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Researchers say world faces air pollution pandemic

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Air pollution is responsible for shortening people’s lives worldwide on a scale far greater than wars and other forms of violence, parasitic and vector-born diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and smoking, according to an open-access study published in Cardiovascular Research. Household air pollution is from the indoor use of solid biofuels.

Pollution 438
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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. For comparison, columns over the same time periods are shown for 2019.

Ozone 291
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Researchers use Google Street View cars for high-resolution air pollution mapping

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demonstrated a measurement approach to for urban air pollution mapping at 4–5 orders of magnitude greater spatial precision than possible with current central-site ambient monitoring. Air pollution varies very finely in space, and we can’t capture that variation with other existing measurement techniques. —Apte et al.

Google 170
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Emissions Analytics argues that current Pareto-efficient solution for decarbonization would be hybrids, not BEVs, based on do-no-harm

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On this basis, and of Pareto efficiency, Emissions Analytics argues, until battery-electric vehicles can reach certain performance characteristics, government and industry support should switch immediately from EVs to full hybrids to create maximum welfare. Every air pollutant is more than 90% its limit.

Emissions 395
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Study measures the effect of regional change in clouds caused by ships’ emissions; masking GHG warming

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This puffy line is not just exhaust from the engine, but a change in the clouds that’s caused by small airborne particles of pollution. Pollution from ships creates lines of clouds that can stretch hundreds of miles. The difference helps explain how much industrial pollution influences clouds. NASA Earth Observatory.

Emissions 223
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Study: US counties with higher PM2.5 concentrations have more stroke deaths

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Analyzing health data and pollution monitoring information from 1,561 counties across the United States between 2005 and 2010, researchers found the yearly average for fine air pollution ranged from 7.2 The higher the poverty rate and fewer health providers in a county, the greater the health impact of high pollution.

Pollution 207
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Researchers suggest that air quality tests need simplifying to help reduce dangerous emissions

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New methods of testing and simulating air quality should be considered in order to help policy makers have a more accurate understanding of how emissions affect air pollution levels, new research suggests. The researchers compared current techniques used to describe atmospheric chemical reactions against more historical techniques.

Emissions 170