Air Pollution

The rule would significantly decrease mercury emissions from coal plants. Guess that sounds like a bad idea to the president.Photo: GettyHumans have long known the health dangers of mercury, but that won’t stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from doing away with regulations designed to reduce emissions and protect public…

Air pollution has long been linked to health issues, especially asthma. Coal-fired power plants are a definitive source of air pollution. But it’s been difficult for scientists to attribute respiratory problems of people living near coal specifically to those coal plants, because a host of other factors come into play.…

Credit: William McClymont Getty Images Before dawn on the morning of October 10, 2019, the four of us gathered in a small hotel conference room outside Washington, D.C. Knowing there would soon be many eyes on us, we made sure the technology was working, the room was ready and the…

By Chloe Bryan2020-04-14 14:37:46 UTC Maybe you've seen whimsical posts about animals like elephants and dolphins returning to areas that humans have abandoned during the coronavirus pandemic. Well, we are sorry to say that dolphins are not actually swimming in the Venice canals. In fact, the vast majority of the…

These maps show satellite data of nitrogen dioxide over the Northeast in March, comparing the mean of the period from 2015 through 2019 with the mean for 2020.Gif: NASAYou can add the Northeast to the growing list of regions seeing improved air quality amid the ongoing pandemic. We’ve seen these…

CLICK HERE if you are having a problem viewing the photos on a mobile device With many cities shutdown, one of the positive side effects of the shelter-in-place orders around the world has been the reports of cleaner air and water. In Los Angeles, the air quality, which is usually…

By choosing “I agree” below, you agree that NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s…

The average concentration in March of 2015-19. Credit: NASA Over the past several weeks, NASA satellite measurements have revealed significant reductions in air pollution over the major metropolitan areas of the Northeast United States. Similar reductions have been observed in other regions of the world. These recent improvements in air…

A newly released study from researchers at Harvard University has brought more attention to the impact pollution in the air can have on patients who contract the novel coronavirus The study connected exposure to high levels of air pollution to higher rates of death from COVID-19, raising concerns for the…

The empty roads of San Francisco amid the coronavirus outbreak.Photo: GettyAs a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the world is in sleep mode. We already knew that this has resulted in air pollution dropping dramatically, but several analyses are now showing that our greenhouse gas emissions are dropping, too. In…