After several months of progress cutting PM2.5, Beijing saw a sharp reversal this March, according to the latest data. In years past, Beijing’s particulate pollution normally peaks in January and decreases each month closer to summer. However, this year has seen the exact opposite trend, with PM2.5 increasing 265% from January to March. […]
Category: Air Pollution
Truth or Bullshit: Eating Broccoli Protects Against Pollution
Although many natural remedies are based more on intuition than science, a surprisingly rigorous set of studies from different research labs is finding that eating broccoli helps our bodies fight the effects of air pollution. Scientists have isolated the compound thought to help the body remove pollutants like benzene and fight inflammation. The compound, sulforaphane, […]
Smog doesn’t kill like you think it does
The World Health Organization tallied up all the deaths due to outdoor air pollution based on different causes, and the major killer isn’t what most people think. Asthma, lung cancer, and emphysema come to mind when we think about air pollution. But lung problems are only a small portion of the deaths caused by air pollution. […]
Which Indian cities have the best air quality?
Which cities in India have the best and worst air pollution? I analyzed data from the World Health Organization’s database of annual particulate pollution (PM2.5) averages for 122 cities. Here’s what I found. Agra Through Mumbai 122 cities is too much for one graph, so I broke it in half. Here’s A through M from […]
Consumer rights day: CCTV performed spot checks on multiple FFUs, what they found is shocking
For those who don’t know, an FFU (stands for ‘fan filter unit’) is a type of large size air purifier. Originally created for industrial use, over the past few years FFUs have entered the home market in a big way. They’re a simple and low cost way of getting clean air out to more people. […]
Xi’an unveils smog-fighting purifier tower, but does it work?
One group of scientists on the south side of Xi’an are fighting back against Xi’an’s rising PM2.5, and they did so in true China style — by building something big, a huge air purifier tower to be precise. But locals are left to wonder, does it actually work? The air filtering tower might be coming […]
Most Chinese cities cut their PM2.5 in 2017, this city’s air got worse
Now that 2017 is gone, I analyzed PM2.5 in 19 cities all over China, from Harbin to Guangzhou. I then compared 2017 to the prior three years. For most cities, the trend has been flat or down for about three years. The one exception? Xi’an. While most of the rest of China was […]
How bad is the air quality in Kathmandu?
The image in my head of Nepal is full of sky. Nepal has glorious mountains and shining temples. But how’s the air? According to data from the World Health Organization’s global PM2.5 database, Kathmandu’s particulate pollution (PM2.5) averaged 49 micrograms/m3 in 2013: That fits nicely with 2017 data I analyzed from the US […]
Which Gym in Beijing has the Safest Air?
Even though PM2.5 levels fell in 2017, years of bad air pollution across China has led to many people installing air purifiers in their homes. Most of us are now breathing cleaner air at home, but what about when we are in public spaces? What’s the air like in that gym we go to, or […]
Did China’s Air Get Better in 2017?
Beijing said they would cut air pollution in a plan announced in 2017 (and a few months before that and another one back in 2013). But China’s Environment Ministry forecasted that weather conditions this winter would make China’s air pollution particularly bad this winter. What does the data say? Here’s how PM2.5 has trended in […]