Air Pollution in World

Real-time Air Quality Index Visual Map...

  AirNow

Every day the Air Quality Index (AQI) tells you how clean or polluted your outdoor air is, along with associated health effects that may be of concern. The AQI translates air quality data into numbers and colors that help people understand when to take action to protect their health.

  Air pollution is much worse than we thought

Ditching fossil fuels would pay for itself through clean air alone.

  State of Global Air

The State of Global Air report and interactive website bring into one place a comprehensive analysis of the levels and trends in air quality and health for every country in the world.

  There’s No Better Time to Clear the Air

It’s discomforting to realize that air pollution can be coming from inside your home. Here’s how to identify and rid yourself of the risks.

  Traffic Is Way Down Because Of Lockdown, But Air Pollution? Not So Much

With traffic dramatically down in recent months, the United States is in the middle of an accidental experiment showing what happens to air pollution when millions of people stop driving. The air is clearer. But the pollution declines aren't nearly as large as early indications suggested, according to an NPR analysis of six years of Environmental Protection Agency data.

  Dedicated Bus Lanes: The Easiest Way to Improve Public Transit

The buses are there. The roadways are there. All that’s needed to make bus travel better⎯and therefore more viable⎯is the will to give them their own lane once in a while.

  The Hidden Air Pollution in Our Homes

Outdoor air has been regulated for decades, but emissions from daily domestic activities may be more dangerous than anyone imagined.

  The surprising way fumes from farms are harming our health

Ammonia from farm animal waste and fertilizers plays a little-known role in producing health-harming air pollution.

 Air pollution may be affecting how happy you are

With more tangible outcomes such as health, cognitive performance or labour productivity, the adverse effects of poor air are significant and well-established. The link to infant mortality and respiratory disease is well known, and the World Health Organisation estimates that around 7m deaths are attributable to air pollution each year.

 Air pollution, explained

Air pollution is a mix of particles and gases that can reach harmful concentrations both outside and indoors. Its effects can range from higher disease risks to rising temperatures. Soot, smoke, mold, pollen, methane, and carbon dioxide are a just few examples of common pollutants.

 Almost everyone in the world breathes unhealthy air

Nearly 99 percent of the population breathes in a hazardous amount of particulate matter.

 What Is Air Pollution?

The term "air pollution" is used so commonly that you may not think definitions are necessary. But the issue is more complicated than it first appears.

Air Pollution Literally Kills Thousands of People Every Year

Fossil fuels harm far more than the environment.

Time for Plain Talk about Particulate Matter

Might the result of one particle—or a dozen, or a hundred—be negligible in relation to human health? Sure. But put enough particles out there, and things change.

Want Cleaner Air? Try Using Less Deodorant

The deodorants, perfumes and soaps that keep us smelling good are fouling the air with a harmful type of pollution — at levels as high as emissions from today’s cars and trucks.

Wind and solar power are saving Americans an astounding amount of money

Not getting sick and dying from pollution is worth quite a bit, it turns out. From 2007 to 2015, wind and solar in the US reduced SO2, NOx, and PM2.5 by 1.0, 0.6, and 0.05 million tons respectively...

80% of city dwellers exposed to 'severe' air pollution

New figures released by the World Health Organisation show that 80 per cent of urban dwellers worldwide are breathing badly polluted air. Beyond that, 98 percent of city residents in low-and middle-income countries with over 100,000 inhabits are exposed to air that doesn't meet the WHO's air quality guidelines.

A Frightening New Reason to Worry About Air Pollution

A massive study solidifies the link between particulates from cars and diabetes.

Air Pollution Is a Leading Cause of Cancer

Depending on the level of exposure in different parts of the world, the risk was found to be similar to that of breathing in second-hand tobacco smoke, Kurt Straif, head of the agency's section that ranks carcinogens, told reporters in Geneva.

Air Pollution: Everything You Need to Know

How smog, soot, greenhouse gases, and other top air pollutants are affecting the planet—and your health.

Are Volcanoes or Humans Harder on the Atmosphere?

Does one major volcanic eruption generate more climate-altering gas than that produced by humans in their entire history?

Breathing dirty air takes years off people’s lives. This tool shows just how much.

How improving air quality could add years to people’s lives around the world.

Bringing Attention To Indoor Air Pollution

Of course, we all live in homes where cooking and cleaning takes place on a daily basis, so what's the big deal? Well, it turns out the chemical compounds emitted by these activities get into your body from breathing the air, eating the food you produce, and touching your furniture.

Can facemasks help reduce the negative health impacts of air pollution?

Air pollution is made up of particles and gases. Gases include ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and a large group of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). While gases can have harmful effects, research indicates that we should be most concerned about negative health impacts of fine particles – those under 2.5 microns in size. Simple paper dust masks are largely useless when it comes to lessening air pollution exposure.

