Valley Air District Releases 2025 Annual Report, Documenting Continued Air Quality Progress in San Joaquin Valley

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District has released its 2025 Annual Report to the Community, documenting continued improvements in air quality across the eight-county region despite ongoing growth in population and vehicle traffic. The report acknowledges that air quality in the Valley has improved substantially over the past 20 years — a period during which the region's population has continued to grow and the number of vehicles on Valley roads has increased significantly. District leadership credits sustained investment in clean technology programs, stricter emission rules, and community-level initiatives with driving the improvements. The District's Tune In Tune Up Vehicle Repair Program, which provides free or low-cost vehicle repairs to income-qualified residents, was highlighted in a recent independent evaluation by UCLA's Luskin Center for Innovation. The Luskin report found that the program has effectively reduced vehicle emissions in some of the most environmentally disadvantaged communities in California, and does so at a cost-effective rate. The District's 2026 Governing Board-approved Legislative Platform establishes the agency's priorities for the current legislative year, with staff directed to distribute the platform to Valley state and federal delegations. The District is also seeking community applicants for two open seats on its Environmental Justice Advisory Group — an Ethnic Small-Business owner representative and a Merced County At-Large representative. The San Joaquin Valley continues to face some of the worst air quality in the United States, driven by geography, agricultural activity, and traffic from goods movement corridors. The Valley regularly exceeds federal health standards for ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which are linked to asthma, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. The 2025 Annual Report to the Community is available at the District's website. Source: San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District | https://www.valleyair.org