Air Pollution

Soaring temperatures and thick humid air can cause breathing difficulties for a number of people as summer approaches each year.Add a cloth face mask to the equation and those problems can be further exacerbated.With southern Ontario and Quebec experiencing their first heat wave of the season this week, health experts…

By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, May 26, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Air pollution might increase the risk for multiple sclerosis (MS), Italian researchers report. They found that in places with low levels of tiny particles of air pollution called particulate matter, the risk for MS was lower than in…

Photo: GettyJacinda Ardern has won a lot of rightful praise for New Zealand’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The nation has stood as an outlier with cases that have stayed low, and the country is beginning to reopen in what it hopes is a safe way. So maybe we should…

As well as fossil fuels—not instead of. Credit: science photo / shutterstock The global COVID-19 quarantine has meant less air pollution in cities and clearer skies. Animals are strolling through public spaces, and sound pollution has diminished, allowing us to hear the birds sing. But these relatively small and temporary…

The coronavirus lockdowns drastically reduced carbon emissions -- but they could be set to rocket back up. Hu Weiguo/Getty For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO website. The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we move around cities and the planet in drastic…

The coronavirus lockdowns drastically reduced carbon emissions -- but they could be set to rocket back up. Hu Weiguo/Getty For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO website. The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we move around cities and the planet in drastic…

While we may think of car exhaust as being a major source of air pollution, automobile tires also hugely contribute to microplastics pollution. A new vehicle-mounted device could help, by gathering the rubber particles that those tires shed.By definition, microplastics are fragments of plastic smaller than 5 millimeters in diameter.…

An empty road in Istanbul, Turkey.Photo: GettyLockdowns around the world are having a measurable effect on global greenhouse gas emissions. A new study out Tuesday found that daily emissions dropped by 17 percent in April 2020 compared to last year’s average levels. This is a sizable dip, but the findings…

As data accumulate that, in some places, people of colour are much more likely than white people to become ill and die of COVID-19, more discussions are grasping at factors beyond race to explain why. I’m used to this. When my book on environmental racism came out last year, one…

Source: HuamiWhat you need to knowWearable maker Huami has announced plans of making a reusable transparent mask with a self-cleaning feature. Users will have to connect the mask to a power supply through a USB port to disinfect the filter inside the mask. Called Aeri, the mask will be aimed…