales, and two rated F5 and EF5.^[14]

Native American names for Oklahoma City

Choctaw: TÊ‹maha chito Oklahumma

Cherokee: ᎣᎦᎳᎰᎹ ᎦᏚᎲᎢ

Romanized: ogalahoma gaduhvi

Cheyenne: Ma'xepóno'e

Comanche: Pia SookaÌ hni

Delaware: Oklahoma-utènaii

Iowa-Oto: Chína Chége Itúⁿ[15]

Navajo: Halgai Hóteeldi Kin Haalʼáhí

Meskwaki: Okonohômîheki[16]

Oklahoma City was settled on April 22, 1889,^[17] when the area known as the "Unassigned Lands" was opened for settlement in an event known as "The Land Run".^[18] On April 26 of that year, its first mayor was elected, William Couch. Some 10,000 homesteaders settled in the area that would become the capital of Oklahoma. The town grew quickly; the population doubled between 1890 and 1900.^[19] Early leaders of the development of the city included Anton H. Classen, John Wilford Shartel, Henry Overholser, Oscar Ameringer, Jack C. Walton, Angelo C. Scott, and James W. Maney.

By the time Oklahoma was admitted to the Union in 1907, Oklahoma City had surpassed Guthrie, the territorial capital, as the new state's population center and commercial hub. Soon after, the capital was moved from Guthrie to Oklahoma City.^[20] Oklahoma City was a significant stop on Route 66 during the early part of the 20th century; it was prominently mentioned in Bobby Troup's 1946 jazz song "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" made famous by artist Nat King Cole.

Before World War II, Oklahoma City developed significant stockyards, attracting jobs and revenue formerly in Chicago and Omaha, Nebraska. With the 1928 discovery of oil within the city limits (including under the State Capitol), Oklahoma City became a major center of oil production.^[21] Post-war growth accompanied the construction of the Interstate Highway System, which made Oklahoma City a major interchange as the convergence of I-35, I-40, and I-44. It was also aided by the federal development of Tinker Air Force Base after successful lobbying efforts by the director of the Chamber of Commerce Stanley Draper.

In 1950, the Census Bureau reported the city's population as 8.6% black and 90.7% white.^[22]

In 1959, the city government launched a "Great Annexation Drive" that expanded the city's area from 80 to 475.55 square miles (207.2 to 1,231.7 square kilometers) by the end of 1961, making it the largest U.S. city by land mass at the time.^[23]

Patience Latting was elected Mayor of Oklahoma City in 1971, becoming the city's first female mayor.^[24] Latting was also the first woman to serve as mayor of a U.S. city with over 350,000 residents.^[24]

Like many other American cities, the center city population declined in the 1970s and 1980s as families followed newly constructed highways to move to newer housing in nearby suburbs. Urban renewal projects in the 1970s, including the Pei Plan, removed older structures but failed to spark much new development, leaving the city dotted with vacant lots used for parking. A notable exception was the city's construction of the Myriad Gardens and Crystal Bridge, a botanical garden and modernistic conservatory in the heart of downtown. Architecturally significant historic buildings lost to clearances were the Criterion Theater,^[25][26] the Baum Building,^[27] the Hales Building,^[28][29] and the Biltmore Hotel.^[30]

In 1993, the city passed a massive redevelopment package known as the Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS), intended to rebuild the city's core with civic projects to establish more activities and life in downtown. The city added a new baseball park; a central library; renovations to the civic center, convention center, and fairgrounds; and a water canal in the Bricktown entertainment district. Water taxis transport passengers within the district, adding color and activity along the canal. MAPS has become one of the most successful public-private partnerships undertaken in the U.S., exceeding $3 billion in private investment as of 2010.^[31] As a result of MAPS, the population in downtown housing has exponentially increased, with the demand for additional residential and retail amenities, such as groceries, services, and shops.

Since the completion of the MAPS projects, the downtown area has seen continued development. Several downtown buildings are undergoing renovation/restoration. Notable among these was the restoration of the Skirvin Hotel in 2007. The famed First National Center is also being renovated.

Residents of Oklahoma City suffered substantial losses on April 19, 1995, when Timothy McVeigh detonated a bomb in front of the Murrah building. The building was destroyed (the remnants of which had to be imploded in a controlled demolition later that year), more than 100 nearby buildings suffered severe damage, and 168 people were killed.^[32] The site has been commemorated as the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.^[33] Since its opening in 2000, over three million people have visited. Every year on April 19, survivors, families, and friends return to the memorial to read the names of each person lost. McVeigh was executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001.

The "Core-to-Shore" project was created to relocate I-40 one mile (1.6 km) south and replace it with a boulevard to create a landscaped entrance to the city.^[34] This also allows the central portion of the city to expand south and connect with the shore of the Oklahoma River. Several elements of "Core to Shore" were included in the MAPS 3 proposal approved by voters in late 2009.

Oklahoma City lies along one of the primary corridors into Texas and Mexico and is a three-hour drive from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The city is in the Frontier Country region in the state's center, making it ideal for state government.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 620.34 square miles (1,606.7 km²),^[35] of which 601.11 square miles (1,556.9 km²) is land and 19.23 square miles (49.8 km²) is water.

Oklahoma City lies in the Sandstone Hills region of Oklahoma, known for hills of 250 to 400 feet (80 to 120 m) and two species of oak: blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) and post oak (Q. stellata).^[36] The northeastern part of the city and its eastern suburbs fall into an ecological region known as the Cross Timbers.^[37]

The city is roughly bisected by the North Canadian River (recently renamed the Oklahoma River inside city limits). The North Canadian once had sufficient flow to flood every year, wreaking destruction on surrounding areas, including the central business district and the original Oklahoma City Zoo.^[38] In the 1940s, a dam was built on the river to manage the flood control and reduce its level.^[39] In the 1990s, as part of the citywide revitalization project known as MAPS, the city built a series of low-water dams, returning water to the portion of the river flowing near downtown.^[40] The city has three large lakes: Lake Hefner and Lake Overholser, in the northwestern quarter of the city; and the largest, Lake Stanley Draper, in the city's sparsely populated far southeast portion.

The population density typically reported for Oklahoma City using the area of its city limits can be misleading. Its urbanized zone covers roughly 244 square miles (630 km²) resulting in a 2013 estimated density of 2,500 per square mile (970/km²), compared with larger rural watershed areas incorporated by the city, which cover the remaining 377 sq mi (980 km²) of the city limits.^[41]

Oklahoma City is one of the largest cities in the nation in compliance with the Clean Air Act.^[42]

Rank	Building	Height	Floors	Built	Ref.
1	Devon Energy Center	844 feet (257 m)	50	2012	[43]
2	BancFirst Tower	500 feet (152 m)	36	1971	[44]
3	First National Center	446 feet (136 m)	33	1931	[45]
4	BOK Park Plaza	433 feet (132 m)	27	2017	[46]
5	Oklahoma Tower	410 feet (125 m)	31	1982	[47]
6	Strata Tower	393 feet (120 m)	30	1973	[48]
7	City Place	391 feet (119 m)	33	1931	[49]
8	Valliance Bank Tower	321 feet (98 m)	22	1984	[50]
9	Leadership Square North	285 feet (87 m)	22	1984	[51]
10	Arvest Tower	281 feet (86 m)	16	1972	[52]

Oklahoma City neighborhoods are highly varied, with affluent historic neighborhoods located next to districts that have not wholly recovered from the economic and social decline of the 1970s and 1980s.^{[citation needed]}

The city is bisected geographically and culturally by the North Canadian River, which divides North Oklahoma City and South Oklahoma City. The north side is characterized by diverse and fashionable urban neighborhoods near the city center and sprawling suburbs further north. South Oklahoma City is generally more blue-collar working class and significantly more industrial, having grown up around the Stockyards and meat packing plants at the turn of the century. It is also the center of the city's rapidly growing Latino community.

Downtown Oklahoma City, which has 7,600 residents, is seeing an influx of new private investment and large-scale public works projects, which have helped to revitalize a central business district left almost deserted by the Oil Bust of the early 1980s. The centerpiece of downtown is the newly renovated Crystal Bridge and Myriad Botanical Gardens, one of the few elements of the Pei Plan to be completed. In 2021, a massive new central park will link the gardens near the CBD and the new convention center to be built just south of it to the North Canadian River as part of a massive works project known as "Core to Shore"; the new park is part of MAPS3, a collection of civic projects funded by a one-cent temporary (seven-year) sales tax increase.^[53]

Oklahoma City has a temperate humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa, Trewartha: Cfak), along with significant continental influences. The city features hot, humid summers and cool winters. Prolonged and severe droughts (sometimes leading to wildfires in the vicinity) and hefty rainfall leading to flash flooding and flooding occur regularly. Consistent winds, usually from the south or south-southeast during the summer, help temper the hotter weather. Consistent northerly winds during the winter can intensify cold periods. Severe ice storms and snowstorms happen sporadically during the winter.

The average temperature is 61.4 °F (16.3 °C), with the monthly daily average ranging from 39.2 °F (4.0 °C) in January to 83.0 °F (28.3 °C) in July. Extremes range from −17 °F (−27 °C) on February 12, 1899 to 113 °F (45 °C) on August 11, 1936, and August 3, 2012;^[54] The last sub-zero (Fahrenheit) reading was −14 °F (−26 °C) on February 16, 2021.^[55][56] Temperatures reach 100 °F (38 °C) on 10.4 days of the year, 90 °F (32 °C) on nearly 70 days, and fail to rise above freezing on 8.3 days.^[55] The city receives about 35.9 inches (91.2 cm) of precipitation annually, of which 8.6 inches (21.8 cm) is snow.

The report "Regional Climate Trends and Scenarios for the U.S. National Climate Assessment" (NCA) from 2013 by NOAA projects that parts of the Great Plains region can expect up to 30% (high emissions scenario based on CMIP3 and NARCCAP models) increase in extreme precipitation days by mid-century. This definition is based on days receiving more than one inch of rainfall.^[57]

Oklahoma City has an active severe weather season from March through June, especially during April and May. Being in the center of what is colloquially referred to as Tornado Alley, it is prone to widespread and severe tornadoes, as well as severe hailstorms and occasional derechoes. Tornadoes occur every month of the year, and a secondary smaller peak also occurs during autumn, especially in October. The Oklahoma City metropolitan area is one of the most tornado-prone major cities in the world, with about 150 tornadoes striking within the city limits since 1890. Since the time weather records have been kept, Oklahoma City has been struck by 13 violent tornadoes, eleven rated F/EF4 and two rated F/EF5.^[14]

On May 3, 1999, parts of Oklahoma City and surrounding communities were impacted by a tornado. It was the last U.S. tornado to be given a rating of F5 on the Fujita scale before the Enhanced Fujita scale replaced it in 2007. While the tornado was in the vicinity of Bridge Creek to the southwest, wind speeds of 318 mph (510 km/h) were estimated by a mobile Doppler radar, the highest wind speeds ever recorded on Earth.^[58] A second top-of-the-scale tornado occurred on May 20, 2013; South Oklahoma City, along with Newcastle and Moore, was hit by an EF5 tornado. The tornado was 0.5 to 1.3 miles (0.80 to 2.09 km) wide and killed 23 people.^[59] On May 31, less than two weeks after the May 20 event, another outbreak affected the Oklahoma City area. Within Oklahoma City, the system spawned an EF1 and an EF0 tornado, and in El Reno to the west, an EF3 tornado occurred. This lattermost tornado, which was heading in the direction of Oklahoma City before it dissipated, had a width of 2.6 miles (4.2 km), making it the widest tornado ever recorded. Additionally, winds over 295 mph (475 km/h) were measured, one of the two highest wind records for a tornado.^[60]

With 19.48 inches (495 mm) of rainfall, May 2015 was Oklahoma City's record-wettest month since record-keeping began in 1890. Across Oklahoma and Texas generally, there was a record flooding in the latter part of the month.^[61]

Population of Oklahoma City 1890-2022

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	4,151		—
1900	10,037		141.8%
1910	64,205		539.7%
1920	91,295		42.2%
1930	185,389		103.1%
1940	204,424		10.3%
1950	243,504		19.1%
1960	324,253		33.2%
1970	368,164		13.5%
1980	404,014		9.7%
1990	444,719		10.1%
2000	506,132		13.8%
2010	579,999		14.6%
2020	681,054		17.4%
2024 (est.)	709,330	[65]	4.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[66] 1790-1960[67] 1900-1990[68] 1990-2000[69] 2010[70]

In the 2010 census, there were 579,999 people, 230,233 households, and 144,120 families in the city. The population density was 956.4 inhabitants per square mile (321.9/km²). There were 256,930 housing units at an average density of 375.9 per square mile (145.1/km²). By the 2020 census, its population grew to 681,054.^[71]

Of Oklahoma City's 579,999 people in 2010, 44,541 resided in Canadian County, 63,723 lived in Cleveland County, 471,671 resided in Oklahoma County, and 64 resided in Pottawatomie County.^[72]

In 2010, there were 230,233 households, 29.4% of which had children under 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. One person households account for 30.5% of all households, and 8.7% of all households had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.11.^[73]

According to the American Community Survey 1-year estimates in 2022, the median income for a household in the city was $63,713, and the median income for a family was $80,833. Married-couple families $99,839, and nonfamily households $40,521.^[74] The per capita income for the city was $35,902.^[75] 15.5% of the population and 11.2% of families were below the poverty line. Of the total population, 20.1% of those under 18 and 10.6% of those 65 and older lived below the poverty line.^[76]

In the 2000 census, Oklahoma City's age composition was 25.5% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.

