Air Pollution

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…

Dyson has finally revealed details of their scrapped electric car project. Image: AFP via Getty Images By Matt Binder2020-05-17 17:43:07 UTC We finally know more about the mysterious electric car that Dyson – yes, the company best known for its vacuum cleaners and hand dryers – was working on. In…

Mean 10-min PM 2.5 levels for each 48-hour scenario at the Salt Lake County schools during a clean, moderate winter persistent air pool (PCAP, inversion) and major PCAP event. The bigger the blue dot, the higher the concentration of PM 2.5 particles. In all three scenarios, the lowest PM 2.5…

Not what you want to see in May.Gif: Earth Wind MapThe last thing anyone wants to deal with right now is severe weather, but here we are. The first tropical storm of the year is likely to form this weekend, two weeks ahead of Atlantic hurricane season’s official start date.A…

Improved air quality in China during the coronavirus quarantine significantly improved the country’s air quality and, in tuen, prevented thousands of pollution-related deaths. Credit: Dreamstime Soon after coronavirus appeared, an all-encompassing quarantine put into effect by the Chinese government slowed the spread of the disease and saved lives, but the…

Daily averages of observed and weather-normalised concentrations of NO₂ in Wuhan, China, between January 2013 and February 2020. Author provided The COVID-19 lockdown in Wuhan, China, resulted in a 63% reduction in nitrogen dioxide concentrations, according to our new research. We have calculated that this drop in air pollution may…