Smog

Disturbing Images Show the Extent of Delhi’s Extreme Pollution Emergency

Delhi, the capital city of India and home to 25 million residents, is in the midst of an “extreme pollution event.” In other words the city has been overrun with smog—tons of it. Recent photographs show the extent of the problem, which is being blamed on everything from vehicle emissions and crop burning through to…

Tech News George Dvorsky Nov 8

Paris Is Now Banning All Pre-1997 Cars

Paris has tried just about everything to combat its terrible smog problem. The city has launched attempts to take half the cars off its road, introduce regular car-free days, and close famous streets to vehicular traffic—but Paris still has some of the worst pollution in Europe. Now a much bigger idea is going into effect:…

Climate Change Alissa Walker May 31

Report: Four Out of Five City Dwellers Breathe Unsafe Air

The leading cause of death worldwide isn’t an infectious disease or cancer. It’s air pollution. And despite our best efforts to control it, smog is still increasing at an alarming rate worldwide, posing a health risk to over 80 percent of all city dwellers. https://gizmodo.com/air-pollution-kills-5-5-million-people-every-year-world-1758734291 That’s the sobering conclusion of an update released today by…

Tech News Maddie Stone May 12

Mexico City’s Doubling Down on its Car Ban to Clear Smoggy Skies

A plan to restrict private vehicles from Mexico City’s downtown hasn’t done enough to reduce air pollution, so the city is now asking twice as many cars to stay off the roads. As a sprawling city at a soaring altitude, Mexico City is prone to intense smog because it’s surrounded by mountains, which trap particulate…

Tech News Alissa Walker Apr 6

‘Hairy Nose’ Ad Combats Pollution in China By Depicting a Future Dystopia

A bizarre new video produced by WildAid China depicts a dystopia where people have adapted to air pollution by growing excessive amounts of nasal hair. The ultimate message of the public service announcement is, “Change air pollution before it changes you.” Smog is a very serious issue in China right now, as evidenced by the…

io9 George Dvorsky Feb 29

Delhi’s Car Ban Experiment Didn’t Improve Air Quality That Much, But it Should Still Be Permanent

Earlier this year Delhi’s air pollution was so bad that the government temporarily banned half its cars from streets. The policymaker who came up with the idea says the ban should be 365 days a year—but not because it improved air quality all that much. The “odd/even” scheme allowed drivers to use their cars every…

Tech News Alissa Walker Feb 18

Air Pollution Kills 5.5 Million People Every Year Worldwide

The smog hovering over many major cities is not just an unhealthy inconvenience. Breathing that air is killing millions of people. A recent study in Nature estimated three million people died annually due to air quality. That number may be closer to 5.5 million premature deaths per year, according to a new study being presented…

Climate Change Alissa Walker Feb 12

A New AI Estimates Pollution From Crowdsourced Images

Around the world, cities are choking on smog. But a new AI system plans to analyze just how bad the situation is by aggregating data from smartphone pictures captured far and wide across cities. The project, called AirTick, has been developed by researchers from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, reports New Scientist. The reasoning is…

Artificial Intelligence Jamie Condliffe Feb 8

Milan Bans Cars to Combat Horrible Smog

Beijing and Delhi are both planning major initiatives to kick cars off their streets, at least part of the time. Now even cities that aren’t famous for their pollution are taking drastic measures to clean up their air. Today, Milan’s streets are filled with bikes and pedestrians as part of three-day car ban. Milan is…

Climate Change Alissa Walker Dec 28

Terrifying Photos of Beijing’s Toxic Smog ‘White Christmas’

As you were tearing off the wrapping paper this morning, Beijing was waking up to the worst smog of the year, and a very different kind of white Christmas. PM2.5 levels hit over 620 micrograms per cubic meter early in the morning, according to the American embassy. That was enough to force the airport to…

Tech News Chris Mills Dec 25

Canada Is Doing Quick Business Selling Bottled Air to China’s Polluted Cities

Millions of Chinese citizens have been blanketed in thick smog recently, but where some people see only a dense haze, entrepreneurial Canadian businessmen see profit. Vitality Air is startup in Canada’s Rocky Mountains, selling “hand-bottled mountain air” from Banff and Lake Louise. In recent weeks, Vitality has seen demand soar from China. Founder Moses Lam…

Climate Change Chris Mills Dec 16

China’s Smog Makes Headlines But India’s Is Much Worse

The red-alert issued by Beijing was lifted today as shifting weather patterns improved air quality for the first time in weeks. Although the world’s focus was on China’s skies, a dense smog is currently rendering India’s cities unrecognizable—and it’s way more dangerous. Last week, Delhi announced drastic emergency measures to reduce air pollution. Starting January…