Oklahoma City has experienced significant population increases since the late 1990s. It is the first city in the state to record a population greater than 600,000 residents and the first city in the Great Plains region to record a population greater than 600,000 residents. It is the largest municipal population of the Great Plains region (Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota).^[ambiguous]

In the 2020 census, there were 268,035 households in the city, out of which 81,374 households (30.4%) were individuals, 113,161 (42.2%) were opposite-sex married couples, 17,699 (6.6%) were unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 2,930 (1.1%) were same-sex married couples or partnerships.^[77]

⬤ Black

⬤ Asian

⬤ Hispanic

⬤ Multiracial

⬤ Native American/Other

Historical racial composition	2020 [71]	2010[78]	1990[22]	1970[22]	1940[22]
White (Non-Hispanic)	49.5%	56.7%	72.9%	82.2%	90.4%
Hispanic or Latino	21.3%	17.2%	5.0%	2.0%	n/a
Black or African American	13.8%	14.8%	16.0%	13.7%	9.5%
Mixed	7.6%	4.0%	0.4%	–	–
Asian	4.6%	4.0%	2.4%	0.2%	–
Native American	3.4%	3.1%	4.2%	2.0%	0.1%

According to the 2020 census, the racial composition of Oklahoma City was as follows:^[79] White or European American 49.5%, Hispanic or Latino 21.3%, Black or African American 13.8%, Asian 4.6%, Native American 2.8%, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.2%, other race 0.4%, and two or more races (non-Hispanic) 7.6%. Its population has diversified since the 1940s census, where 90.4% was non-Hispanic white.^[22] An analysis in 2017 found Oklahoma City to be the 8th least racially segregated significant city in the United States.^[80] Of the 20 largest US cities, Oklahoma City has the second-highest percentage of the population reporting two or more races on the Census, 7.6%, second to 8.9% in New York City.

Oklahoma City – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000[81]	Pop 2010[82]	Pop 2020[83]	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	327,225	328,582	337,063	64.65%	56.65%	49.49%
Black or African American alone (NH)	76,994	85,744	93,767	15.21%	14.78%	13.77%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	16,406	18,208	18,757	3.24%	3.14%	2.75%
Asian alone (NH)	17,410	23,051	31,163	3.44%	3.97%	4.58%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	278	464	971	0.05%	0.08%	0.14%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	452	700	2,700	0.09%	0.12%	0.40%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)	15,999	23,212	51,872	3.16%	4.00%	7.62%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	51,368	100,038	144,761	10.15%	17.25%	21.26%
Total	506,132	579,999	681,054	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

Oklahoma City is the principal city of the eight-county Oklahoma City metropolitan statistical Area in Central Oklahoma and is the state's largest urbanized area. As of 2015, the metro area was the 41st largest in the nation based on population.^[84]

The Association of Religion Data Archives in 2020 reported that the Southern Baptist Convention was the city and metropolitan area's most prominent Christian tradition with 213,008 members, Christianity being the area's predominant religion. Non/interdenominational Protestants were the second largest tradition with 195,158 members. The Roman Catholic Church claimed 142,491 adherents throughout the metropolitan region and Pentecostals within the Assemblies of God USA numbered 48,470.^[85] The remainder of Christians in the area held to predominantly Evangelical Christian beliefs in numerous evangelical Protestant denominations. Outside of Christendom, there were 4,230 practitioners of Hinduism and 2,078 Mahayana Buddhists. An estimated 8,904 residents practiced Islam during this study.^[85]

Law enforcement claims Oklahoma City has traditionally been the territory of the notorious Juárez Cartel, but the Sinaloa Cartel has been reported as trying to establish a foothold in Oklahoma City. There are many rival gangs in Oklahoma City, one whose headquarters has been established in the city, the Southside Locos, traditionally known as Sureños.^[86]

Oklahoma City also has its share of violent crimes, particularly in the 1970s. The worst occurred in 1978 when six employees of a Sirloin Stockade restaurant on the city's south side were murdered execution-style in the restaurant's freezer. An intensive investigation followed, and the three individuals involved, who also killed three others in Purcell, Oklahoma, were identified. One, Harold Stafford, died in a motorcycle accident in Tulsa not long after the restaurant murders. Another, Verna Stafford, was sentenced to life without parole after being granted a new trial after she had been sentenced to death. Roger Dale Stafford, considered the mastermind of the murder spree, was executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in 1995.^[87]

The Oklahoma City Police Department has a uniformed force of 1,169 officers and 300+ civilian employees. The department has a central police station and five substations covering 2,500 police reporting districts that average 1/4 square mile in size.

On April 19, 1995, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was destroyed by a fertilizer bomb manufactured and detonated by Timothy McVeigh. The blast and catastrophic collapse killed 168 people and injured over 680. The blast shock-wave destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a 340-meter radius, destroyed or burned 86 cars, and shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings, causing at least an estimated $652 million. McVeigh was convicted and subsequently executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001.

The economy of Oklahoma City, once just a regional power center of government and energy exploration, has since diversified to include the sectors of information technology, services, health services, and administration. The city is headquarters to two Fortune 500 companies: Expand Energy and Devon Energy,^[88] as well as being home to Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, which is ranked thirteenth on Forbes' list of private companies.^[89]

As of March 2024, the top 20 employers in the city were:^[90]

#	Employer	# of employees
1	State of Oklahoma (State Capital)	37,600
2	Tinker Air Force Base	26,000
3	Oklahoma State University-Stillwater	13,940
4	University of Oklahoma-Norman	11,530
5	Integris Health	11,000
6	Amazon	8,000
7	Hobby Lobby Stores (HQ)	6,500
8	Mercy Health Center (HQ)	6,500
9	SSM Health Care (Regional HQ)	5,600
10	FAA Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center	5,150
11	University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center	5000
12	City of Oklahoma City	4,500
13	OU Medical Center	4,360
14	Paycom (HQ)	4,200
15	The Boeing Company	3,740
16	Midfirst Bank (HQ)	3,100
17	Norman Regional Hospital	2,740
18	AT&T	2,700
19	OGE Energy Corp (HQ)	2,240
20	Dell	2,100

Other major corporations with a significant presence (over 1,000 employees) in the city of Oklahoma City include the United Parcel Service, Farmers Insurance Group, Great Plains Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Deaconess Hospital, Johnson Controls, MidFirst Bank, Rose State College, and Continental Resources.^[91][92]

While not in the city limits, other large employers within the Oklahoma City MSA include United States Air Force – Tinker AFB (27,000); University of Oklahoma (11,900); University of Central Oklahoma (2,900); and Norman Regional Hospital (2,800).^[91]

According to the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, the metropolitan area's economic output grew by 33% between 2001 and 2005 due chiefly to economic diversification. Its gross metropolitan product (GMP) was $43.1  billion in 2005^[93] and grew to $61.1 billion in 2009.^[94] By 2016 the GMP had grown to $73.8 billion.^[95]

In 2008, Forbes magazine reported that the city had falling unemployment, one of the strongest housing markets in the country and solid growth in energy, agriculture, and manufacturing.^[96] However, during the early 1980s, Oklahoma City had one of the worst job and housing markets due to the bankruptcy of Penn Square Bank in 1982 and then the post-1985 crash in oil prices (oil bust).^{[citation needed]}

Approximately 23.2 million visitors contributed $4.3 billion to Oklahoma City's economy. These visitors directly spent $2.6 billion, sustained nearly 34,000 jobs, and generated $343 million in state and local taxes.^[97]

Business and entertainment districts (and, to a lesser extent, local neighborhoods) tend to maintain their boundaries and character by applying zoning regulations and business improvement districts (districts where property owners agree to a property tax surcharge to support additional services for the community).^[98] Through zoning regulations, historic districts, and other special zoning districts, including overlay districts, are well established.^[99] Oklahoma City has three business improvement districts, including one encompassing the central business district.

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The Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center is the new downtown home for the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. The museum features visiting exhibits, original selections from its collection, a theater showing various foreign, independent, and classic films each week, and a restaurant. OKCMOA is also home to the most comprehensive collection of Chihuly glass in the world, including the 55-foot Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick Memorial Tower in the Museum's atrium.^[100] The art deco Civic Center Music Hall, which was renovated in 2001, has performances from the Oklahoma City Ballet, the Oklahoma City Opera, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and also various concerts and traveling Broadway shows.

Other theaters include the Lyric Theatre, Jewel Box Theatre, Kirkpatrick Auditorium, the Poteet Theatre, the Oklahoma City Community College Bruce Owen Theater, and the 488-seat Petree Recital Hall at the Oklahoma City University campus. The university opened the Wanda L Bass School of Music and Auditorium in April 2006.

The Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center (formerly City Arts Center) moved downtown in 2020, near Campbell Art Park at 11th and Broadway, after being at the Oklahoma State Fair fairgrounds since 1989. It features exhibitions, performances, classes, workshops, camps, and weekly programs.

The Science Museum Oklahoma (formerly Kirkpatrick Science and Air Space Museum at Omniplex) houses exhibits on science and aviation and an IMAX theater. The museum formerly housed the International Photography Hall of Fame (IPHF), which displays photographs and artifacts from an extensive collection of cameras and other artifacts preserving the history of photography. IPHF honors those who have contributed significantly to the art and/or science of photography and relocated to St. Louis, Missouri in 2013.

The Museum of Osteology displays over 450 real skeletons and houses over 7,000.^[101] Focusing on the form and function of the skeletal system, this 7,000 sq ft (650 m²) museum displays hundreds of skulls and skeletons from all corners of the world. Exhibits include adaptation, locomotion, classification, and diversity of the vertebrate kingdom. The Museum of Osteology is the only one of its kind in America.

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum has galleries of western art^[102] and is home to the Hall of Great Western Performers.^[103]

In September 2021, the First Americans Museum opened to the public, focusing on the histories and cultures of the numerous tribal nations and many Indigenous peoples in the state of Oklahoma.^[104]

The Oklahoma City National Memorial in the northern part of Oklahoma City's downtown was created as the inscription on its eastern gate of the Memorial reads, "to honor the victims, survivors, rescuers, and all who were changed forever on April 19, 1995"; the memorial was built on the land formerly occupied by the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building complex before its 1995 bombing. The outdoor Symbolic Memorial can be visited 24 hours a day for free, and the adjacent Memorial Museum, in the former Journal Record building damaged by the bombing, can be entered for a small fee. The site is also home to the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, a non-partisan, nonprofit think tank devoted to preventing terrorism.

The American Banjo Museum in the Bricktown Entertainment district is dedicated to preserving and promoting the music and heritage of the banjo.^[105] Its collection is valued at $3.5  million^{[citation needed]}, and an interpretive exhibit tells the evolution of the banjo from its roots in American slavery, to bluegrass, to folk, and to world music.

The Oklahoma History Center is the state's history museum. Across the street from the governor's mansion at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in northeast Oklahoma City, the museum opened in 2005 and is operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society. It preserves Oklahoma's history from the prehistoric to the present day.

The Oklahoma State Firefighters Museum contains early colonial firefighting tools, the first fire station in Oklahoma,^[106] and modern fire trucks.^[107]

Florence's Restaurant in 2022 was named one of America's Classics by the James Beard Foundation.^[108][109] It was the first James Beard award for an Oklahoma entity.^[108] The Oklahoman called Florence's "The Grand Dame of all local restaurants".^[110] Andrew Black, chef/owner of Grey Sweater, won the 2023 James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest.^[111]

The Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives has been to several restaurants in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. Some of these include Cattlemen's Steakhouse, Chick N Beer, Clanton's Cafe, The Diner, Eischen's Bar, Florence's Restaurant, and Guyutes, among several others.^[112]

Oklahoma City is home to several professional sports teams, including the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association. The Thunder is the city's second "permanent" major professional sports franchise after the now-defunct AFL Oklahoma Wranglers. It is the third major-league team to call the city home when considering the temporary hosting of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for the 2005–06 and 2006–07 NBA seasons. However, the Thunder was formerly the Sonics before the movement of the Sonics to OKC in 2008.

Other professional sports clubs in Oklahoma City include the Oklahoma City Comets, the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Oklahoma City Energy FC of the United Soccer League, and the Crusaders of Oklahoma Rugby Football Club of USA Rugby. The Oklahoma City Blazers, a name used for decades of the city's hockey team in the Central Hockey League, has been used for a junior team in the Western States Hockey League since 2014.

The Paycom Center in downtown is the main multipurpose arena in the city, which hosts concerts, NHL exhibition games, and many of the city's pro sports teams. In 2008, the Oklahoma City Thunder became the primary tenant. Nearby in Bricktown, the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark is the home to the city's baseball team, the Comets. "The Brick", as it is locally known, is considered one of the finest minor league parks in the nation.^[113]

Oklahoma City hosts the World Cup of Softball and the annual NCAA Women's College World Series. The city has held 2005 NCAA Men's Basketball First and Second round and hosted the Big 12 Men's and women's basketball tournaments in 2007 and 2009. The major universities in the area – University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City University, and Oklahoma State University – often schedule major basketball games and other sporting events at Paycom Center and Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. However, most home games are played at their campus stadiums.

Other major sporting events include Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing circuits at Remington Park and numerous horse shows and equine events that take place at the state fairgrounds each year. There are multiple golf courses and country clubs spread around the city.

The state of Oklahoma hosts a highly competitive high school football culture, with many teams in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) organizes high school football into eight distinct classes based on school enrollment size. Beginning with the largest, the classes are 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A, A, B, and C. Class 6A is broken into two divisions. Oklahoma City schools in include: Westmoore, Putnam City North, Putnam City, Putnam City West, Southeast, Capitol Hill, U.S. Grant, and Northwest Classen.^[114]

The Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA) has called Oklahoma City home since the 2008–09 season, when owner Clay Bennett relocated the franchise from Seattle, Washington. The Thunder plays home games in downtown Oklahoma City at the Paycom Center. The Thunder is known by several nicknames, including "OKC Thunder" and simply "OKC", and its mascot is Rumble the Bison.

After arriving in Oklahoma City for the 2008–09 season, the Oklahoma City Thunder secured a berth (8th) in the 2010 NBA Playoffs the following year after boasting its first 50-win season, winning two games in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2012, Oklahoma City made it to the NBA Finals but lost to the Miami Heat in five games. In 2013, the Thunder reached the Western Conference semi-finals without All-Star guard Russell Westbrook, who was injured in their first-round series against the Houston Rockets, only to lose to the Memphis Grizzlies. In 2014, Oklahoma City reached the NBA's Western Conference Finals again but eventually lost to the San Antonio Spurs in six games.

