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Researchers suggests high level of air pollution in Northern Italy a co-factor in COVID-19 mortality rate

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Researchers from the University of Siena in Italy and Aarhus University in Denmark are suggesting that the high level of pollution in Northern Italy should be considered an additional co-factor of the high level of COVID-19 fatalities recorded in that area. Environmental Pollution , doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114465. 2020.114465.

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

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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. Approximately 95% of the world’s population lives in places with unsafe air.

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Study finds power law scaling relationship between urban population and NO2 pollution

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The approximate linear relationship for each region is notable, suggesting that the dependence of urban NO 2 pollution upon population follows a power law scaling with population. Even though larger cities are typically more energy efficient with lower per-capita emissions, more people still translates to more pollution.)

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

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Sulfur dioxide is an air pollutant that causes acid rain, haze and many health-related problems. Starting in the early 2000s, China began implementing policies such as fining polluters, setting emission reduction goals and lowering emissions limits. This work was supported by the NASA Earth Science Division Aura Science Team (Award No.

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NASA satellite images highlight US air quality improvement with reduction of NO2

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New NASA satellite images released this week demonstrate the reduction of air pollution across the US. After ten years in orbit, the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura satellite has been in orbit sufficiently long to show that people in major US cities are breathing less nitrogen dioxide.

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DISCOVER-AQ project to begin flights to enhance measurement of ground-level air-quality from space

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The flights will be supported by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and will aid EPA in monitoring pollutants. The fundamental challenge for satellites measuring air quality is to distinguish between pollution near the surface and pollution higher in the atmosphere. Measuring pollution from space.

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Satellite method provides insight into ozone-NOx-VOCs sensitivity for different locations

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Ozone pollution near Earth’s surface is one of the main ingredients of summertime smog. Determining effective strategies for mitigating surface ozone (O 3 ) pollution requires knowledge of the relative ambient concentrations of its precursors, NO x , and VOCs.

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