Climate Change Alissa Walker Dec 10

What Life Is Like in Beijing During China’s Worst Pollution Crisis Ever

The “airpocalypse” of smog swirling over Chinese cities has reached its most dangerous levels yet. Beijing issued its first-ever red alert today, closing schools and taking cars off the road. How bad is it? According to EPA guidelines levels are at 6: “Everyone should avoid all outdoor exertion.” While the short-term effects of being exposed…

Climate Change Alissa Walker Dec 7

China’s Airpocalypse Is So Bad, It’s Banning Half the Cars in Beijing

Beijing issued its first-ever red alert on Monday. The radical measure means that half the cars in the capital must stay off the streets, outdoor construction must stop, and schools must close. The pollution is simply too dangerous. While it should surprise no onethat China’s still struggling with its smog problems, the red alert in…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Dec 7

Here’s What That Choking Blanket of Smog Over China Looks Like From Space

A thick and dangerous blanket of smog is currently enveloping Beijing and parts of Eastern China, forcing authorities to issue an “orange” alert—the second highest level of a four-tiered pollution scale. Here’s what it looks like from space. The timing couldn’t be worse for China, as the COP21 Climate Change conference starts this week. The…

Tech News George Dvorsky Dec 1

Even China’s State News Agency Thinks the Pollution “Doomsday” Has Arrived

Pollution levels in northeast China are breaking records. In fact, the air quality being recored in the city of Shenyang is 50 times what the World Health Organization (WHO) says is safe for breathing. China’s state news agency is comparing conditions to the end of the world. Smog warnings have been increasingly damning over the…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Nov 10

Remember, Remember: There’s a Downside to All Those Guy Fawkes Bonfires

“Remember, remember the fifth of November….” It’s that time of year again, when eager Brits celebrate Guy Fawkes Night with extravagant fireworks displays and bonfires to burn the traitorous Fawkes in effigy. But a new study says that all that extra smoke and debris in the air wreak havoc with visibility. The idea for the…

Tech News Jennifer Ouellette Nov 5

The Awful Air Pollution in China Is Killing 4,000 People Every Day

The layer of thick smog that blankets many of China’s cities is not just making residents sick, it’s also causing premature death. Up to 4,000 people a day are dying due to China’s air pollution. A study by Berkeley Earth that has been accepted for publication by PLOS One took hourly measurements from 1500 stations…

Tech News Alissa Walker Aug 14

Why Does Smoke Cover So Much of South-East Asia?

A haze has periodically wafted over South-east Asia for 20 years. But despite rising public health concern, the problem remains as opaque as the smoke itself, Mike Ives reports. At the age of 13, Tan Yi Han could not see the edge of his schoolyard. It was 1998 in Singapore, the wealthy city-state known for…

Tech News Mike Ives - Mosaic Jan 20

Four Ideas to Fix Beijing’s Smog Airpocalypse, And One That Will Work

The worst smog of the year so far swept into Beijing this week, coating the city in a grainy, deep grey murk on par with what the city endured in 2013, pictured above (though you’ll see it’s popping up again today). China is trying, hard, to get its air quality problem under control, and is…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan Jan 15

Disturbing Images Show the Extent of Delhi’s Extreme Pollution Emergency

Paris Is Now Banning All Pre-1997 Cars

Report: Four Out of Five City Dwellers Breathe Unsafe Air

Mexico City’s Doubling Down on its Car Ban to Clear Smoggy Skies

‘Hairy Nose’ Ad Combats Pollution in China By Depicting a Future Dystopia

Delhi’s Car Ban Experiment Didn’t Improve Air Quality That Much, But it Should Still Be Permanent

Air Pollution Kills 5.5 Million People Every Year Worldwide

A New AI Estimates Pollution From Crowdsourced Images

Milan Bans Cars to Combat Horrible Smog

Terrifying Photos of Beijing’s Toxic Smog ‘White Christmas’

Canada Is Doing Quick Business Selling Bottled Air to China’s Polluted Cities

China’s Smog Makes Headlines But India’s Is Much Worse

What Life Is Like in Beijing During China’s Worst Pollution Crisis Ever

China’s Airpocalypse Is So Bad, It’s Banning Half the Cars in Beijing

Here’s What That Choking Blanket of Smog Over China Looks Like From Space

Even China’s State News Agency Thinks the Pollution “Doomsday” Has Arrived

Remember, Remember: There’s a Downside to All Those Guy Fawkes Bonfires

The Awful Air Pollution in China Is Killing 4,000 People Every Day

Why Does Smoke Cover So Much of South-East Asia?

Four Ideas to Fix Beijing’s Smog Airpocalypse, And One That Will Work

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