Sports analysts have regarded the Oklahoma City Thunder as one of the elite franchises of the NBA's Western Conference and a media darling of the league's future. Oklahoma City earned Northwest Division titles every year from 2011 to 2014 and again in 2016 and has consistently improved its win record to 59 wins in 2014. The Thunder is led by third-year head coach Mark Daigneault and was anchored by All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook before a July 2019 trade that sent him to the Houston Rockets.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the NBA's New Orleans Hornets temporarily relocated to the Ford Center, playing the majority of its home games there during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. The team became the first NBA franchise to play regular-season games in Oklahoma.^{[citation needed]} The team was known as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets while playing in Oklahoma City. The team returned to New Orleans full-time for the 2007–08 season. The Hornets played their final home game in Oklahoma City during the exhibition season on October 9, 2007, against the Houston Rockets.

Current professional sports teams

Sports Franchise	League	Sport	Founded	Stadium (capacity)
Oklahoma City Thunder	NBA	Basketball	2008	Paycom Center (18,203)
Oklahoma City Comets	MiLB	Baseball	1998	Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (13,066)
Oklahoma City Blue	NBA G League	Basketball	2018	Paycom Center (18,203)
Oklahoma City Energy	USL Championship (Division 2)	Soccer	2018	Taft Stadium (7,500)
Oklahoma City Football Club	Women's Premier Soccer League	Soccer	2022	Brian Harvey Field (1,500)
Oklahoma City Spark	Women's Professional Fastpitch	Softball	2023	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium (13,500)

Venues in Oklahoma City will host two events during the 2028 Summer Olympics, which will primarily be held in Los Angeles. The LA Olympic Organizing Committee opted to have canoe slalom and softball in Oklahoma City, given the lack of acceptable venues for those sports in Los Angeles. Riversport OKC will host the canoe slalom competition, while Devon Park will host the softball competition. Oklahoma City is located approximately 1,300 miles away from Los Angeles.^[115]

One of the more prominent landmarks of downtown Oklahoma City is the Crystal Bridge tropical conservatory at the Myriad Botanical Gardens, a large downtown urban park. Designed by I. M. Pei, the park also includes the Water Stage amphitheater, a bandshell, and lawn, a sunken pond complete with koi, an interactive children's garden complete with a carousel and water sculpture, various trails and interactive exhibits that rotate throughout the year including the ice skating in the Christmas winter season. In 2007, following a renovation of the stage, Oklahoma Shakespeare In The Park relocated to the Myriad Gardens. Bicentennial Park, also downtown located near the Oklahoma City Civic Center campus, is home to the annual Festival of the Arts in April.

The Scissortail Park is just south of the Myriad Gardens, a large interactive park that opened in 2021. This park contains a large lake with paddleboats, a dog park, a concert stage with a great lawn, a promenade including the Skydance Bridge, a children's interactive splash park and playground, and numerous athletic facilities. Farmers Market is a common attraction at Scissortail Park during the season, and there are multiple film showings, food trucks, concerts, festivals, and civic gatherings.

Returning to the city's first parks masterplan, Oklahoma City has at least one major park in each quadrant outside downtown. Will Rogers Park, the Grand Boulevard loop once connected Lincoln Park, Trosper Park, and Woodson Park, some sections of which no longer exist. Martin Park Nature Center is a natural habitat in far northwest Oklahoma City. Will Rogers Park is home to the Lycan Conservatory, the Rose Garden, and the Butterfly Garden, all built in the WPA era. In April 2005, the Oklahoma City Skate Park at Wiley Post Park was renamed the Mat Hoffman Action Sports Park to recognize Mat Hoffman, an Oklahoma City area resident and businessman who was instrumental in the design of the skate park and is a 10-time BMX World Vert champion.^[116]

Walking trails line the Bricktown Canal and the Oklahoma River in downtown. The city's bike trail system follows around Lake Hefner and Lake Overholser in the northwest and west quadrants of the city. The majority of the east shore area of Lake Hefner is taken up by parks and bike trails, including a new leashless dog park and the postwar-era Stars and Stripes Park, and eateries near the lighthouse. Lake Stanley Draper, in southeast Oklahoma City, is the city's largest and most remote lake, offering a genuine rural yet still urban experience.

The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden is home to numerous natural habitats, WPA era architecture and landscaping, and major touring concerts during the summer at its amphitheater. Nearby is a combination racetrack and casino, Remington Park, which hosts both Quarter Horse (March – June) and Thoroughbred (August—December) seasons.

Oklahoma City is also home to the American Banjo Museum, which houses a large collection of highly decorated banjos from the early 20th century and exhibits the banjo's history and its place in American history. Concerts and lectures are also held there.

The City of Oklahoma City has operated under a council-manager form of city government since 1927.^[117] David Holt assumed the office of Mayor on April 10, 2018, after being elected two months earlier.^[118] Eight councilpersons represent each of the eight wards of Oklahoma City. The City Council appointed current City Manager Craig Freeman on November 20, 2018. Freeman took office on January 2, 2018, succeeding James D. Couch, who had served in the role since 2000. Before becoming City Manager, Craig Freeman served as Finance Director for the city.^[119]

Similar to many American cities, Oklahoma City is politically conservative in its suburbs and liberal in the central city. In the United States House of Representatives, it is represented by Republicans Stephanie Bice and Tom Cole of the 5th and 4th districts, respectively. The city has called on residents to vote for sales tax-based projects to revitalize parts of the city. The Bricktown district is the best example of such an initiative. In the recent MAPS 3 vote, the city's fraternal police order criticized the project proposals for not doing enough to expand the police presence to keep up with the growing residential population and increased commercial activity. In September 2013, Oklahoma City area attorney David Slane announced he would pursue legal action regarding MAPS3 on claims the multiple projects that made up the plan violate a state constitutional law limiting voter ballot issues to a single subject.^[120]

Oklahoma County Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of November 1, 2020[121]
Party		Number of Voters	Percentage
	Democratic	164,628	37.26%
	Republican	189,991	43.00%
	Libertarian	3,385	0.77%
	Unaffiliated	83,799	18.97%
Total		441,803	100%

Consulate	Date	Consular District
Guatemalan Consulate-General, Oklahoma City[122]	06.2017	Oklahoma, Kansas
Mexican Consulate, Oklahoma City[123]	05.2023	Oklahoma
Germany Honorary Consulate, Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City's sister cities are:^[124]

The city is home to several colleges and universities. Oklahoma City University, formerly known as Epworth University, was founded by the United Methodist Church on September 1, 1904, and is known for its performing arts, science, mass communications, business, law, and athletic programs. OCU has its main campus in the north-central section of the city, near the city's Asia District area. OCU Law is in the old Central High School building in the Midtown district near downtown.

The University of Oklahoma has several institutions of higher learning in the city and metropolitan area, with OU Medicine and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center campuses east of downtown in the Oklahoma Health Center district, and the main campus to the south in the suburb of Norman. OU Medical Center hosts the state's only Level-One trauma center. OU Health Sciences Center is one of the nation's largest independent medical centers, employing over 12,000 people.^[125] OU is one of only four major universities in the nation to operate six medical schools.^{[clarification needed]}

The third-largest university in the state, the University of Central Oklahoma, is just north of the city in the suburb of Edmond. Oklahoma Christian University, one of the state's private liberal arts institutions, is just south of the Edmond border, inside the Oklahoma City limits.^[126]

Oklahoma City Community College in south Oklahoma City is the second-largest community college in the state. Rose State College is east of Oklahoma City in suburban Midwest City. Oklahoma State University–Oklahoma City is in the "Furniture District" on the Westside. Northeast of the city is Langston University, the state's historically black college (HBCU). Langston also has an urban campus in the eastside section of the city. Southern Nazarene University, which was founded by the Church of the Nazarene, is a university in suburban Bethany, which is surrounded by the Oklahoma City city limits.

Although technically not a university, the FAA's Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center has many aspects of an institution of higher learning. Its FAA Academy is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Its Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) has a medical education division responsible for aeromedical education in general, as well as the education of aviation medical examiners in the U.S. and 93 other countries. In addition, The National Academy of Science offers Research Associateship Programs for fellowship and other grants for CAMI research.

Oklahoma City is home to (as of 2009) the state's largest school district, Oklahoma City Public Schools,^[127] which covers the most significant portion of the city.^[128] The district's Classen School of Advanced Studies and Harding Charter Preparatory High School rank high among public schools nationally according to a formula that looks at the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by the school's students divided by the number of graduating seniors.^[129] In addition, OKCPS's Belle Isle Enterprise Middle School was named the top middle school in the state according to the Academic Performance Index and recently received the Blue Ribbon School Award, in 2004 and again in 2011.^[130]

Due to Oklahoma City's explosive growth, parts of several suburban districts spill into the city. All but one of the school districts in Oklahoma County includes portions of Oklahoma City. The other districts in that county covering OKC include: Choctaw/Nicoma Park, Crooked Oak, Crutcho, Deer Creek, Edmond, Harrah, Jones, Luther, McLoud, Mid-Del, Millwood, Moore, Mustang, Oakdale, Piedmont, Putnam City, and Western Heights.^[128] School districts in Cleveland County covering portions of Oklahoma City include: Little Axe, McLoud, Mid-Del, Moore, and Robin Hill.^[131] Within Canadian County, Banner, Mustang, Piedmont, Union City, and Yukon school districts include parts of OKC.^[132]

There are also charter schools. KIPP Reach College Preparatory School in Oklahoma City received the 2012 National Blue Ribbon, and its school leader, Tracy McDaniel Sr., was awarded the Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding Leadership.

The city also boasts several private and parochial schools. Casady School and Heritage Hall School are both examples of a private college preparatory school with rigorous academics that range among the top in Oklahoma. Providence Hall is a Protestant school. Two prominent schools of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City include Bishop McGuinness High School and Mount Saint Mary High School. Other private schools include the Advanced Science and Technology Education Center and Crossings Christian School.

The Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, a school for some of the state's most gifted math and science pupils, is also in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City has several public career and technology education schools associated with the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, the largest of which are Metro Technology Center and Francis Tuttle Technology Center.

Private career and technology education schools in Oklahoma City include Oklahoma Technology Institute, Platt College, Vatterott College, and Heritage College. The Dale Rogers Training Center is a nonprofit vocational training center for individuals with disabilities.

The Oklahoman is Oklahoma City's major daily newspaper and is the most widely circulated in the state. NewsOK.com is the Oklahoman's online presence. Oklahoma Gazette is Oklahoma City's independent newsweekly, featuring such staples as local commentary, feature stories, restaurant reviews, movie listings, and music and entertainment. The Journal Record is the city's daily business newspaper, and okcBIZ is a monthly publication that covers business news affecting those who live and work in Central Oklahoma.

Numerous community and international newspapers cater to the city's ethnic mosaic, such as The Black Chronicle, headquartered in the Eastside, the OK VIETIMES and Oklahoma Chinese Times, in Asia District, and various Hispanic community publications. The Campus is the student newspaper at Oklahoma City University. Gay publications include The Gayly Oklahoman.

An upscale lifestyle publication called 405 Magazine (formerly Slice Magazine) is circulated throughout the metropolitan area.^[133] In addition, there is a magazine published by Back40 Design Group called The Edmond Outlook. It contains local commentary and human interest pieces directly mailed to over 50,000 Edmond residents.

Ready Player One is set in Oklahoma City in the year 2045.

Oklahoma City was home to several pioneers in radio and television broadcasting. Oklahoma City's WKY Radio was the first radio station transmitting west of the Mississippi River and the third radio station in the United States.^[134] WKY received its federal license in 1921 and has continually broadcast under the same call letters since 1922. In 1928, WKY was purchased by E.K. Gaylord's Oklahoma Publishing Company and affiliated with the NBC Red Network; in 1949, WKY-TV (channel 4) went on the air and later became the first independently owned television station in the U.S. to broadcast in color.^[134] In mid-2002, WKY radio was purchased outright by Citadel Broadcasting, who was bought out by Cumulus Broadcasting in 2011. The Gaylord family earlier sold WKY-TV in 1976, which has gone through a succession of owners (what is now KFOR-TV is owned by Nexstar Media Group as of October 2019).

The major U.S. broadcast television networks have affiliates in the Oklahoma City market (ranked 41st for television by Nielsen and 48th for radio by Arbitron, covering a 34-county area serving the central, north-central and west-central sections of Oklahoma); including NBC affiliate KFOR-TV (channel 4), ABC affiliate KOCO-TV (channel 5), CBS affiliate KWTV-DT (channel 9, the flagship of locally based Griffin Media), PBS station KETA-TV (channel 13, the flagship of the state-run OETA member network), Fox affiliate KOKH-TV (channel 25), independent station KOCB (channel 34), CW owned-and-operated station KAUT-TV (channel 43), MyNetworkTV affiliate KSBI-TV (channel 52), and Ion Television affiliate KOPX-TV (channel 62). The market is also home to several religious stations, including TBN owned-and-operated station KTBO-TV (channel 14) and Norman-based Daystar owned-and-operated station KOCM (channel 46).

Despite the market's geographical size, none of the English-language commercial affiliates in the Oklahoma City designated market area operate full-power satellite stations covering the far northwestern part of the state (requiring cable or satellite to view them). However, KFOR-TV, KOCO-TV, KWTV-DT, and KOKH-TV each operate low-power translators in that portion of the market. Oklahoma City is one of the few markets between Chicago and Dallas to have affiliates of two or more of the significant Spanish-language broadcast networks: Telemundo affiliate KTUZ-TV (channel 30), Woodward-based Univision/UniMás affiliate KUOK 35 (whose translator KUOK-CD, channel 36, serves the immediate Oklahoma City area), and Estrella TV affiliate KOCY-LD (channel 48). (Locally based Tyler Media Group, which owns the three stations above, also owns eight radio stations in the market, including Regional Mexican-formatted KTUZ-FM (106.7) and news–talk outlet KOKC (1520 AM).)

