Pollution

Latest

Environment
A man overlooks Cañón del Río Blanco.

Microplastics Above Mexico: A High-Altitude Search for Pollution

by William McCarthy, Jacob Bartz, Thomas Copeland, Simon Birk, Dimitri Deheyn

Students collect saliva samples at 18,500 feet to uncover how microplastics in the atmosphere could harm health

Environment
Household air pollution persists in Africa and Asia

Where Household Air Pollution Causes the Most Harm

by Fiona Bennitt, Michael Brauer

According to a new study, exposure to household air pollution remains a leading risk factor for disease and early death

Students walk past the debris, mostly plastic waste dumped into the river by the people, as the flood water recedes from the bank of Bagmati river following the deadly flood due to heavy rains, in Kathmandu, Nepal, October 2, 2024.
Urbanization

Polluted Rivers Create a Public Health Crisis in Nepal

by Tanka Dhakal

Unchecked urbanization has led to a surge of waterborne diseases among Nepal's poorest communities

Utah's Shrinking Salt Lake
Environment

Shrinking Shores, Rising Risks in the Great Salt Lake

by Sarah Hall, Molly Blakowski, Hilary Hungerford, Skyler Crouch, Adriele Fugal

How Utah's shrinking Great Salt Lake is harming human and environmental health

Poor Air Quality in Africa
Environment

Tackling Air Pollution in Africa With Data

by Christi Chester Schroeder

Access to real-time air quality data could address the growing dangers of outdoor air pollution in Africa

Flames reach upwards along the edge of a wildfire as seen from a Canadian Forces helicopter surveying the area near Mistissini, Quebec, Canada June 12, 2023.
Urbanization

Connecting the Dots Between Climate and Air Quality

by Angel Hsu

Connecting the dots between climate and air quality

Senior Airman Julianne Showalter/USAF/Handout via REUTERS
Environment

Waste-to-Energy for U.S. Military Bases

by Ada Baser

A new technology that could replace burn pits in U.S. overseas military bases

Luciana Messias dos Santos, 29, cooks using firewood outside her home in the Estrutural favela in Brasilia, Brazil, August 31, 2022.
Poverty

Tackling Air Pollution Starts at Home

by Sumi Mehta, Michael Brauer, Chen Chen, Tom Frieden

Rapidly developing countries critically need clean household energy  

REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
Environment

A Holy River at Risk

by Zoe H. Robbin, Jack Bavaria Pearson, Timothy Purvis

The iconic Jordan River is threatened by pollution, overuse, and climate change, but efforts are underway to save it

Dozens of seagulls swoop down to grab food from people in a small boat on the Yamuna River, on a smoggy morning in New Delhi, India, on November 18, 2021.
Environment

India's Pollution Problem

India's former secretary for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare talks smog and health

Sumi Mehta
Environment

Air Quality, Health, and Climate Conversations

by Sumi Mehta

More than 90 percent of the world breathes polluted air

a cat sits on top of a pile of plastic waste
Environment

Life in Plastic

by Caroline Kantis

A look at how microplastics are infiltrating our oceans, air, and bodies

A Sadhu or a Hindu holy man robed in pink and orange adjusts a cloth on his face as he walks across a highway on a smoggy morning in New Delhi, India, November 18, 2021
Environment

Heat, Dust, Fever

by Aatmika Nair, Anwesha Maharana, Avanti Andhale, Siddhesh Zadey

India's climate adaptation plan for health should reflect regional and national needs

A farmer burns a sugar cane field at night as local growers try to avoid arrest by authorities who banned on the practice to curb smog in Suphan Buri province, Thailand, on January 20, 2020.
Environment

The Tangled Problem of Sugarcane Burning in Thailand

by Danny Marks

Agricultural burning is causing dangerously high air pollution levels, but stopping it is complicated