article thumbnail

Study finds rising emissions of ozone-depleting CFC-11, banned by Montreal Protocol

Green Car Congress

Emissions of one of the chemicals most responsible for the Antarctic ozone hole are on the rise, despite an international treaty that required an end to its production in 2010, a new study by researchers at NOAA and their colleagues shows. —NOAA scientist Stephen Montzka, lead author of the paper.

Ozone 170
article thumbnail

International study finds air pollution leads to millions of hospital visits for asthma attacks worldwide

Green Car Congress

Air pollution—specifically PM 2.5 , ozone and NO 2 —could be to blame for up to 33 million emergency asthma attack visits to hospital a year, according to a new open-access study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. 37% and 73% of ozone and PM 2.5 37% and 73% of ozone and PM 2.5

Pollution 207
article thumbnail

Latest GHG Inventory shows California remains below 2020 emissions target; much steeper rate of GHG reductions required

Green Car Congress

California statewide GHG emissions dropped below the 2020 GHG Limit in 2016 and have remained below the 2020 GHG Limit since then. in 2018 (2000-2018 average year-over-year increase is 6.8%), continuing the increasing trend as they replace Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) being phased out under the 1987 Montreal Protocol.

2020 221
article thumbnail

EEA report finds most Europeans in cities still exposed to levels of air pollution exceeding WHO guidelines

Green Car Congress

The European Environment Agency’s (EEA’s) “ Air quality in Europe — 2019 report ” shows that almost all Europeans living in cities are still exposed to air pollution levels that exceed the health-based air quality guidelines (AQGs) set by the World Health Organization (WHO). About 8% of the urban population in the EU-28 was exposed to PM 2.5

Pollution 170
article thumbnail

WMO reports GHG concentrations at highest in 800K years

Green Car Congress

Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere surged at a record-breaking speed in 2016 to the highest level in 800,000 years, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s Greenhouse Gas Bulletin. parts per million in 2016, up from 400.00 parts per million in 2016, up from 400.00 ppm in 2015. Nitrous Oxide.

2016 186
article thumbnail

UMD-led study finds China’s SO2 emissions down 75% since 2007, India’s up 50%; India may now be the top SO2 emitter

Green Car Congress

Two maps compare total annual sulfur dioxide amounts for India and China during 2005 (left) and 2016 based on Ozone Monitoring Instrument measurements. Illustration: Chris McLinden, Environment and Climate Change Canada. Purple depicts the highest concentrations while white depicts the lowest. Click to enlarge.

India 170
article thumbnail

Study finds household and outdoor air pollution contributes to more than 5.5 million premature deaths worldwide per year

Green Car Congress

of all global deaths) caused by outdoor fine particulate air pollution and an additional 215,000 deaths from exposure to ozone. Qiao Ma, a PhD student at the School of Environment, Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, found that outdoor air pollution from coal alone caused an estimated 366,000 deaths in China in 2013.

Pollution 150