Oklahoma City is protected by the Oklahoma City Fire Department (OKCFD), which employs 1015 paid, professional firefighters. The current Chief of Department is Richard Kelley, and the department is commanded by three Deputy Chiefs, who – along with the department chief – oversee the Operational Services, Prevention Services, and Support Services bureaus. The OKCFD operates out of 37 fire stations throughout the city in six battalions. The OKCFD operates a fire apparatus fleet of 36 engine companies (including 30 paramedic engines), 13 ladder companies, 16 brush pumper units, six water tankers, two hazardous materials units, one Technical Rescue Unit, one Air Supply Unit, six Arson Investigation Units, and one Rehabilitation Unit along with several special units. Each engine Company is staffed with a driver, an officer, and one to two firefighters, while each ladder company is staffed with a driver, an officer, and one firefighter. The minimum staffing for each shift is 213 personnel. The Oklahoma City Fire Department responds to over 70,000 emergency calls annually.^{[135][136][137]}

Oklahoma City is an integral point on the United States Interstate Network, with three major interstate highways – Interstate 35, Interstate 40, and Interstate 44 – bisecting the city. Interstate 240 connects Interstate 40 and Interstate 44 in south Oklahoma City. At the same time, Interstate 235 spurs from Interstate 44 in north-central Oklahoma City into downtown. Interstate 44, between NW 23rd St and NW 36th St, is the busiest roadway in the city and state, with an average daily traffic count of 167,200 vehicles per day in 2018.^[138]

Major state expressways through the city include Lake Hefner Parkway (SH-74), the Kilpatrick Turnpike, Airport Road (SH-152), and Broadway Extension (US-77) which continues from I-235 connecting Central Oklahoma City to Edmond. Lake Hefner Parkway runs through northwest Oklahoma City, while Airport Road runs through southwest Oklahoma City and leads to Will Rogers World Airport. The Kilpatrick Turnpike loops around north and west Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City also has several major national and state highways within its city limits. Shields Boulevard (US-77) continues from E.K. Gaylord Boulevard in downtown Oklahoma City and runs south, eventually connecting to I-35 near the suburb of Moore, Oklahoma. Northwest Expressway (Oklahoma State Highway 3) runs from North Classen Boulevard in north-central Oklahoma City to the northwestern suburbs.

The following significant expressways traverse Oklahoma City:

• Interstate 35
• Interstate 40 (Crosstown Expressway, Stanley Draper Expressway, Tinker Diagonal, Tom Stead Memorial Highway)
• Interstate 44 (Turner Turnpike, Belle Isle Freeway, Will Rogers Expressway, H.E. Bailey Turnpike)
• Interstate 235 (Centennial Expressway) / U.S. 77 (Broadway Extension)
• Interstate 240 (Southwest Expressway)
• Lake Hefner Parkway (State Highway 74)
• Airport Road (State Highway 152)
• Kilpatrick Turnpike

Oklahoma City is served by two primary airports, Will Rogers World Airport and the much smaller Wiley Post Airport (incidentally, the two honorees died in the same plane crash in Alaska)^[139] Will Rogers World Airport is the state's busiest commercial airport, with 4,341,159 passengers served in 2018, a historical record.^[140]

Tinker Air Force Base, in southeast Oklahoma City, is the largest military air depot in the nation. It is a major maintenance and deployment facility for the Navy and the Air Force and the second largest military institution in the state (after Fort Sill in Lawton).

Amtrak has a station downtown at the Santa Fe Depot, with daily service to Fort Worth and the nation's rail network via the Heartland Flyer. Oklahoma City once was the crossroads of several interstate passenger railroads at the Santa Fe Depot, the Union Station, and the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad station.^[141] But service at that level has long since been discontinued. However, several proposals to extend the current train service have been made, including a plan to expand the Heartland Flyer to Newton, Kansas, which is currently being connected through Amtrak Thruway. Freight service is provided by BNSF Railway, Union Pacific Railroad, and Stillwater Central.

Greyhound and several other intercity bus companies serve Oklahoma City at the Union Bus Station in downtown.

Embark (formerly Metro Transit) is the city's public transit company. The primary transfer terminal is downtown at NW 5th Street and Hudson Avenue. Embark maintains limited coverage of the city's primary street grid using a hub-and-spoke system from the main terminal, making many journeys impractical due to the relatively small number of bus routes offered and that most trips require a transfer downtown. The city has recognized transit as a significant issue for the rapidly growing and urbanizing city. It has initiated several recent studies to improve the existing bus system, starting with a plan known as the Fixed Guideway Study.^[142] This study identified several potential commuter transit routes from the suburbs into downtown OKC as well as feeder-line bus and/or rail routes throughout the city.

Though Oklahoma City has no light rail or commuter rail service, city residents identified improved transit as one of their top priorities. From the fruits of the Fixed Guideway and other studies, city leaders strongly desire to incorporate urban rail transit into the region's future transportation plans. The greater Oklahoma City metropolitan transit plan identified from the Fixed Guideway Study includes a streetcar system in the downtown area, to be fed by enhanced city bus service and commuter rail from the suburbs including Edmond, Norman, and Midwest City. There is a significant push for a commuter rail line connecting downtown OKC with the eastern suburbs of Del City, Midwest City, and Tinker Air Force Base. In addition to commuter rail, a short heritage rail line that would run from Bricktown just a few blocks away from the Amtrak station to the Adventure District in northeast Oklahoma City is under reconstruction.

In December 2009, Oklahoma City voters passed MAPS 3, the $777 million (7-year, 1-cent tax) initiative. This initiative would generate funding (approx. $130 million) for the modern Oklahoma City Streetcar system in downtown Oklahoma City and the establishment of a transit hub.

On September 10, 2013, the federal government announced that Oklahoma City would receive a $13.8-million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's TIGER program. This was the first-ever grant for Oklahoma City for a rail-based initiative and is thought to be a turning point for city leaders who have applied for grants in the past, only to be denied continuously. It is believed the city will use the TIGER grant along with approximately $10  million from the MAPS 3 Transit budget to revitalize the city's Amtrak station, becoming an Intermodal Transportation Hub, taking over the role of the existing transit hub at NW 5th/Hudson Ave.^{[citation needed]}

Construction of the Oklahoma City Streetcar system in Downtown OKC began in early 2017,^[143] and the system opened for service in December 2018.^[144][145] Also known as the Maps 3 Streetcar, it connects the areas of Bricktown, Midtown and Downtown. The 6.9 mi (11.1 km) system serves the greater Downtown area using modern low-floor streetcars. The initial system consists of two lines connecting Oklahoma City's Central Business District with the entertainment district, Bricktown, and the Midtown District. Expansion to other districts surrounding downtown and more routes in the CBD is already underway.^{[citation needed]}

A 2013 study by Walk Score ranked Oklahoma City the 43rd most walkable out of the 50 largest U.S. cities. Oklahoma City has 18 neighborhoods with a Walk Score above 60, mainly close to the downtown core.^[146]

Oklahoma City and the surrounding metropolitan area have several healthcare facilities and specialty hospitals. In Oklahoma City's MidTown district near downtown resides the state's oldest and largest single-site hospital, St. Anthony Hospital and Physicians Medical Center.

OU Medicine, an academic medical institution on the campus of The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, is home to OU Medical Center. OU Medicine operates Oklahoma's only level-one trauma center at the OU Medical Center and the state's only level-one trauma center for children at Children's Hospital at OU Medicine,^[147] both of which are in the Oklahoma Health Center district. Other medical facilities operated by OU Medicine include OU Physicians and OU Children's Physicians, the OU College of Medicine, the Oklahoma Cancer Center, and OU Medical Center Edmond, the latter in the northern suburb of Edmond.

INTEGRIS Health owns several hospitals, including INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center, the INTEGRIS Cancer Institute of Oklahoma,^[148] and the INTEGRIS Southwest Medical Center.^[149] INTEGRIS Health operates hospitals, rehabilitation centers, physician clinics, mental health facilities, independent living centers, and home health agencies throughout much of Oklahoma. INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center ranks high-performing in the following categories: Cardiology and Heart Surgery; Diabetes and Endocrinology; Ear, Nose and Throat; Gastroenterology; Geriatrics; Nephrology; Orthopedics; Pulmonology and Urology.

The Midwest Regional Medical Center is in the suburb of Midwest City; other significant hospitals include the Oklahoma Heart Hospital and the Mercy Health Center. There are 347 physicians for every 100,000 people in the city.

In the American College of Sports Medicine's annual ranking of the United States' 50 most populous metropolitan areas on the basis of community health, Oklahoma City took last place in 2010, falling five spots from its 2009 rank of 45.^[150] The ACSM's report, published as part of its American Fitness Index program, cited, among other things, the poor diet of residents, low levels of physical fitness, higher incidences of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease than the national average, low access to recreational facilities like swimming pools and baseball diamonds, the paucity of parks and low investment by the city in their development, the high percentage of households below the poverty level, and the lack of state-mandated physical education curriculum as contributing factors.^[151]

• Coyle v. Smith
• History of Oklahoma
• List of mayors of Oklahoma City
• USS Oklahoma City, 2 ships

• Official city website
• Oklahoma City tourism information
• Convention & Visitors' Bureau
• City-Data page
• Oklahoma City Historic Film Row District website Archived March 11, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
• New York Times travel article about Oklahoma City
• OKC.NET cultural commentary about Oklahoma City
• Voices of Oklahoma interview with Ron Norick Archived April 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, mayor during the Oklahoma City bombing

 

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Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances called pollutants in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials.^[1] It is also the contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment either by chemical, physical, or biological agents that alters the natural features of the atmosphere.^[1] There are many different types of air pollutants, such as gases (including ammonia, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, methane and chlorofluorocarbons), particulates (both organic and inorganic) and biological molecules. Air pollution can cause diseases, allergies, and even death to humans; it can also cause harm to other living organisms such as animals and crops, and may damage the natural environment (for example, climate change, ozone depletion or habitat degradation) or built environment (for example, acid rain).^[2] Air pollution can be caused by both human activities^[3] and natural phenomena.^[4]

Air quality is closely related to the Earth's climate and ecosystems globally. Many of the contributors of air pollution are also sources of greenhouse emission i.e., burning of fossil fuel.^[1]

Air pollution is a significant risk factor for a number of pollution-related diseases, including respiratory infections, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), stroke, and lung cancer.^[5] Growing evidence suggests that air pollution exposure may be associated with reduced IQ scores, impaired cognition,^[6] increased risk for psychiatric disorders such as depression^[7] and detrimental perinatal health.^[8] The human health effects of poor air quality are far reaching, but principally affect the body's respiratory system and the cardiovascular system.^[9][10] Individual reactions to air pollutants depend on the type of pollutant a person is exposed to,^[11][12] the degree of exposure, and the individual's health status and genetics.^[13]

Air pollution is the largest environmental risk factor for disease and premature death^[5][14] and the fourth largest risk factor overall for human health.^[15] Air pollution causes the premature deaths of around 7 million people worldwide each year,^[5] or a global mean loss of life expectancy (LLE) of 2.9 years,^[16] and there has been no significant change in the number of deaths caused by all forms of pollution since at least 2015.^[14][17][18] Outdoor air pollution attributable to fossil fuel use alone causes ~3.61 million deaths annually,^[19] making it one of the top contributors to human death.^[5] Anthropogenic ozone causes around 470,000 premature deaths a year and fine particulate (PM_2.5) pollution around another 2.1 million.^[20] The scope of the air pollution crisis is large: In 2018, WHO estimated that "9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants."^[21] Although the health consequences are extensive, the way the problem is handled is considered largely haphazard^[22][21][23] or neglected.^[14]

The World Bank has estimated that welfare losses (premature deaths) and productivity losses (lost labour) caused by air pollution cost the world economy $5 trillion per year.^[24][25][26] The costs of air pollution are generally an externality to the contemporary economic system and most human activity, although they are sometimes recovered through monitoring, legislation, and regulation.^[27][28]

Many different technologies and strategies are available for reducing air pollution.^[29] Although a majority of countries have air pollution laws, according to UNEP, 43 percent of countries lack a legal definition of air pollution, 31 percent lack outdoor air quality standards, 49 percent restrict their definition to outdoor pollution only, and just 31 percent have laws for tackling pollution originating from outside their borders.^[30] National air quality laws have often been highly effective, notably the 1956 Clean Air Act in Britain and the US Clean Air Act, introduced in 1963.^[31][32] Some of these efforts have been successful at the international level, such as the Montreal Protocol,^[33] which reduced the release of harmful ozone depleting chemicals, and the 1985 Helsinki Protocol,^[34] which reduced sulfur emissions,^[35] while others, such as international action on climate change,^[36][37][38] have been less successful.

