Air quality, as a phenomenon, refers to the physicochemical state of the atmosphere with respect to the presence, concentration, and reactivity of gaseous and particulate constituents, including criteria pollutants (e.g., ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, particulate matter) and numerous hazardous air pollutants. It emerges from dynamic interactions among emission sources, atmospheric transport, dispersion, chemical transformation, and removal processes such as deposition and scavenging. Quantification of air quality relies on continuous or episodic monitoring, expressed through pollutant concentrations and composite indices, and is central to studying atmospheric chemistry, exposure assessment, and the impacts of atmospheric composition on biological, ecological, and material systems.
Emergency department use rose significantly during and after the 2015–16 Aliso Canyon gas blowout, according to a new paper from the UCLA Aliso Canyon Disaster Health Research Study. Data showed that people living downwind ...
Environment
Jun 17, 2026
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Urban parks could play a major role in protecting people from rising heat, pollution and noise in cities, according to new research led by the University of Surrey's Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE).
Environment
Jun 15, 2026
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Climate change will profoundly alter the dynamics of sea and land breezes in the Barcelona metropolitan area, trapping larger amounts of air pollutants over coastal areas and increasing health risks for millions of people. ...
Environment
Jun 11, 2026
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A new study finds that burning 500,000 acres (202,000 hectares) of California conifer forests each year with prescribed fire could cut deadly pollution from wildfire smoke by roughly 10% over a decade.
Earth Sciences
Jun 11, 2026
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In a new paper published in Science, leading scientists and climate policy experts show that 15% of current global warming (0.3°C) from human emissions stems from pollutants that fall outside most existing climate policy ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 11, 2026
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The TEMPO mission helped scientists track morning nitrogen dioxide that contributed to afternoon ozone along the New York–Washington corridor in May 2026. More than 35 million people live along the New York–Washington corridor ...
Environment
Jun 11, 2026
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Every internet search, streamed video and AI-generated response depends on a data center somewhere. Driven by rapid growth in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and cryptocurrency, data centers have become the backbone ...
Environment
Jun 8, 2026
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For decades, the United States made steady progress in reducing surface ozone pollution, the main ingredient in smog. But that progress—made as vehicles, industries, and power sources became cleaner—is increasingly being ...
Environment
Jun 5, 2026
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9
Researchers from Imperial College London have conducted the U.K.'s largest-ever longitudinal study of indoor fungal air pollution, revealing that homes are active fungal ecosystems rather than passive recipients of outdoor ...
Ecology
Jun 5, 2026
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145
Climate change is making southern Africa hotter. While much attention has focused on climate impacts such as droughts, floods and food insecurity, another crisis is unfolding quietly inside classrooms. Research has shown ...
Environment
Jun 4, 2026
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