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York study: Less traffic in first UK lockdown reduced NO2 pollution but caused increase in surface ozone

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Less traffic on the roads during the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK led to a reduction in air pollution but may have caused potentially damaging surface ozone levels to rise, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of York. 20, 15743–15759 doi: 10.5194/acp-20-15743-2020. —Professor Lee.

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Studies find global COVID-19 lockdowns have significantly reduced PM2.5 and NO2 pollution, but ozone up

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Levels of two major air pollutants have been reduced significantly since lockdowns began in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a secondary pollutant—ground-level ozone—has increased in China, according to new research. Ozone is harmful to humans at ground-level, causing pulmonary and heart disease.

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Global study links daily exposure to ozone pollution to increased risk of death

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Daily exposure to ground level ozone in cities worldwide is associated with an increased risk of death, according to the largest study of its kind, published in an open-access paper in The BMJ. Ground level ozone is a highly reactive gas commonly found in urban and suburban environments, formed when pollutants react in sunlight.

Ozone 243
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EPA initiates new review of the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new review of the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA established the current standards at a level of 70 parts per billion in 2015 and retained them in 2020, after concluding that there was little new information to suggest the need for revision.

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Study finds COVID-19 lockdown in China brought only slight reduction in PM2.5 and ozone

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Large improvements of air quality in China during the lockdown have been widely reported, but new research shows that two pollutants harmful to human health—fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and ozone—were only slightly reduced. and ozone were only slightly reduced or barely affected.

Ozone 243
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New study puts air-pollution related deaths in India in 2019 at 1.67 million

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Air pollution in India resulted 1.67 million deaths in 2019—the largest pollution-related death toll in any country in the world—and also accounted for $36.8 The 2019 death toll attributed to air pollution in India accounted for 17.8% Pollution takes an enormous human toll in India. It is causing 1.67

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MIT study: half of US deaths related to air pollution are linked to out-of-state emissions

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The study focuses on the period between 2005 and 2018 and tracks combustion emissions of various polluting compounds from various sectors, looking at every state in the contiguous United States, from season to season and year to year. Scientists have long known that pollution observes no boundaries, one of the prime examples being acid rain.

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