There are many different sources of air pollution. Some air pollutants (such as nitrogen oxides) originate mainly from human activities,^[39] while some (notably radon gas) come mostly from natural sources.^[40] However, many air pollutants (including dust and sulfur dioxide) come from a mixture of natural and human sources.^[41]

• Stationary sources include:
  • fossil-fuel power plants and biomass power plants both have smoke stacks (see for example environmental impact of the coal industry)^[42]
    • Oil and gas sites that have methane leaks^{[43][44][45][46]}
  • burning of traditional biomass such as wood, crop waste and dung. (In developing and poor countries,^[47] traditional biomass burning is the major source of air pollutants.^[48][49] It is also the main source of particulate pollution in many developed areas including the UK & New South Wales.^[50][51] Its pollutants include PAHs.^[52])
  • manufacturing facilities (factories)^[53]
    • a 2014 study found that in China equipment-, machinery-, and devices-manufacturing and construction sectors contributed more than 50% of air pollutant emissions.^{[54][better source needed]} This high emission is due to high emission intensity and high emission factors in its industrial structure.^[55]
  • construction^[56][57]
  • renovation^[58]
  • waste incineration (incinerators as well as open and uncontrolled fires of mismanaged waste, making up about a fourth of municipal solid terrestrial waste)^[59][60]
  • furnaces and other types of fuel-burning heating devices^[61]
• Mobile sources include motor vehicles, trains (particularly diesel locomotives and DMUs), marine vessels and aircraft^[62] as well as rockets and re-entry of components and debris.^[63] The air pollution externality of cars enters the air from the exhaust gas and car tires (including microplastics^[64]). Road vehicles make a significant amount of all air pollution (typically, for example, around a third to a half of all nitrogen dioxide emissions)^[65][66][67] and are a major driver of climate change.^[68][69]
• Agriculture and forest management strategies using controlled burns. Practices like slash-and-burn in forests like the Amazon cause large air pollution with the deforestation.^[70] Controlled or prescribed burning is a practice used in forest management, agriculture, prairie restoration, and greenhouse gas reduction.^[71] Foresters can use controlled fire as a tool because fire is a natural feature of both forest and grassland ecology.^[72][73] Controlled burning encourages the sprouting of some desirable forest trees, resulting in a forest renewal.^[74]

There are also sources from processes other than combustion:

• Fumes from paint, hair spray, varnish, aerosol sprays and other solvents. These can be substantial; emissions from these sources was estimated to account for almost half of pollution from volatile organic compounds in the Los Angeles basin in the 2010s.^[75]
• Waste deposition in landfills produces methane^[76] and open burning of waste releases harmful substances.^[77]
• Nuclear weapons, toxic gases, germ warfare, and rocketry are examples of military resources.^[78]
• Agricultural emissions and emissions from meat production or livestock contribute substantially to air pollution^[79][80]
  • Fertilized farmland may be a major source of nitrogen oxides.^[81]

Mean acidifying emissions (air pollution) of different foods per 100g of protein^[82]

Food Types	Acidifying Emissions (g SO2eq per 100g protein)
Beef	343.6
Cheese	165.5
Pork	142.7
Lamb and mutton	139.0
Farmed crustaceans	133.1
Poultry	102.4
Farmed fish	65.9
Eggs	53.7
Groundnuts	22.6
Peas	8.5
Tofu	6.7

• Dust from natural sources, usually large areas of land with little or no vegetation.
• Methane, emitted by the digestion of food by animals, for example cattle.
• Radon gas from radioactive decay within the Earth's crust. Radon is a colorless, odorless, naturally occurring, radioactive noble gas that is formed from the decay of radium. It is considered to be a health hazard. Radon gas from natural sources can accumulate in buildings, especially in confined areas such as the basement and it is the second most frequent cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking.
• Smoke and carbon monoxide from wildfires. During periods of active wildfires, smoke from uncontrolled biomass combustion can make up almost 75% of all air pollution by concentration.^[83]
• Vegetation, in some regions, emits environmentally significant amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on warmer days. These VOCs react with primary anthropogenic pollutants – specifically, NO_x, SO₂, and anthropogenic organic carbon compounds – to produce a seasonal haze of secondary pollutants.^[84] Black gum, poplar, oak and willow are some examples of vegetation that can produce abundant VOCs. The VOC production from these species result in ozone levels up to eight times higher than the low-impact tree species.^[85]
• Volcanic activity, which produces sulfur, chlorine, and ash particulates.^[86]

Air pollutant emission factors are reported representative values that aim to link the quantity of a pollutant released into the ambient air to an activity connected with that pollutant's release.^{[2][87][88][89]} The weight of the pollutant divided by a unit weight, volume, distance, or time of the activity generating the pollutant is how these factors are commonly stated (e.g., kilograms of particulate emitted per tonne of coal burned). These criteria make estimating emissions from diverse sources of pollution easier. Most of the time, these components are just averages of all available data of acceptable quality, and they are thought to be typical of long-term averages.

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants identified pesticides and other persistent organic pollutants of concern. These include dioxins and furans which are unintentionally created by combustion of organics, like open burning of plastics, and are endocrine disruptors and mutagens.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has published a compilation of air pollutant emission factors for a wide range of industrial sources.^[90] The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and many other countries have published similar compilations, as well as the European Environment Agency.^{[91][92][93][94]}

An air pollutant is a material in the air that can have many effects on humans and the ecosystem.^[95] The substance can be solid particles, liquid droplets, or gases, and often takes the form of an aerosol (solid particles or liquid droplets dispersed and carried by a gas).^[96] A pollutant can be of natural origin or man-made. Pollutants are classified as primary or secondary. Primary pollutants are usually produced by processes such as ash from a volcanic eruption.

Other examples include carbon monoxide gas from motor vehicle exhausts or sulfur dioxide released from factories. Secondary pollutants are not emitted directly. Rather, they form in the air when primary pollutants react or interact. Ground level ozone is a prominent example of a secondary pollutant. Some pollutants may be both primary and secondary: they are both emitted directly and formed from other primary pollutants.

This section is in list format but may read better as prose. You can help by converting this section, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (April 2023)

Pollutants emitted into the atmosphere by human activity include:

• Ammonia: Emitted mainly by agricultural waste. Ammonia is a compound with the formula NH₃. It is normally encountered as a gas with a characteristic pungent odor. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to foodstuffs and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or indirectly, is also a building block for the synthesis of many pharmaceuticals. Although in wide use, ammonia is both caustic and hazardous.^[97] In the atmosphere, ammonia reacts with oxides of nitrogen and sulfur to form secondary particles.^[98]
• Carbon dioxide (CO₂): Carbon dioxide is a natural component of the atmosphere, essential for plant life and given off by the human respiratory system.^[99] It is potentially lethal at very high concentrations (typically 100 times "normal" atmospheric levels).^[100][101] Although the World Health Organization recognizes CO₂ as a climate pollutant, it does not include the gas in its Air Quality Guidelines or set recommended targets for it.^[102] Because of its role as a greenhouse gas, CO₂ has been described as "the worst climate pollutant".^[103] Statements such as this refer to its long-term atmospheric effects rather than shorter-term effects on such things as human health, food crops, and buildings. This question of terminology has practical consequences, for example, in determining whether the U.S. Clean Air Act (which is designed to improve air quality) is deemed to regulate CO₂ emissions.^[104] That issue was resolved in the United States by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which specifically amended the Clean Air Act "to define the carbon dioxide produced by the burning of fossil fuels as an 'air pollutant.'"^[105] CO₂ currently forms about 410 parts per million (ppm) of Earth's atmosphere, compared to about 280 ppm in pre-industrial times,^[106] and billions of metric tons of CO₂ are emitted annually by burning of fossil fuels.^[107] CO₂ increase in Earth's atmosphere has been accelerating.^[108] CO₂ is an asphyxiant gas and not classified as toxic or harmful in general.^[109] Workplace exposure limits exist in places like UK (5,000 ppm for long-term exposure and 15,000 ppm for short-term exposure).^[101] Natural disasters like the limnic eruption at Lake Nyos can result in a sudden release of huge amount of CO₂ as well.^[110]
• Carbon monoxide (CO): CO is a colorless, odorless, toxic gas.^[111] It is a product of combustion of fuel such as natural gas, coal or wood. Vehicular exhaust contributes to the majority of carbon monoxide let into the atmosphere. It creates a smog type formation in the air that has been linked to many lung diseases and disruptions to the natural environment and animals.
• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs): Emitted from goods that are now prohibited from use; harmful to the ozone layer. These are gases emitted by air conditioners, freezers, aerosol sprays, and other similar devices. CFCs reach the stratosphere after being released into the atmosphere.^[112] They interact with other gases here, causing harm to the ozone layer. UV rays are able to reach the Earth's surface as a result of this. This can result in skin cancer, eye problems, and even plant damage.^[113]
• Nitrogen oxides (NO_x): Nitrogen oxides, particularly nitrogen dioxide, are expelled from high temperature combustion, and are also produced during thunderstorms by electric discharge. They can be seen as a brown haze dome above or a plume downwind of cities. Nitrogen dioxide is a chemical compound with the formula NO₂. It is one of several nitrogen oxides. One of the most prominent air pollutants, this reddish-brown toxic gas has a characteristic sharp, biting odor.
• Odors: Such as from garbage, sewage, and industrial processes.
• Particulate matter/particles (PM), also known as particulates, atmospheric particulate matter (APM), or fine particles, are microscopic solid or liquid particles suspended in a gas.^[114] Aerosol is a mixture of particles and gas. Volcanoes, dust storms, forest and grassland fires, living plants, and sea spray are all sources of particles. Aerosols are produced by human activities such as the combustion of fossil fuels in automobiles, power plants, and numerous industrial processes.^[115] Averaged worldwide, anthropogenic aerosols – those made by human activities – currently account for approximately 10% of the atmosphere. Increased levels of fine particles in the air are linked to health hazards such as heart disease,^[116] altered lung function and lung cancer. Particulates are related to respiratory infections and can be particularly harmful to those with conditions like asthma.^[117]
• Persistent organic pollutants, which can attach to particulates. Persistent organic pollutants are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation due to chemical, biological, or photolytic processes (POPs). As a result, they've been discovered to survive in the environment, be capable of long-range transmission, bioaccumulate in human and animal tissue, biomagnify in food chains, and pose a major threat to human health and the ecosystem.^[118]
• Persistent free radicals connected to airborne fine particles are linked to cardiopulmonary disease.^[119][120]
• Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): a group of aromatic compounds formed from the incomplete combustion of organic compounds including coal and oil and tobacco.^[121]
• Radioactive pollutants: Produced by nuclear explosions, nuclear events, war explosives, and natural processes such as the radioactive decay of radon.
• Sulfur oxides (SO_x): particularly sulfur dioxide, a chemical compound with the formula SO₂. SO₂ is produced by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, and their combustion generates sulfur dioxide. Further oxidation of SO₂, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as NO₂, forms H₂SO₄, and thus acid rain is formed. This is one of the causes for concern over the environmental impact of the use of these fuels as power sources.
• Toxic metals, such as lead and mercury, especially their compounds.
• Volatile organic compounds (VOC): VOCs are both indoor and outdoor air pollutants.^[122] They are categorized as either methane (CH₄) or non-methane (NMVOCs). Methane is an extremely efficient greenhouse gas which contributes to enhanced global warming. Other hydrocarbon VOCs are also significant greenhouse gases because of their role in creating ozone and prolonging the life of methane in the atmosphere. This effect varies depending on local air quality. The aromatic NMVOCs benzene, toluene and xylene are suspected carcinogens and may lead to leukemia with prolonged exposure. 1,3-butadiene is another dangerous compound often associated with industrial use.

Secondary pollutants include:

• Ground level ozone (O₃): Ozone is created when NOx and VOCs mix. It is a significant part of the troposphere.^[123] It's also an important part of the ozone layer, which can be found in different sections of the stratosphere. Photochemical and chemical reactions involving it fuel many of the chemical activities that occur in the atmosphere during the day and night. It is a pollutant and a component of smog that is produced in large quantities as a result of human activities (mostly the combustion of fossil fuels).^[124] O₃ is largely produced by chemical reactions involving NO_x gases (nitrogen oxides, especially from combustion) and volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight. Due to the influence of temperature and sunlight on this reaction, high ozone levels are most common on hot summer afternoons.^[125]
• Peroxyacetyl nitrate (C₂H₃NO₅): similarly formed from NO_x and VOCs.
• Photochemical smog: particles are formed from gaseous primary contaminants and chemicals.^[126] Smog is a type of pollution that occurs in the atmosphere. Smog is caused by a huge volume of coal being burned in a certain region, resulting in a mixture of smoke and sulfur dioxide.^[127] Modern smog is usually caused by automotive and industrial emissions, which are acted on in the atmosphere by UV light from the sun to produce secondary pollutants, which then combine with the primary emissions to generate photochemical smog.

There are many other chemicals classed as hazardous air pollutants. Some of these are regulated in the USA under the Clean Air Act and in Europe under numerous directives (including the Air "Framework" Directive, 96/62/EC, on ambient air quality assessment and management, Directive 98/24/EC, on risks related to chemical agents at work, and Directive 2004/107/EC covering heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air).^[128][129]

To display all pages, subcategories and images click on the "â–º":

Hazardous air pollutants (4 C, 68 P)

• 
  Before flue-gas desulfurization was installed, the emissions from this power plant in New Mexico contained excessive amounts of sulfur dioxide.
• 
  Thermal oxidisers are air pollution abatement options for hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and odorous emissions.
• This video provides an overview of a NASA study on the human fingerprint on global air quality.

The risk of air pollution is determined by the pollutant's hazard and the amount of exposure to that pollutant. Air pollution exposure can be measured for a person, a group, such as a neighborhood or a country's children, or an entire population. For example, one would want to determine a geographic area's exposure to a dangerous air pollution, taking into account the various microenvironments and age groups. This can be calculated^[130] as an inhalation exposure. This would account for daily exposure in various settings, e.g. different indoor micro-environments and outdoor locations. The exposure needs to include different ages and other demographic groups, especially infants, children, pregnant women, and other sensitive subpopulations.^[130]

For each specific time that the subgroup is in the setting and engaged in particular activities, the exposure to an air pollutant must integrate the concentrations of the air pollutant with regard to the time spent in each setting and the respective inhalation rates for each subgroup, playing, cooking, reading, working, spending time in traffic, etc. A little child's inhaling rate, for example, will be lower than that of an adult. A young person engaging in strenuous exercise will have a faster rate of breathing than a child engaged in sedentary activity. The daily exposure must therefore include the amount of time spent in each micro-environmental setting as well as the kind of activities performed there. The air pollutant concentration in each microactivity/microenvironmental setting is summed to indicate the exposure.^[130]

For some pollutants such as black carbon, traffic related exposures may dominate total exposure despite short exposure times since high concentrations coincide with proximity to major roads or participation in (motorized) traffic.^[131] A large portion of total daily exposure occurs as short peaks of high concentrations, but it remains unclear how to define peaks and determine their frequency and health impact.^[132]

In 2021, the WHO halved its recommended guideline limit for tiny particles from burning fossil fuels. The new limit for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) is 75% lower.^[133] Growing evidence that air pollution—even when experienced at very low levels—hurts human health, led the WHO to revise its guideline (from 10 μg/m³ to 5 μg/m³) for what it considers a safe level of exposure of particulate pollution, bringing most of the world—97.3 percent of the global population—into the unsafe zone.^[134]

A lack of ventilation indoors concentrates air pollution where people often spend the majority of their time. Indoor air pollution can pose a significant health risk. According to EPA reports, the concentrations of many air pollutants can be two to five times higher in indoor air than in outdoor air. Indoor air pollutants can be up to 100 times higher in some cases than they are inside. People can spend up to 90% of their time indoors, according to the American Lung Association; the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) 2012; and the US Environmental Protection Agency 2012a.^[135]

Indoor contaminants that can cause pollution include asbestos, biologic agents, building materials, radon, tobacco smoke, and wood stoves, gas ranges, or other heating systems.^[135]

Radon (Rn) gas, a carcinogen, is exuded from the Earth in certain locations and trapped inside houses. Building materials including carpeting and plywood emit formaldehyde (H-CHO) gas. Paint and solvents give off volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as they dry. Lead paint can degenerate into dust and be inhaled.^[136][137]

Intentional air pollution is introduced with the use of air fresheners, incense, and other scented items. Controlled wood fires in cook stoves and fireplaces can add significant amounts of harmful smoke particulates into the air, inside and out.^[136][137] Indoor pollution fatalities may be caused by using pesticides and other chemical sprays indoors without proper ventilation. Also the kitchen in a modern produce harmful particles and gases, with equipment like toasters being one of the worst sources.^[138]

Carbon monoxide poisoning and fatalities are often caused by faulty vents and chimneys, or by the burning of charcoal indoors or in a confined space, such as a tent.^[139] Chronic carbon monoxide poisoning can result even from poorly-adjusted pilot lights. Traps are built into all domestic plumbing to keep sewer gas and hydrogen sulfide, out of interiors. Clothing emits tetrachloroethylene, or other dry cleaning fluids, for days after dry cleaning.

