air pollution

NPR

Climate

Traffic on a hazy evening in Fresno, Calif. A new study estimates that about 50,000 lives could be saved each year if the U.S. eliminated small particles of pollution that are released from the tailpipes of cars and trucks, among other sources.

Eliminating fossil fuel air pollution would save about 50,000 lives, study finds

May 17, 2022

Burning oil, coal and other fossil fuels releases plumes of tiny, dangerous particles. A new study estimates that eliminating that pollution would save about 50,000 lives in the U.S. each year.

NPR

Health

A recent study by the American Lung Association found that more Americans are living in areas with increased levels of air pollution. Los Angeles has recorded the worst levels of ozone for all but one of the past 23 years.

Wildfires are increasingly contributing to unhealthy air

Apr 20, 2022

The rising number of fires hamper decades of environmental efforts, and over 40% of Americans — more than 137 million people — live in places with poor air quality, a new report says.

NPR

Wildfire smoke and smog make air pollution a growing problem out West

Apr 20, 2022

The Mountain West is known for big blue skies. But several cities here are among the nation’s worst for short-term air pollution levels, according to a new American Lung Association study. Wildfire smoke is an increasing factor, but so is smog from growing cities across the region.

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Health

Interstate 405 cuts through neighborhoods near the Los Angeles International Airport, seen here in 2017. A new study found links between modern urban air pollution and historical redlining at the national level.

Even many decades later, redlined areas see higher levels of air pollution

Mar 10, 2022

"We see a really clear association between how these maps were drawn in the '30s and the air pollution disparities today," says an author of a study on the effects of the discriminatory policy.

NPR

Worst-In-World Air Quality Takes Page From Grim Climate Report

Aug 11, 2021

Two Western cities registered the poorest air quality in the world over the last week as smoke from wildfires in northern California turned the skies over the Rocky Mountains into a chalky white abyss.

NPR

Asia

A woman cycles along a street during a sandstorm in Beijing on Monday.

Desert Dust Sweeps Into Beijing, Causing China's Worst Sandstorm In 10 Years

Mar 15, 2021

Residents in the capital woke up to a choking orange hue in the air on Monday, as airborne dust from the Gobi Desert sent the air-quality index to hazardous levels and forced flight cancelations.

NPR

Shots - Health News

In early September 2020, Seattle, Wash., had some of the worst air quality in the world because of wildfire smoke. The city was among the first to create smoke shelters for the most vulnerable.

Study Finds Wildfire Smoke More Harmful To Humans Than Pollution From Cars

Mar 05, 2021

In Southern California, pollutants from wildfire smoke caused up to a 10% increase in hospital admissions. Researchers say there's a need for better air monitoring and public health programs.

NPR

Science

Protestors attempt to block the delivery of toxic PCB waste to a landfill in Warren County, North Carolina, 1982. It was in response to the State's decision to locate a hazardous waste landfill in a low-income, predominantly Black area of Warren County t

Hope And Skepticism As Biden Promises To Address Environmental Racism

Jan 29, 2021

Environmental racism means that people of color experience more air and water pollution than white people, and suffer the health impacts. Can Biden change that?

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NPR

Science

A new EPA rule will make it more difficult for the regulators to use some scientific studies about the connection between pollution and health.

Trump EPA Erects New Barriers To Crucial Science

Jan 05, 2021

Studies based on private health data are crucial to understanding dangers posed by pollution. A new rule makes it harder for the EPA to consider many studies when setting safeguards.

NPR

Goats and Soda

The fireworks of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, add smoke to the already polluted skies — and raise concerns about the impact of all that pollution on coronavirus cases. Here, a celebration takes place last year in Ahmedabad, India.

Fireworks Of Diwali Spark Worries About Pollution ... And Coronavirus Cases

Nov 12, 2020

Air quality is awful in New Delhi in winter. Smoke from the fireworks of the Hindu festival of lights adds to the problem. That's a cause for concern during a pandemic caused by a respiratory virus.

KNPR

Newscast headlines

Health Issues As Wildfire Smoke Hits Millions In US

Oct 15, 2020

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — Wildfires churning out dense plumes of smoke as they scorch part of the U.S. West Coast have exposed more than 8 million people to hazardous pollution levels.

