Air Pollution News

June 13, 2025

Top Headlines

Molecular Link Between Air Pollution and Pregnancy Risks

June 3, 2025 — A new study found exposure to specific tiny particles in air pollution during pregnancy are associated with increased risk of various negative birth ...

Does Outdoor Air Pollution Affect Indoor Air Quality? It Could Depend on Buildings' HVAC

May 29, 2025 — Researchers determined how much outdoor particulate pollution affects indoor air quality. Their study concluded pollution from inversion and dust events is kept out of buildings, but wildfire smoke ...

New Study Analyzes Air Quality Impacts of Wildfire Smoke

May 27, 2025 — With wildfires increasing in frequency, severity, and size in the Western U.S., researchers are determined to better understand how smoke impacts air quality, public health, and even the weather. As fires burn, they release enormous amounts of ...

Southeast Asia Could Prevent Up to 36,000 Ozone-Related Early Deaths a Year by 2050 With Stricter Air Pollution Controls

May 21, 2025 — A study has found that implementing robust air pollution control measures could mean Southeast Asian countries prevent as many as 36,000 ozone-related premature deaths each year by ...

New Study Tracks Air Pollution and CO2 Emissions Across Thousands of Cities Worldwide

May 7, 2025 — In a sweeping new study of more than 13,000 urban areas worldwide, researchers have mapped air pollution levels and carbon dioxide emissions, providing comprehensive global analysis of urban ...

Cutting Greenhouse Gases Will Reduce Number of Deaths from Poor Air Quality

May 6, 2025 — Up to 250,000 deaths from poor air quality could be prevented annually in central and western Europe by 2050 if greenhouse gas emissions are drastically reduced, say ...

Smoke from US Wildfires, Prescribed Burns Caused Premature Deaths, Billions in Health Damages

Apr. 8, 2025 — Researchers estimated that smoke from wildfires and prescribed burns caused $200 billion in health damages in 2017, and that these were associated with 20,000 premature deaths. Senior citizens were ...

Exposure to Air Pollution May Harm Brain Health of Older Adults

Apr. 7, 2025 — Long-term exposure to high levels of air pollution may harm the brain health of older adults in England, finds a new ...

Exposure to Air Pollution in Childhood Is Associated With Reduced Brain Connectivity

Apr. 1, 2025 — A new study has found that children exposed to higher levels of air pollution in early and mid childhood have weaker connections between key brain regions. The findings highlight the potential impact ...

Do-It-Yourself Box Filter Clears the Air of Indoor Pollutants

Mar. 24, 2025 — When wildfires threaten communities, human health can be impacted as smoke distributes on the breeze, infiltrating various structures. To help people protect themselves and their families, researchers have developed a low-cost, durable, ...

Whose Air Quality Are We Monitoring?

Mar. 18, 2025 — The EPA's network consistently failed to capture air quality in communities of color across six major pollutants. The monitors are the key data source driving decisions about pollution reduction, urban planning and public health initiatives. The ...

Delhi Air Pollution Worse Than Expected as Water Vapor Skews Figures

Mar. 12, 2025 — New Delhi's air pollution is more severe than previously estimated with particles absorbing atmospheric water vapor leading to particulate matter levels across the city being underestimated by up to ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:18pm EDT

Birds Breathe in Dangerous Plastics -- And So Do We

Feb. 27, 2025 — Microscopic plastic pollutants drifting through the air are lodging in the lungs of birds, a new study finds. Researchers worldwide are increasingly alarmed by how pervasive these harmful particles ...

Biodiversity in England's Rivers Improved as Metal Pollution Reduced

Feb. 19, 2025 — An improvement in freshwater biodiversity in England's rivers was linked to reductions in pollution of zinc and copper, largely due to the decline of coal burning and heavy industry, say researchers. ...

Air Pollution Levels May Be Higher Inside Your Home Than Outside

Feb. 13, 2025 — People may be exposed to unhealthy levels of airborne pollutants inside their homes, even if the outdoor air quality is ...

Air Pollution Exposure Late in Pregnancy Increases NICU Admission Risk

Feb. 14, 2025 — In a study measuring neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admissions and satellite-based air pollution data, newborns exposed to higher levels of NO2 have a 30-35% higher risk of NICU admission and an ...

Brake Pad Emissions Can Be More Toxic Than Diesel Exhaust

Feb. 14, 2025 — A study has found microscopic particles emitted from certain types of commonly fitted brake pads can be more toxic than those found in diesel vehicle ...

Exposure to Air Pollution Associated With More Hospital Admissions for Lower Respiratory Infections

Feb. 3, 2025 — Long-term exposure to PM2.5, PM10, NO2 and ozone (O3) air pollution is associated with more hospital admissions for lower respiratory tract ...

Wildfire Smoke Can Carry Toxins Hundreds of Kilometers, Depositing Grime on Urban Structures, Surfaces

Jan. 30, 2025 — Researchers have shown that plumes of wildfire smoke can carry contaminants hundreds of kilometers, leaving a toxic and lingering footprint which has ...

For Optimal Marathon Performance, Check Training Plan, Gear, Nutrition, Weather -- And Air Quality?

Dec. 18, 2024 — When preparing for a marathon, runners don't usually think much about air quality. But maybe they should, according to findings from a new study. ...