Though its use has now been banned in many countries, the extensive use of asbestos in industrial and domestic environments in the past has left a potentially very dangerous material in many localities. Asbestosis is a chronic inflammatory medical condition affecting the tissue of the lungs. It occurs after long-term, heavy exposure to asbestos from asbestos-containing materials in structures. Those with asbestosis have severe dyspnea (shortness of breath) and are at an increased risk regarding several different types of lung cancer. As clear explanations are not always stressed in non-technical literature, care should be taken to distinguish between several forms of relevant diseases. According to the World Health Organization,^[140] these may be defined as asbestosis, lung cancer, and peritoneal mesothelioma (generally a very rare form of cancer, when more widespread it is almost always associated with prolonged exposure to asbestos).

Biological sources of air pollution are also found indoors, as gases and airborne particulates. Pets produce dander, people produce dust from minute skin flakes and decomposed hair, dust mites in bedding, carpeting and furniture produce enzymes and micrometre-sized fecal droppings, inhabitants emit methane, mold forms on walls and generates mycotoxins and spores, air conditioning systems can incubate Legionnaires' disease and mold, and houseplants, soil and surrounding gardens can produce pollen, dust, and mold. Indoors, the lack of air circulation allows these airborne pollutants to accumulate more than they would otherwise occur in nature.

Air pollution has both acute and chronic effects on human health, affecting a number of different systems and organs but principally affect the body's respiratory system and the cardiovascular system. Afflictions include minor to chronic upper respiratory irritation such as difficulty in breathing, wheezing, coughing, asthma^[141] and heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, acute respiratory infections in children and chronic bronchitis in adults, aggravating pre-existing heart and lung disease, or asthmatic attacks.

Short and long term exposures have been linked with premature mortality and reduced life expectancy^[142] and can result in increased medication use, increased doctor or emergency department visits, more hospital admissions and premature death.^{[130][better source needed]} Diseases that develop from persistent exposure to air pollution are environmental health diseases, which develop when a health environment is not maintained.^[143]

Even at levels lower than those considered safe by United States regulators, exposure to three components of air pollution, fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ozone, correlates with cardiac and respiratory illness.^[144] Individual reactions to air pollutants depend on the type of pollutant a person is exposed to, the degree of exposure, and the individual's health status and genetics.^[130] The most common sources of air pollution include particulates and ozone (often from burning fossil fuels),^[145] nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. Children aged less than five years who live in developing countries are the most vulnerable population to death attributable to indoor and outdoor air pollution.^[146]

Under the Clean Air Act, U.S. EPA sets limits on certain air pollutants, including setting limits on how much can be in the air anywhere in the United States.^[147] Mixed exposure to both carbon black and ozone could result in significantly greater health affects.^[148]

Estimates of deaths toll due to air pollution vary.^[150] In 2014 the World Health Organization estimated that every year air pollution causes the premature death of 7 million people worldwide,^[5] 1 in 8 deaths worldwide.^[151] A study published in 2019 indicated that in 2015 the number may be closer to 8.8 million, with 5.5 million of these premature deaths due to air pollution from anthropogenic sources.^[152][153] A 2022 review concluded that in 2019 air pollution was responsible for approximately 9 million premature deaths. It concluded that since 2015 little real progress against pollution has been made.^[14][154] Causes of deaths include strokes, heart disease, COPD, lung cancer, and lung infections.^[5] Children are particularly at risk.^[155]

In 2021, the WHO reported that outdoor air pollution was estimated to cause 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide in 2019.^[156]

The global mean loss of life expectancy (LLE; similar to YPLL) from air pollution in 2015 was 2.9 years, substantially more than, for example, 0.3 years from all forms of direct violence.^[16] Communities with persons that live beyond 85 years have low ambient air pollution, suggesting a link between air pollution levels and longevity.^[157]

The WHO estimates that in 2016, ~58% of outdoor air pollution-related premature deaths were due to ischaemic heart disease and stroke.^[156] The mechanisms linking air pollution to increased cardiovascular mortality are uncertain, but probably include pulmonary and systemic inflammation.^[158]

India and China have the highest death rate due to air pollution.^[159][160] India also has more deaths from asthma than any other nation according to the World Health Organization. In 2019, 1.6 million deaths in India were caused by air pollution.^[161] In 2013, air pollution was estimated to kill 500,000 people in China each year.^[162] In 2012, 2.48% of China's total air pollution emissions were caused by exports due to US demand, causing an additional 27,963 deaths across 30 provinces.^[163]

Annual premature European deaths caused by air pollution are estimated at 430,000^[164] to 800,000.^[153] An important cause of these deaths is nitrogen dioxide and other nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted by road vehicles.^[164] Across the European Union, air pollution is estimated to reduce life expectancy by almost nine months.^[165] In a 2015 consultation document the UK government disclosed that nitrogen dioxide is responsible for 23,500 premature UK deaths per annum.^[166] There is a positive correlation between pneumonia-related deaths and air pollution from motor vehicle emissions in England.^[167]

Eliminating energy-related fossil fuel emissions in the United States would prevent 46,900–59,400 premature deaths each year and provide $537–$678 billion in benefits from avoided PM_2.5-related illness and death.^[168]

A study published in 2023 in Science focused on sulfur dioxide emissions by coal power plants (coal PM_2.5) and concluded that "exposure to coal PM_2.5 was associated with 2.1 times greater mortality risk than exposure to PM_2.5 from all sources."^[169] From 1999 to 2020, a total of 460,000 deaths in the US were attributed to coal PM_2.5.^[169]

The largest cause of air pollution is fossil fuel combustion^[171] – mostly the production and use of cars, electricity production, and heating.^[172] There are estimated 4.5 million annual premature deaths worldwide due to pollutants released by high-emission power stations and vehicle exhausts.^[173]

Diesel exhaust (DE) is a major contributor to combustion-derived particulate matter air pollution. In several human experimental studies, using a well-validated exposure chamber setup, DE has been linked to acute vascular dysfunction and increased thrombus formation.^[174][175]

A study concluded that PM_2.5 air pollution induced by the contemporary free trade and consumption by the 19 G20 nations causes two million premature deaths annually, suggesting that the average lifetime consumption of about ~28 people in these countries causes at least one premature death (average age ~67) while developing countries "cannot be expected" to implement or be able to implement countermeasures without external support or internationally coordinated efforts.^[176][170]

The US EPA has estimated that limiting ground-level ozone concentration to 65 parts per billion (ppb), would avert 1,700 to 5,100 premature deaths nationwide in 2020 compared with the 75 ppb standard. The agency projected the more protective standard would also prevent an additional 26,000 cases of aggravated asthma, and more than a million cases of missed work or school.^[177][178] Following this assessment, the EPA acted to protect public health by lowering the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone to 70 ppb.^[179]

A 2008 economic study of the health impacts and associated costs of air pollution in the Los Angeles Basin and San Joaquin Valley of Southern California shows that more than 3,800 people die prematurely (approximately 14 years earlier than normal) each year because air pollution levels violate federal standards. The number of annual premature deaths is considerably higher than the fatalities related to auto collisions in the same area, which average fewer than 2,000 per year.^{[180][181][182]} A 2021 study found that outdoor air pollution is associated with substantially increased mortality "even at low pollution levels below the current European and North American standards and WHO guideline values" shortly before the WHO adjusted its guidelines.^[183][184]

According to the Global Burden of Disease Study, air pollution is responsible for 19% of all cardiovascular deaths.^[185][186] There is strong evidence linking both short- and long-term exposure to air pollution with cardiovascular disease mortality and morbidity, stroke, blood pressure, and ischemic heart diseases (IHD).^[186]

Air pollution is a leading risk factor for stroke, particularly in developing countries where pollutant levels are highest.^[187] A systematic analysis of 17 different risk factors in 188 countries found air pollution is associated with nearly one in three strokes (29%) worldwide (33.7% of strokes in developing countries versus 10.2% in developed countries).^[187][188] In women, air pollution is not associated with hemorrhagic but with ischemic stroke.^[189] Air pollution was found to be associated with increased incidence and mortality from coronary stroke.^[190] Associations are believed to be causal and effects may be mediated by vasoconstriction, low-grade inflammation and atherosclerosis.^[191] Other mechanisms such as autonomic nervous system imbalance have also been suggested.^[192][193]

Research has demonstrated increased risk of developing asthma^[194] and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)^[195] from increased exposure to traffic-related air pollution. Air pollution has been associated with increased hospitalization and mortality from asthma and COPD.^[196][197]

COPD comprises a spectrum of clinical disorders that include emphysema, bronchiectasis, and chronic bronchitis.^[198] COPD risk factors are both genetic and environmental. Elevated particle pollution contributes to the exacerbation of this disease and likely its pathogenesis.^[199]

The risk of lung disease from air pollution is greatest for infants and young children, whose normal breathing is faster than that of older children and adults; the elderly; those who work outside or spend a lot of time outside; and those who have heart or lung disease comorbidities.^[200]

A study conducted in 1960–1961 in the wake of the Great Smog of 1952 compared 293 London residents with 477 residents of Gloucester, Peterborough, and Norwich, three towns with low reported death rates from chronic bronchitis. All subjects were male postal truck drivers aged 40 to 59. Compared to the subjects from the outlying towns, the London subjects exhibited more severe respiratory symptoms (including cough, phlegm, and dyspnea), reduced lung function (FEV₁ and peak flow rate), and increased sputum production and purulence. The differences were more pronounced for subjects aged 50 to 59. The study controlled for age and smoking habits, so concluded that air pollution was the most likely cause of the observed differences.^[201] More studies have shown that air pollution exposure from traffic reduces lung function development in children^[202] and lung function may be compromised by air pollution even at low concentrations.^[203]

It is believed that, much like cystic fibrosis, serious health hazards become more apparent when living in a more urban environment. Studies have shown that in urban areas people experience mucus hypersecretion, lower levels of lung function, and more self-diagnosis of chronic bronchitis and emphysema.^[204]

Around 300,000 lung cancer deaths were attributed globally in 2019 to exposure to fine particulate matter, PM_2.5, suspended in the air.^[205] PM_2.5 exposure, such as from car exhausts, activates dormant mutations in lung cells, causing them to become cancerous.^[206][205] Unprotected exposure to PM_2.5 air pollution can be equivalent to smoking multiple cigarettes per day,^{[207][dead link‍]} potentially increasing the risk of cancer, which is mainly the result of environmental factors.^[208]

Long-term exposure to PM_2.5 (fine particulates) increases the overall risk of non-accidental mortality by 6% per 10 μg/m³ increase. Exposure to PM_2.5 is also associated with an increased risk of mortality from lung cancer (range: 15–21% per 10 μg/m³ increase) and total cardiovascular mortality (range: 12–14% per 10 μg/m³ increase).^[209]

The review further noted that living close to busy traffic appears to be associated with elevated risks of these three outcomes – increase in lung cancer deaths, cardiovascular deaths, and overall non-accidental deaths. The reviewers also found suggestive evidence that exposure to PM_2.5 is positively associated with mortality from coronary heart diseases and exposure to SO₂ increases mortality from lung cancer, but the data was insufficient to provide solid conclusions.^[209] Another investigation showed that higher activity level increases deposition fraction of aerosol particles in human lung and recommended avoiding heavy activities like running in outdoor space at polluted areas.^[210]

In 2011, a large Danish epidemiological study found an increased risk of lung cancer for people who lived in areas with high nitrogen oxide concentrations.^[211] Another Danish study, likewise noted evidence of possible associations between air pollution and other forms of cancer, including cervical cancer and brain cancer.^[212]

A study of 163,197 Taiwanese residents over the period of 2001–2016 estimated that every 5 μg/m³ decrease (from an approximate peak of 30μg/m³) in the ambient concentration of PM_2.5 was associated with a 25% reduced risk of chronic kidney disease development.^[213] According to a cohort study involving 10,997 atherosclerosis patients, higher PM 2.5 exposure is associated with increased albuminuria.^[214]

An increase in NO₂ is significantly associated with a lower live birth rate in women undergoing IVF treatment.^[215] In the general population, there is a significant increase in miscarriage rate in women exposed to NO₂ compared to those not exposed.^[215]

CO exposure is significantly associated with stillbirth in the second and third trimester.^[215]

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been associated with reduced fertility. Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) is a well-known PAH and carcinogen which is often found in exhaust fumes and cigarette smoke.^[216] PAHs have been reported to administer their toxic effects through oxidative stress by increasing the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) which can result in inflammation and cell death. More long-term exposure to PAHs can result in DNA damage and reduced repair.^[217]

Exposure to BaP has been reported to reduce sperm motility and increasing the exposure worsens this effect. Research has demonstrated that more BaPs were found in men with reported fertility issues compared to men without.^[218]

Studies have shown that BaPs can affect folliculogenesis and ovarian development by reducing the number of ovarian germ cells via triggering cell death pathways and inducing inflammation which can lead to ovarian damage.^[219]

Particulate matter (PM) refers to the collection of solids and liquids suspended in the air. These can be harmful to humans, and more research has shown that these effects may be more extensive than first thought; particularly on male fertility. PM can be different sizes, such as PM_2.5 which are tiny particles of 2.5 microns in width or smaller, compared with PM₁₀ which are classified as 10 microns in diameter or less.