That's according to an Associated Press analysis of government air monitoring data.

KNPR

KNPR's State of Nevada

Wildfire Smoke Causes Historic Air Pollution In Northern Nevada

Sep 18, 2020

Record-breaking wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington are still raging, a month after they were ignited by dry lightning storms across the West.

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NPR

Shots - Health News

Hurricane Laura caused a fire at a chemical plant owned by BioLab in Westlake, La. The plant manufactures chemicals for swimming pools.

Millions Of Pounds Of Extra Pollution Were Released Before Hurricane Laura's Landfall

Aug 28, 2020

Hurricane Laura hit an area known for its refineries and chemical plants. They released millions of pounds of air pollution when they shut down, and many air monitors are not functioning.

KNPR

KNPR's State of Nevada

Wildfires Pollute Clark County Air

Aug 27, 2020

The historic wildfires in California dirtied the air in Southern Nevada last week

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NPR

Science

Air pollution is a persistent problem in California's Central Valley. A new study finds that the places that were most polluted nearly 40 years ago generally remain the most polluted today.

Air Quality Disparities Persist Despite Overall Gains

Jul 30, 2020

A new study finds that the U.S. places with the most polluted air in the 1980s remain the most polluted today. Poor people and people of color are more likely to live in places with dirty air.

NPR

The Coronavirus Crisis

Companies across the country say the pandemic is interfering with their ability to comply with laws that protect the public from pollution. The federal government is not keeping track of requests for regulatory leniency during the pandemic.

As EPA Steps Back, States Face Wave Of Requests For Environmental Leniency

Jun 09, 2020

The EPA does not require companies to notify federal regulators if the pandemic interferes with pollution monitoring or reporting. That leaves states alone on the front lines of pollution control.

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NPR

Shots - Health News

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

May 19, 2020

Car traffic took a big dip beginning in late March, and headlines celebrated clean air around the U.S. But an NPR analysis of EPA data tells a more troubling story.

KNPR

KNPR's State of Nevada

Nevada Cities Get Failing Grades On Air Quality

Apr 23, 2020

The American Lung Association releases its State of the Air report every year, detailing the levels of particle air pollution and ozone in communities a

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Science

Wildfires caused high levels of air pollution in San Francisco in November 2018. Climate change is making wildfires and heat waves more likely, and driving more days of unhealthy air in many U.S. cities.

Climate Change Undercuts Air Pollution Improvements

Apr 20, 2020

More Americans are breathing unhealthy air, even though overall air pollution has decreased in recent decades. In the tug-of-war between air regulations and climate change, global warming is winning.

NPR

Coronavirus Live Updates

A photo taken last month by Nairobi resident Osman Siddiqi shows One Africa Place, a bullet-shaped glass high-rise in Nairobi, framed by the jagged, snowcapped peaks of Mount Kenya, which many residents said they have never seen from the capital city.

From Nairobi, A Rare, Clear Glimpse Of Mount Kenya Drives Disbelief On Social Media

Apr 14, 2020

A photo on social media showing Africa's second-highest mountain from Nairobi made many Kenyans cry foul. But the photo — shot on a day free of pollution, because of COVID-19 restrictions — is real.

NPR

Coronavirus Live Updates

A crow flies near Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace in New Delhi, on April 2. Air quality has markedly improved in India's capital since the country's coronavirus lockdown began last month.

With Coronavirus Lockdown, India's Cities See Clear Blue Skies As Air Pollution Drops

Apr 10, 2020

India has ordered 1.3 billion people to stay home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown seems to have inadvertently solved, at least temporarily, another public health crisis: air pollution.

NPR

Goats and Soda

February satellite readings in the troposphere (the lower atmosphere) of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a pollutant primarily from burning fossil fuels, show a dramatic decline compared to early January when power plants were operating at normal levels.

Why China's Air Has Been Cleaner During The Coronavirus Outbreak

Mar 04, 2020

Air pollution levels have dropped dramatically as power plants and factories have slowed down — potentially saving lives. But the public health benefits aren't so simple to calculate.

NPR

Science