In the last decade, China has made big strides in cleaning up its outdoor air. However, there's a sneaky problem hiding right under our noses, or rather, right under our feet. The air in urban metro systems is often filled with tiny, harmful particles, and it's a problem that hasn't gotten much attention. In a recent study, researchers took a close look at the air i...
The air we breathe is full of tiny particles. These particles are known as particulate matter or PM. They are so small that they can enter our lungs and even our bloodstream. This is a big deal because these particles can mess with our brains. They can affect how well we think and remember things. This is not just a wild guess. There is solid proof that PM expo...
In the world of pig farming, air quality is a big deal. It's not just about keeping the pigs healthy; it's also about protecting the humans who work there. Tiny particles floating in the air, smaller than 10 micrometers, can cause big problems. These particles, known as particulate matter (PM), can lead to respiratory issues for both pigs and people. Negativ...
Los Angeles is a bustling city, but it's also a place where air quality can be a big problem. In 2023-2024, scientists took a close look at the tiny particles in the air, known as PM2. 5, to figure out where they come from and how they form. These particles are so small that they can get into your lungs and cause health issues. The team used fancy equipment to mea...
Twelve Texas counties have been breathing air that doesn't meet federal standards for soot, but only four might need to do something about it. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) says eight counties can skip stricter rules because of bad data or events like wildfires and dust storms. This has some experts worried that counties are being let off easy....
Ever wondered how air quality might affect marathon times? A study from researchers at an Ivy League university decided to find out. They looked at over 2. 5 million male and female marathon finishers, and added pollution data to the mix. How did they do this? They used a fancy model to pinpoint pollution levels along race routes. So, what did they discover? Higher ...
Air pollution is a big problem, especially for kids. There aren't many studies on this in African schools, so researchers took a look at primary schools in Hawassa, Ethiopia. They checked for tiny particles (PM2. 5 and PM10) and harmful gases (NO2, CO, and SO2) in the air. They used special meters to measure these pollutants. The results showed that PM2. 5 and PM10 ...