Months After Colorado's Marshall Fire, Residents of Surviving Homes Reported Health Symptoms, Poor Air Quality

Dec. 23, 2024 — Three years after the Dec. 30, 2021, Marshall Fire destroyed more than 1,000 homes in Boulder County, two new studies offer insight into what happens ...

Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution Linked to Blood Clots in Veins That Bring Blood to the Heart

Dec. 12, 2024 — A large study found that greater exposure to long-term air pollution was linked with increased risks for blood clots that can occur in deep veins, ...

Aerosol Pollutants from Cooking May Last Longer in the Atmosphere

Dec. 10, 2024 — New insights into the behavior of aerosols from cooking emissions and sea spray reveal that particles may take up more water than previously thought, potentially changing how long the particles ...

Regional, Racial, and Economic Disparities in Cancer Risk from Air Pollution Exposure Persist, but Improving, New Research Suggests

Dec. 3, 2024 — A nationwide U.S. assessment of estimated cancer risk from airborne toxics shows that risk is concentrated in urban communities, those with lower incomes, and those with higher proportions of racial ...

Air Fryers Confirmed as Least Polluting Cooking Method

Nov. 26, 2024 — Air fryers produce a tiny fraction of the indoor air pollution emitted by other cooking methods including pan and deep frying, a new study has ...

Climate Change and Eye Maladies

Nov. 16, 2024 — Clinical visits by patients suffering ocular surface eye conditions more than doubled during times when ambient particulate matter from air pollution was in the atmosphere, signaling a possible ...

Air Pollution Exposure May Be Associated With Eczema

Nov. 13, 2024 — People living in areas with higher levels of air pollution are more likely to have eczema, according to a new ...

New Study Links Air Pollution With Higher Rates of Head and Neck Cancer

Nov. 12, 2024 — A recent study correlates higher levels of pollutant particulate matter to higher occurrences of head and neck aerodigestive ...

Exposure to Particular Sources of Air Pollution Is Harmful to Children's Learning and Memory

Nov. 1, 2024 — A new study involving 8,500 children from across the United States has revealed that a form of air pollution, largely the product of agricultural emissions, is linked to poor learning and memory ...

Microplastics and PFAS: Combined Risk and Greater Environmental Harm

Oct. 22, 2024 — The combined impact of so-called 'forever chemicals' is more harmful to the environment than single chemicals in isolation, a new study ...

Scientists Unveil New Insights Into Air Pollution Formation

Oct. 21, 2024 — Researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery in understanding how air pollution forms at the molecular level. Their investigation sheds light on the complex chemical processes occurring at the ...

US Air Pollution Monitoring Network Has Gaps in Coverage, Say Researchers

Oct. 15, 2024 — The lack of air-quality monitoring capabilities across the U.S. affects the health of millions of people and disproportionately impacts minority and low socioeconomic-status communities, say ...

Scientists Cut Harmful Pollution from Hydrogen Engines

Oct. 10, 2024 — Scientists have discovered a low-cost method to significantly reduce this pollution from hydrogen internal combustion engines by improving the efficiency of their catalytic converters. The ...

Improved Water Quality Offsets in Growing Cities Could Protect Reef

Oct. 3, 2024 — New research shows how growing Queensland regions can learn from biodiversity and carbon offsetting efforts to better meet water quality ...

Air Pollution Exposure During Early Life Can Have Lasting Effects on the Brain's White Matter

Sep. 25, 2024 — Exposure to certain pollutants, like fine particles (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), during pregnancy and childhood is associated with differences in the microstructure of the brain s white matter, ...

Soil and Water Pollution: An Invisible Threat to Cardiovascular Health

Sep. 25, 2024 — Pesticides, heavy metals, micro- and nanoplastics in the soil, and environmentally harmful chemicals can have a detrimental effect on the cardiovascular system, according to a review paper. The ...

Ozone Pollution Reduces Tropical Forest Growth

Sep. 12, 2024 — Ozone gas is reducing the growth of tropical forests -- leaving an estimated 290 million tons of carbon uncaptured each year, new research ...

Wildfire Smoke Exposure Boost Risk of Mental Illness in Youth, Study Suggests

Sep. 12, 2024 — Each additional day of exposure to wildfire smoke and other extreme forms of dirty air boosts risk of mental illness in youth a little more, according to a new University of Colorado Boulder study of ...

Measuring Microplastic Pollution in the Marine Food Chain

Aug. 29, 2024 — Testing for levels of microplastic contamination in marine plankton aims to help develop new ways to assess and manage the rising global pollution problem, experts say. Researchers examined the ...

New Images Reveal Global Air Quality Trends

Aug. 23, 2024 — The global concentrations of one of the main air pollutants known to affect human health have been graphically illustrated for the first time by a team of ...

Air Pollution Harms Mental Health Worse in New York's Historically Redlined Neighborhoods

Aug. 22, 2024 — The statewide study found that the link between pollutants and ER visits is more pronounced in communities that were once denied mortgages due to ...

Nitrogen Interventions as a Key to Better Health and Robust Ecosystems

Aug. 16, 2024 — An international research team combined multidisciplinary methods to evaluate how nitrogen interventions could improve air quality and reduce nitrogen deposition. Their study found that ...