A study in California found that increased exposure to PM_2.5 led to decreased sperm motility and increased abnormal morphology. Similarly, in Poland exposure to PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ led to an increase in the percentage of cells with immature chromatin (DNA that has not fully developed or has developed abnormally).^[220]

In Turkey, a study examined the fertility of men who work as toll collectors and are therefore exposed to high levels of traffic pollutants daily. Traffic pollution often has high levels of PM₁₀ alongside carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides.^[220] There were significant differences in sperm count and motility in this study group compared to a control group with limited air pollution exposure.

In women, while overall effects on fertility do not appear significant there is an association between increased exposure to PM₁₀ and early miscarriage. Exposure to smaller particulate matter, PM_2.5, appears to have an effect on conception rates in women undergoing IVF but does not affect live birth rates.^[215]

Ground-level ozone (O₃), when in high concentrations, is regarded as an air pollutant and is often found in smog in industrial areas.

There is limited research about the effect that ozone pollution has on fertility.^[215] At present, there is no evidence to suggest that ozone exposure poses a deleterious effect on spontaneous fertility in either females or males. However, there have been studies which suggest that high levels of ozone pollution, often a problem in the summer months, exert an effect on in vitro fertilisation (IVF) outcomes. Within an IVF population, NO_x and ozone pollutants were linked with reduced rates of live birth.^[215]

While most research on this topic is focused on the direct human exposure of air pollution, other studies have analysed the impact of air pollution on gametes and embryos within IVF laboratories. Multiple studies have reported a marked improvement in embryo quality, implantation and pregnancy rates after IVF laboratories have implemented air filters in a concerted effort to reduce levels of air pollution.^[221] Therefore, ozone pollution is considered to have a negative impact on the success of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) when occurring at high levels.

Ozone is thought to act in a biphasic manner where a positive effect on live birth is observed when ozone exposure is limited to before IVF embryo implantation. Conversely, a negative effect is demonstrated upon exposure to ozone after embryo implantation. However, after adjusting for NO2, the association between O3 and IVF live birth rate was no longer significant.^[222][223]

In terms of male fertility, ozone is reported to cause a significant decrease in the concentration and count of sperm in semen after exposure.^[224] Similarly, sperm vitality, the proportion of live spermatozoa in a sample, was demonstrated to be diminished as a result of exposure to air pollution.^[223] However, findings on the effect of ozone exposure on male fertility are somewhat discordant, highlighting the need for further research.^[223]

Children and infants are among the most vulnerable to air pollution. Polluted air leads to the poisoning of millions of children under the age of 15, resulting in the death of some 600,000 children annually (543,000 under 5 years of age and 52,000 aged 5-15 years).^[225] Children in low or middle income countries are exposed to higher levels of fine particulate matter than those in high income countries.^[225]

Health effects of air pollution on children include asthma, pneumonia and lower respiratory tract infections and low birth weight.^[226] A study in Europe found that exposure to ultrafine particles can increase blood pressure in children.^[227]

Prenatal exposure to polluted air has been linked to a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders in children. For example, exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) was associated with reduced IQ scores and symptoms of anxiety and depression.^[228] They can also lead to detrimental perinatal health outcomes that are often fatal in developing countries.^[8] A 2014 study found that PAHs might play a role in the development of childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).^[229]

Researchers have found a correlation between air pollution and risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis, although definitive causality has not yet been established. In Los Angeles, children living in areas with high levels of traffic-related air pollution were more likely to be diagnosed with autism between three–five years of age.^[230] A cohort study in Southern California linked in-utero exposure to near-roadway air pollution to an increased risk of ASD diagnosis^[231] and a study in Sweden concluded that exposure to PM_2.5 during pregnancy was associated with ASD.^[232] A Danish study linked exposure to air pollution during infancy, but not during pregnancy, to an increased risk of ASD diagnosis.^[233]

The connection between air pollution and neurodevelopmental disorders in children is thought to be related to epigenetic dysregulation of the primordial germ cells, embryo, and fetus during a critical period. Some PAHs are considered endocrine disruptors and are lipid soluble. When they build up in adipose tissue they can be transferred across the placenta can exert a genotoxic effect, cauding DNA damange and mutations.^[234] Air pollution has been associated with the prevalence of preterm births.^[235]

Ambient levels of air pollution have been associated with preterm birth and low birth weight. A 2014 WHO worldwide survey on maternal and perinatal health found a statistically significant association between low birth weights (LBW) and increased levels of exposure to PM_2.5. Women in regions with greater than average PM_2.5 levels had statistically significant higher odds of pregnancy resulting in a low-birth weight infant even when adjusted for country-related variables.^[236] The effect is thought to be from stimulating inflammation and increasing oxidative stress.

A study found that in 2010 exposure to PM_2.5 was strongly associated with 18% of preterm births globally, which was approximately 2.7 million premature births. The countries with the highest air pollution associated preterm births were in South and East Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and West sub-Saharan Africa.^[237] In 2019, ambient particulate matter pollution in Africa resulted in at least 383,000 early deaths, according to new estimates of the cost of air pollution in the continent. This increased from 3.6% in 1990 to around 7.4% of all premature deaths in the area.^{[238][239][240]}

The source of PM_2.5 differs greatly by region. In South and East Asia, pregnant women are frequently exposed to indoor air pollution because of wood and other biomass fuels being used for cooking, which are responsible for more than 80% of regional pollution. In the Middle East, North Africa and West sub-Saharan Africa, fine PM comes from natural sources, such as dust storms.^[237] The United States had an estimated 50,000 preterm births associated with exposure to PM_2.5 in 2010.^[237]

A study between 1988 and 1991 found a correlation between sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and total suspended particulates (TSP) and preterm births and low birth weights in Beijing. A group of 74,671 pregnant women, in four separate regions of Beijing, were monitored from early pregnancy to delivery along with daily air pollution levels of SO₂ and TSP (along with other particulates). The estimated reduction in birth weight was 7.3 g for every 100 μg/m³ increase in SO₂ and 6.9 g for each 100 μg/m³ increase in TSP. These associations were statistically significant in both summer and winter, although summer was greater. The proportion of low birth weight attributable to air pollution, was 13%. This is the largest attributable risk ever reported for the known risk factors of low birth weight.^[241] Coal stoves, which are in 97% of homes, are a major source of air pollution in this area.

Brauer et al. studied the relationship between air pollution and proximity to a highway with pregnancy outcomes in a Vancouver cohort of pregnant women using addresses to estimate exposure during pregnancy. Exposure to NO, NO₂, CO, PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 were associated with infants born small for gestational age (SGA). Women living less than 50 meters away from an expressway or highway were 26% more likely to give birth to a SGA infant.^[242]

Data is accumulating that air pollution exposure also affects the central nervous system.^[243]

Air pollution increases the risk of dementia in people over 50 years old.^[244] Indoor air pollution exposure during childhood may negatively affect cognitive function and neurodevelopment.^[245][246] Prenatal exposure may also affect neurodevelopment.^[247][248] Studies show that air pollution is associated with a variety of developmental disabilities, oxidative stress, and neuro-inflammation and that it may contribute to Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.^[246]

Researchers found that early exposure to air pollution causes the same changes in the brain as autism and schizophrenia in mice. It also showed that air pollution also affected short-term memory, learning ability, and impulsivity. In this study, air pollution had a larger negative impact on male mice than on females.^[249][250] Lead researcher on the study, Deborah Cory-Slechta, said that:^[251]

When we looked closely at the ventricles, we could see that the white matter that normally surrounds them hadn't fully developed. It appears that inflammation had damaged those brain cells and prevented that region of the brain from developing, and the ventricles simply expanded to fill the space. Our findings add to the growing body of evidence that air pollution may play a role in autism, as well as in other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Exposure to fine particulate matter can increase levels of cytokines - neurotransmitters produced in response to infection and inflammation that are also associated with depression and suicide. Pollution has been associated with inflammation of the brain, which may disrupt mood regulation. Heightened PM_2.5 levels are linked to more self-reported depressive symptoms, and increases in daily suicide rates.^[252][253]

In 2015, experimental studies reported the detection of significant episodic (situational) cognitive impairment from impurities in indoor air breathed by test subjects who were not informed about changes in the air quality. Significant deficits were observed in the performance scores achieved in increasing concentrations of either volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or carbon dioxide, while keeping other factors constant. The highest impurity levels reached are not uncommon in some classroom or office environments.^[254][255] Higher PM_2.5 and CO₂ concentrations were shown to be associated with slower response times and reduced accuracy in tests.^[256]

Even in areas with relatively low levels of air pollution, public health effects can be significant and costly, since a large number of people breathe in such pollutants. A study found that even in areas of the U.S. where ozone and PM_2.5 meet federal standards, Medicare recipients who are exposed to more air pollution have higher mortality rates.^[257]

Rural populations in India, like those in urban areas, are also exposed to high levels of air pollution.^[258] In 2020, scientists found that the boundary layer air over the Southern Ocean around Antarctica is 'unpolluted' by humans.^[259]

Various studies have estimated the impacts of air pollution on agriculture, especially ozone. A 2020 study showed that ozone pollution in California may reduce yields of certain perennial crops such as table grapes by as much as 22% per year, translating into economic damages of more than $1 billion per year.^[260] After air pollutants enter the agricultural environment, they not only directly affect agricultural production and quality, but also enter agricultural waters and soil.^[261] The COVID-19 induced lockdown served as a natural experiment to expose the close links between air quality and surface greenness. In India, the lockdown induced improvement in air quality, enhanced surface greenness and photosynthetic activity, with the positive response of vegetation to reduce air pollution was dominant in croplands.^[262] On the other hand, agriculture in its traditional form is one of the primary contributors to the emission of trace gases like atmospheric ammonia.^[263]

Air pollution costs the world economy $5 trillion per year as a result of productivity losses and degraded quality of life.^[24][25][26] These productivity losses are caused by deaths due to diseases caused by air pollution. One out of ten deaths in 2013 was caused by diseases associated with air pollution and the problem is getting worse.

A small improvement in air quality (1% reduction of ambient PM_2.5 and ozone concentrations) would produce $29 million in annual savings in the lower Fraser Valley region in 2010.^[264] This finding is based on health valuation of lethal (death) and sub-lethal (illness) affects.

The problem is even more acute in the developing world. "Children under age 5 in lower-income countries are more than 60 times as likely to die from exposure to air pollution as children in high-income countries."^[24][25] The report states that additional economic losses caused by air pollution, including health costs^[265] and the adverse effect on agricultural and other productivity were not calculated in the report, and thus the actual costs to the world economy are far higher than $5 trillion.

A study published in 2022 found "a strong and significant connection between air pollution and construction site accidents" and that "a 10-ppb increase in NO₂ levels increases the likelihood of an accident by as much as 25%".^[266]

Artificial air pollution may be detectable on Earth from distant vantage points such as other planetary systems via atmospheric SETI – including NO₂ pollution levels and with telescopic technology close to today. It may also be possible to detect extraterrestrial civilizations this way.^{[267][268][269]}

The world's worst short-term civilian pollution crisis was the 1984 Bhopal Disaster in India.^[270] Leaked industrial vapours from the Union Carbide factory, belonging to Union Carbide, Inc., U.S.A. (later bought by Dow Chemical Company), killed at least 3787 people and injured from 150,000 to 600,000. The United Kingdom suffered its worst air pollution event when the 4 December Great Smog of 1952 formed over London. In six days more than 4,000 died and more recent estimates put the figure at nearer 12,000.^[271]

An accidental leak of anthrax spores from a biological warfare laboratory in the former USSR in 1979 near Yekaterinburg (formerly Sverdlovsk) is believed to have caused at least 64 deaths.^[272] The worst single incident of air pollution to occur in the US occurred in Donora, Pennsylvania, in late October 1948, when 20 people died and over 7,000 were injured.^[273]

Global depletion of the surrounding air pollution will require valiant leadership, a surplus of combined resources from the international community, and extensive societal changes.^[274] Pollution prevention seeks to prevent pollution such as air pollution and could include adjustments to industrial and business activities such as designing sustainable manufacturing processes (and the products' designs)^[275] and related legal regulations as well as efforts towards renewable energy transitions.^[276][277]

Efforts to reduce particulate matter in the air may result in better health.^[278]

The 9-Euro-Ticket scheme in Germany which allowed people to buy a monthly pass allowing use on all local and regional transport (trains, trams and busses) for 9 euro (€) for one month of unlimited travel saved 1.8 million tons of CO₂ emissions during its three-month implementation from June to August 2022.^[279]

Various pollution control technologies and strategies are available to reduce air pollution.^[280][281] At its most basic level, land-use planning is likely to involve zoning and transport infrastructure planning. In most developed countries, land-use planning is an important part of social policy, ensuring that land is used efficiently for the benefit of the wider economy and population, as well as to protect the environment.^[282] Stringent environmental regulations, effective control technologies and shift towards the renewable source of energy also helping countries like China and India to reduce their sulfur dioxide pollution.^[283]

Titanium dioxide has been researched for its ability to reduce air pollution. Ultraviolet light will release free electrons from material, thereby creating free radicals, which break up VOCs and

NO_x gases. One form is superhydrophilic.^[284]

Pollution-eating nanoparticles placed near a busy road were shown to absorb toxic emission from around 20 cars each day.^[285]

Since a large share of air pollution is caused by combustion of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, the reduction of these fuels can reduce air pollution drastically. Most effective is the switch to clean power sources such as wind power, solar power, hydro power which do not cause air pollution.^[286] Efforts to reduce pollution from mobile sources includes expanding regulation to new sources (such as cruise and transport ships, farm equipment, and small gas-powered equipment such as string trimmers, chainsaws, and snowmobiles), increased fuel efficiency (such as through the use of hybrid vehicles), conversion to cleaner fuels, and conversion to electric vehicles. For example, buses in New Delhi, India, have run on compressed natural gas since 2000, to help eliminate the city's "pea-soup" smog.^[226][287]

A very effective means to reduce air pollution is the transition to renewable energy. According to a study published in Energy and Environmental Science in 2015 the switch to 100% renewable energy in the United States would eliminate about 62,000 premature mortalities per year and about 42,000 in 2050, if no biomass were used. This would save about $600 billion in health costs a year due to reduced air pollution in 2050, or about 3.6% of the 2014 U.S. gross domestic product.^[286] Air quality improvement is a near-term benefit among the many societal benefits from climate change mitigation.

