Residents of the Springfield, Pittsfield and Worcester areas each experienced more than 40 days of elevated air pollution levels in 2016, according to a new report that recommends a shift to renewable energy to protect air quality.

Over the sounds of buses and trucks driving down Beacon Street, representatives from Environment Massachusetts announced the report’s findings outside the State House Wednesday.

“Our state leaders need to take steps to reduce pollution from fossil fuels, and the first thing they can do in that direction is to pass comprehensive clean energy legislation before the end of the session on July 31,” Environment Massachusetts state director Ben Hellerstein said.

Hellerstein said the state has an “opportunity to take a big step in the right direction in the next few weeks,” by passing a bill the Senate approved June 14. The bill, he said, would transition the state to 100 percent renewable electricity by 2047, remove the cap on solar net metering and increase adoption of electric vehicles.

The report logged 52 days of elevated air pollution in the Springfield area in 2016, along with 49 in the Providence area including parts of southeastern Massachusetts, 47 in the Worcester area, 45 in the Pittsfield area, and 32 in each the Boston and Greenfield areas.

Air pollution is linked to cardiovascular and respiratory risks, and the impacts are felt most by children, pregnant women and the elderly, said Jon Levy, an environmental health professor at the Boston University School of Public Health.

“Importantly, recent research shows that air pollution affects health at levels we currently experience here in Massachusetts,” he said.