It feels like there's not enough oxygen in the air

Among the American Lung Association’s list of most polluted cities in the country, multiple cities in California's Central Valley appear; Merced County children are diagnosed with asthma at more than twice the statewide average. Asher Pan has suffered from asthma since early childhood, and moving to Merced — where geography, pollution, and a spate of wildfires combine to create poor air quality — has not helped matters. "Even after the smoke is seemingly gone from the air, I am still not breathing well... I feel like I’m walking around with a heavy cloth over my face preventing me from breathing." Read Asher's commentary on We'Ced.