Cleaning Up Air Pollution May Strengthen Global Warming

New research is helping quantify just how big that effect might be.

EPA scientists find that air pollution is worse in poor, black communities

The study, published by a group of researchers at the agency, found that particulate matter in air — specifically, floating particles that are less than 2.5 microns in diameter and emitted from everything from cars to refineries — affects the poor and people of color more than it does the white and affluent in all but four states.

How air pollution is destroying our health

The lack of visible smog is no indication that the air is healthy. Across the world, both cities and villages are seeing toxic pollutants in the air exceed the average annual values recommended by WHO’s air quality guidelines.

How Do You Fight The World’s ‘Largest Environmental Health Problem’? Harness The Sun

More than 4 million people die prematurely every year from household air pollution — largely a result of cooking with smoky stoves.

In Cities, It's the Smoke, Not the Fire, That Will Get You

Over the years, researchers have tried unsuccessfully to measure the full health effects of wildfire smoke. The general consensus, based on hospital records, is that more smoke means more trips to the doctor for things like asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis, COPD, and heart failure.

Is air pollution making you sick? 4 questions answered

This is a tricky question, because air pollution is a hidden problem that acts as a trigger for many health problems. Plenty of people suffer from asthma and lung diseases, heart attacks and cancer, and all of these are linked to particulate matter exposure. The best evidence to date suggests that the higher the dose of air pollution, the worse our response will be. Unfortunately, there are many other things that lead to these diseases...

Lessons from history on the effects of air pollution

The health hazards of atmospheric pollution have become a major concern in Britain and around the world. Much less is known about its effects in the past. But economic historians have come up with new ways of shedding light on this murky subject.

Living in China Takes 3½ Years Off Your Life

Greater levels of particulate-matter pollution have been linked to higher risks of heart disease, stroke and lung cancer. “Particulate matter is the greatest environmental risk to human health around the world, and most of the damages are occurring in China and India,” said Michael Greenstone, Energy Policy Institute’s director.

Lowering air pollution just a bit would increase life expectancy as much as eradicating lung and breast cancer

PM2.5 is released from tailpipes of vehicles, coal-fired power plants, and industrial plants of all kinds. Events like dust storms and wildfires produce large amounts of the particulate matter, too. Right now, 95% of the global population are exposed to levels of PM2.5 that exceed the WHO’s recommended level, the authors write.

More than 95% of world's population breathe dangerous air, major study finds

Cities are home to an increasing majority of the world’s people, exposing billions to unsafe air, particularly in developing countries, but in rural areas the risk of indoor air pollution is often caused by burning solid fuels. One in three people worldwide faces the double whammy of unsafe air both indoors and out.

Tackling air pollution may accidentally trigger serious health issues

Cities tackling one major air pollutant risk inadvertently making things worse by fuelling the growth of another, potentially more harmful type of pollution.

That Ear-Splitting Leaf Blower? It Also Emits More Pollution Than a Car

The blowers and related devices are dirty because many use two-stroke engines.

The Effects Of Air Pollution On Human Health

The immediate effects of air pollution are hard to ignore. Watery eyes, coughing and difficulty breathing are acute and common reactions. An estimated 92 percent of the world’s population live in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution and, even at seemingly imperceptible levels, air pollution can increase one’s risk of cardiovascular and premature death. Air pollution is almost as deadly as tobacco.

The EPA Won’t Do Its Air-Protection Job, So We’re Putting It on Notice

Sometimes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s job can be complicated. Sometimes it has to explore questions on the cutting edge of science. But sometimes its job is really simple. This is one of those times — and yet the EPA still hasn’t done what the law requires. So, we just sent the EPA a notice of intent to sue it to force it to do what it was already supposed to have done.

The Other Reason to Shift away from Coal: Air Pollution That Kills Thousands Every Year

Shifting coal-fired power plants in the U.S. to natural gas would have tremendous positive effects on human health in America.

We’re just learning how exposure to air pollution degrades our brains

A growing body of evidence is starting to show that exposure to PM2.5 pollution is also tied to poor cognitive function in children and adults, and an uptick of dementia rates in the elderly.

Why India’s air pollution is so horrendous

A whopping nine in 10 people on Earth breathe highly polluted air, and more than 80 percent of urban dwellers have to endure outdoor pollution that exceeds health standards, according to the WHO’s World Global Ambient Air Quality Database. But even among countries gasping for breath, India stands out for air that is consistently, epically terrible.

Meat production leads to thousands of air quality-related deaths annually

Agriculture is a major source of air pollution, killing an estimated 17,900 people in the U.S. every year, according to a new study.