There are now practical alternatives to the principal causes of air pollution:

• Strategic substitution of air pollution sources in transport with lower-emission or, during the lifecycle, emission-free forms of public transport^[288][289] and bicycle use and infrastructure (as well as with remote work, reductions of work, relocations, and localizations)
  • Phase-out of fossil fuel vehicles is a critical component of a shift to sustainable transport; however, similar infrastructure and design decisions like electric vehicles may be associated with similar pollution for production as well as mining and resource exploitation for large numbers of needed batteries as well as the energy for their recharging^[290][291]
• Areas downwind (over 20 miles) of major airports have more than double total particulate emissions in air than other areas, even when factoring in areas with frequent ship calls, and heavy freeway and city traffic like Los Angeles.^[292] Aviation biofuel mixed in with jetfuel at a 50/50 ratio can reduce jet derived cruise altitude particulate emissions by 50–70%, according to a NASA led 2017 study (however, this should imply ground level benefits to urban air pollution as well).^[293]
• Ship propulsion and idling can be switched to much cleaner fuels like natural gas. (Ideally a renewable source but not practical yet)
• Combustion of fossil fuels for space heating can be replaced by using ground source heat pumps and seasonal thermal energy storage.^[294]
• Electricity generated from the combustion of fossil fuels can be replaced by nuclear and renewable energy. Heating and home stoves, which contribute significantly to regional air pollution, can be replaced with a much cleaner fossil fuel, such as natural gas, or, preferably, renewables, in poor countries.^[295][296]
• Motor vehicles driven by fossil fuels, a key factor in urban air pollution, can be replaced by electric vehicles. Though lithium supply and cost is a limitation, there are alternatives. Herding more people into clean public transit such as electric trains can also help. Nevertheless, even in emission-free electric vehicles, rubber tires produce significant amounts of air pollution themselves, ranking as 13th worst pollutant in Los Angeles.^[297]
• Reducing travel in vehicles can curb pollution. After Stockholm reduced vehicle traffic in the central city with a congestion tax, nitrogen dioxide and PM₁₀ pollution declined, as did acute pediatric asthma attacks.^[298]
• Biodigesters can be utilized in poor nations where slash and burn is prevalent, turning a useless commodity into a source of income. The plants can be gathered and sold to a central authority that will break them down in a large modern biodigester, producing much needed energy to use.^[299]
• Induced humidity and ventilation both can greatly dampen air pollution in enclosed spaces, which was found to be relatively high inside subway lines due to braking and friction and relatively less ironically inside transit buses than lower sitting passenger automobiles or subways.^[300]

The following items are commonly used as pollution control devices in industry and transportation. They can either destroy contaminants or remove them from an exhaust stream before it is emitted into the atmosphere.

Spatiotemporal monitoring of air quality may be necessary for improving air quality, and thereby the health and safety of the public, and assessing impacts of interventions.^[301] Such monitoring is done to different extents with different regulatory requirements with discrepant regional coverage by a variety of organizations and governance entities such as using a variety of technologies for use of the data and sensing such mobile IoT sensors,^[302][303] satellites,^{[304][305][306]} and monitoring stations.^[307][308] Some websites attempt to map air pollution levels using available data.^{[309][310][311]}

Numerical models either on a global scale using tools such as GCMs (general circulation models coupled with a pollution module) or CTMs (Chemical transport model) can be used to simulate the levels of different pollutants in the atmosphere. These tools can have several types (Atmospheric model) and different uses. These models can be used in forecast mode which can help policy makers to decide on appropriate actions when an air pollution episode is detected. They can also be used for climate modeling including evolution of air quality in the future, for example the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) provides climate simulations including air quality assessments in their reports (latest report accessible through their site).

In general, there are two types of air quality standards. The first class of standards (such as the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards and E.U. Air Quality Directive^[312]) set maximum atmospheric concentrations for specific pollutants. Environmental agencies enact regulations which are intended to result in attainment of these target levels. The second class (such as the North American air quality index) take the form of a scale with various thresholds, which is used to communicate to the public the relative risk of outdoor activity. The scale may or may not distinguish between different pollutants.

In Canada, air pollution and associated health risks are measured with the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI).^[313] It is a health protection tool used to make decisions to reduce short-term exposure to air pollution by adjusting activity levels during increased levels of air pollution.

The AQHI is a federal program jointly coordinated by Health Canada and Environment Canada. However, the AQHI program would not be possible without the commitment and support of the provinces, municipalities and NGOs. From air quality monitoring to health risk communication and community engagement, local partners are responsible for the vast majority of work related to AQHI implementation. The AQHI provides a number from 1 to 10+ to indicate the level of health risk associated with local air quality. Occasionally, when the amount of air pollution is abnormally high, the number may exceed 10. The AQHI provides a local air quality current value as well as a local air quality maximums forecast for today, tonight and tomorrow and provides associated health advice.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

+

Risk:

Low (1–3)

Moderate (4–6)

High (7–10)

Very high (above 10)

As it is now known that even low levels of air pollution can trigger discomfort for the sensitive population, the index has been developed as a continuum: The higher the number, the greater the health risk and need to take precautions. The index describes the level of health risk associated with this number as 'low', 'moderate', 'high' or 'very high', and suggests steps that can be taken to reduce exposure.^[314]

Health risk	Air Quality Health Index	Health messages[315]
		At risk population	General population
Low	1–3	Enjoy your usual outdoor activities.	Ideal air quality for outdoor activities
Moderate	4–6	Consider reducing or rescheduling strenuous activities outdoors if you are experiencing symptoms.	No need to modify your usual outdoor activities unless you experience symptoms such as coughing and throat irritation.
High	7–10	Reduce or reschedule strenuous activities outdoors. Children and the elderly should also take it easy.	Consider reducing or rescheduling strenuous activities outdoors if you experience symptoms such as coughing and throat irritation.
Very high	Above 10	Avoid strenuous activities outdoors. Children and the elderly should also avoid outdoor physical exertion and should stay indoors.	Reduce or reschedule strenuous activities outdoors, especially if you experience symptoms such as coughing and throat irritation.

The measurement is based on the observed relationship of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), ground-level ozone (O₃) and particulates (PM_2.5) with mortality, from an analysis of several Canadian cities. Significantly, all three of these pollutants can pose health risks, even at low levels of exposure, especially among those with pre-existing health problems.

When developing the AQHI, Health Canada's original analysis of health effects included five major air pollutants: particulates, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), as well as sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and carbon monoxide (CO). The latter two pollutants provided little information in predicting health effects and were removed from the AQHI formulation.

The AQHI does not measure the effects of odour, pollen, dust, heat or humidity.

TA Luft is the German air quality regulation.^[316]

In Europe, Council Directive 96/62/EC on ambient air quality assessment and management provides a common strategy against which member states can "set objectives for ambient air quality in order to avoid, prevent or reduce harmful effects on human health and the environment ... and improve air quality where it is unsatisfactory".^[317]

In July 2008, in the case Dieter Janecek v. Freistaat Bayern, the European Court of Justice ruled that under this directive^[317] citizens have the right to require national authorities to implement a short term action plan that aims to maintain or achieve compliance to air quality limit values.^[318][319]

This important case law appears to confirm the role of the EC as centralised regulator to European nation-states as regards air pollution control. It places a supranational legal obligation on the UK to protect its citizens from dangerous levels of air pollution, furthermore superseding national interests with those of the citizen.

In 2010, the European Commission (EC) threatened the UK with legal action against the successive breaching of PM₁₀ limit values.^[320] The UK government has identified that if fines are imposed, they could cost the nation upwards of £300 million per year.^[321]

In March 2011, the Greater London Built-up Area remained the only UK region in breach of the EC's limit values, and was given three months to implement an emergency action plan aimed at meeting the EU Air Quality Directive.^[322] The City of London has dangerous levels of PM₁₀ concentrations, estimated to cause 3000 deaths per year within the city.^[323] As well as the threat of EU fines, in 2010 it was threatened with legal action for scrapping the western congestion charge zone, which is claimed to have led to an increase in air pollution levels.^[324]

In response to these charges, mayor of London Boris Johnson has criticised the current need for European cities to communicate with Europe through their nation state's central government, arguing that in future "A great city like London" should be permitted to bypass its government and deal directly with the European Commission regarding its air quality action plan.^[322]

This can be interpreted as recognition that cities can transcend the traditional national government organisational hierarchy and develop solutions to air pollution using global governance networks, for example through transnational relations. Transnational relations include but are not exclusive to national governments and intergovernmental organisations,^[325] allowing sub-national actors including cities and regions to partake in air pollution control as independent actors.

Global city partnerships can be built into networks, for example the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, of which London is a member. The C40 is a public 'non-state' network of the world's leading cities that aims to curb their greenhouse emissions.^[326] The C40 has been identified as 'governance from the middle' and is an alternative to intergovernmental policy.^[327] It has the potential to improve urban air quality as participating cities "exchange information, learn from best practices and consequently mitigate carbon dioxide emissions independently from national government decisions".^[326] A criticism of the C40 network is that its exclusive nature limits influence to participating cities and risks drawing resources away from less powerful city and regional actors.

Because Indigenous people^[328] frequently experience a disproportionate share of the effects of environmental degradation and climate change, even while they have made very little contribution to the processes causing these changes, environmental justice is especially important to them. Indigenous peoples have been marginalized and their lands and resources have been exploited as a result of historical and continuing colonization, institutional injustices, and inequality.

Indigenous groups frequently lack the political and financial clout to influence policy decisions that impact their lands and means of subsistence or to lessen the effects of climate change. This makes the already-existing inequalities in these communities' social, economic, and health conditions worse. Furthermore, traditional ecological knowledge and Indigenous knowledge systems provide insightful information about sustainable resource management and climate change adaptation techniques. To promote persistence and environmental justice, Indigenous viewpoints must be acknowledged and integrated into efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change and adapt to them.

Combating climate change necessitates an all-encompassing strategy that recognizes the interdependence of social, economic, and environmental elements. This entails defending treaty rights, advancing Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination, and aiding Indigenous-led projects for sustainable development and environmental preservation.

Air pollution hotspots are areas where air pollution emissions expose individuals to increased negative health effects.^[329] They are particularly common in highly populated, urban areas, where there may be a combination of stationary sources (e.g. industrial facilities) and mobile sources (e.g. cars and trucks) of pollution. Emissions from these sources can cause respiratory disease, childhood asthma,^[141] cancer, and other health problems. Fine particulate matter such as diesel soot, which contributes to more than 3.2 million premature deaths around the world each year, is a significant problem. It is very small and can lodge itself within the lungs and enter the bloodstream. Diesel soot is concentrated in densely populated areas, and one in six people in the U.S. live near a diesel pollution hot spot.^[330]

External videos
AirVisual Earth – realtime map of global wind and air pollution[331]

While air pollution hotspots affect a variety of populations, some groups are more likely to be located in hotspots. Previous studies have shown disparities in exposure to pollution by race and/or income. Hazardous land uses (toxic storage and disposal facilities, manufacturing facilities, major roadways) tend to be located where property values and income levels are low. Low socioeconomic status can be a proxy for other kinds of social vulnerability, including race, a lack of ability to influence regulation and a lack of ability to move to neighborhoods with less environmental pollution. These communities bear a disproportionate burden of environmental pollution and are more likely to face health risks such as cancer or asthma.^[332]

Studies show that patterns in race and income disparities not only indicate a higher exposure to pollution but also higher risk of adverse health outcomes.^[333] Communities characterized by low socioeconomic status and racial minorities can be more vulnerable to cumulative adverse health impacts resulting from elevated exposure to pollutants than more privileged communities.^[333] Blacks and Latinos generally face more pollution than Whites and Asians, and low-income communities bear a higher burden of risk than affluent ones.^[332] Racial discrepancies are particularly distinct in suburban areas of the Southern United States and metropolitan areas of the Midwestern and Western United States.^[334] Residents in public housing, who are generally low-income and cannot move to healthier neighborhoods, are highly affected by nearby refineries and chemical plants.^[335]

Air pollution is usually concentrated in densely populated metropolitan areas, especially in developing countries where cities are experiencing rapid growth and environmental regulations are relatively lax or nonexistent. Urbanization leads to a rapid rise in premature mortality due to anthropogenic air pollution in fast-growing tropical cities.^[336] However, even populated areas in developed countries attain unhealthy levels of pollution, with Los Angeles and Rome being two examples.^[337] Between 2002 and 2011 the incidence of lung cancer in Beijing near doubled. While smoking remains the leading cause of lung cancer in China, the number of smokers is falling while lung cancer rates are rising .^[338]

^[339]

World's Most Polluted Cities 2020	2020 Average	2019 Average
Hotan, China	110.2	110.1
Ghaziabad, India	106.6	110.2
Bulandshahr, India	98.4	89.4
Bisrakh Jalalpur, India	96.0	-
Bhiwadi, India	95.5	83.4

Tehran was declared the most polluted city in the world on May 24, 2022.^[340]

In a 2019 projection, by 2030 half of the world's pollution emissions could be generated by Africa.^[341] Potential contributors to such an outcome include increased burning activities (such as the burning of open waste), traffic, agri-food and chemical industries, sand dust from the Sahara, and overall population growth.

In a 2012 study, by 2050 outdoor air pollution (particulate matter and ground-level ozone) is projected to become the top cause of environmentally related deaths worldwide.^[342]

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