Local News
DNR Report Says Air Quality in the State Continues to Improve
A report from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
says the state’s air quality is improving. The 2019 Air Quality Trends report
from the DNR shows that concentrations of most pollutants across the state are
continuing to decrease. Officials with the DNR say fine particle concentrations
have dropped 35-percent statewide since 2002. Data from the report also shows
emissions of ozone-forming pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides have decreased
50-percent and sulfur dioxide emissions have dropped 68-percent since the early
2000s. Despite those decreases, the report says sections of six counties along
the Lake Michigan shoreline, including Kenosha Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Sheboygan,
Manitowoc and Door Counties are not meeting federal ozone standards. Overall,
the DNR says about 94-percent of the population in the state lives in areas
that meet all federal air quality standards.