Air pollution is a growing global issue, that is detrimental to human health and the environment. Major sources of air pollution include manufacturing, power and transport. Some of the major health effects of air pollution are lung and heart diseases. Read more on what air pollution is, global air pollution trends and more here.
When I first started making DIY purifiers, the only air quality monitors I could buy were a US$260 Dylos or crazily expensive particle counters that costed thousands of dollars. Since then, the market has exploded with new particle counters as cheap as US$15. But are they any good? …
The long-term health effects of air pollution – heart attacks, strokes, and lung cancer – are well known. But less is known about how air pollution affects in the short and immediate term, especially in the office. New data shows how air pollution can lower work rates and productivity in …
Air pollution includes a bunch of microscopic particles, but have you ever wondered what those particles are exactly? In a study published in Nature, scientists tested the air in Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai, and Guangzhou to find out exactly what PM2.5 is made of. By tracing the composition of the particles, they could gain …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 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 …
Even though PM2.5 levels are falling, 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 …
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 …
