Traffic, oil and gas, and wildfires are taking a toll on the fresh mountain air of Colorado, where spending time outdoors is a way of life.

In some counties, the authors found nearly 20% of COVID-19 cases were linked to wildfire smoke. In others, the percentage of deaths was even higher.

The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is 50% higher than in preindustrial times. Every year, the world adds 40 billion metric tons of CO2 pollution to the air.

Photos from Beijing, China, show the sandstorm turning the city yellow and obscuring buildings as sand blew in from the Gobi desert.

Air pollution was a cause of 9-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah’s death, a UK coroner ruled Wednesday. She died of an asthma attack in 2013. It’s the first time air pollution will be listed on a death certificate. Nitrogen dioxide emissions and harmful airborne particles where Kissi-Debrah lived exceeded legal limits. These […]

The US West Coast has the worst air quality in the world due to wildfire smoke across California, Oregon, and Washington. Maps of air-quality index measurements show hazardous levels of particulate matter from wildfire smoke across the entire West Coast. Research has linked particulate matter from wildfires to heart and […]

The UK will permit electric scooter rentals on public roads from June, as it explores greener and less congested methods of urban transport during the pandemic. Transport secretary Grant Shapps said Sunday that trials of scooter rental schemes could kick off nationally from June, accelerating trials originally slated for next […]

Residents in the northern Indian state of Punjab say they’re seeing the Himalayas for the first time in decades while on coronavirus lockdown. Since India was put on lockdown in March to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the country’s air quality has seen immense improvement. The air […]

Researchers have found a link between exposure to air pollution and numerous health issues, such as an increased risk of stroke or kidney disease. One study found that people living in highly polluted areas of London had a 40% higher risk of developing dementia than others. Exposure to pollution has […]

Millions of people in China remain on lockdown as the nation tries to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. The resulting factory closures and fall in motor traffic has meant a sustained drop in noxious nitrogen dioxide, NASA stated on Saturday. There’s often a decline in air pollution in […]

President Donald Trump visited to Los Angeles Tuesday, and the smog in the city concealed the usually picturesque backdrop of mountains from downtown LA, one day before his administration is expected to challenge California’s ability to tackle emissions in the state. California is ranked as having the worst air quality […]

President Donald Trump has falsely said that the US has the purest air in the world, but i n fact, it ranks 10th. According to the American Lung Association, the 25 US cities with the most air pollution are mostly clustered in 8 states. Air pollution – which includes particle […]

A recent report tracked air pollution levels in cities and countries around the world for 2018. While the United States performs well compared to the worst offenders like India and China, a few US cities still suffer from poor air quality. Major cities in California saw especially high pollution levels […]

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released a list of the top threats to global health in 2019. While past lists have included outbreaks of various diseases, this year’s list focused on a primary cause of some outbreaks: vaccine hesitation, more commonly referred to as anti-vaxxing. The list also included […]

We have no choice but to breathe the air around us. But the machines we use and policies that governments enact transform that air. Cars fill the air with the exhaust they pipe out, factories and power plants belch residue into the sky, and city apartment buildings pump out chemicals […]

Air pollution isn’t just bad for health, it also harms the brain and is linked to worse maths and verbal test scores, according to a new study. We already knew pollution made kids score worse on tests, but this new study shows the effect getting stronger throughout life. If cities […]

On Monday, German officials arrested Rupert Stadler, the CEO of Audi, in connection to the company’s use of illegal software to cheat carbon-emissions tests. Research suggests that car pollution leads to tens of thousands of early deaths each year in the US. Air pollution from vehicles tends to be most […]