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air pollution

Kathmandu's air quality is notorious. Now there's an Air Quality Index to measure just how bad.

Nepal’s air pollution threatens humans and glaciers

Health

The air quality in Nepal’s capital is horrible for residents there, but we’re now seeing what the fuel burning — and the dreaded black carbon — is doing to the glaciers nearby.

Beijing power plant

Globe-trotting pollutants pose a larger threat to public health than previously thought

Health
Coal power plant in New Mexico

The US Supreme Court will hear a challenge to EPA mercury emissions rule

Environment
This NASA graphic shows relative average levels of atmospheric ozone over the northern hemisphere in 1984 and 1997. The lower concentrations, shown in darker colors, are due to the effects of ozone-destroying chemicals in the atmosphere.

The latest news on the ozone layer shows we can solve big environmental problems

Environment
A group of people gather at a coffee shop in Shanghai to learn how to put together simple air filters with a fan and velcro.

If you can’t afford an expensive air filter to deal with the smog in China, you can build a DIY model

Business, Economics and Jobs
A police car is seen smashed and overturned as demonstrators protest against the construction of a waste incinerator in Hangzhou, China.

What makes people overturn police cars in authoritarian China?

Environment

China has a trash problem. Its landfills are brimming, often with wasted food. So the government is trying to attack the problem with a “clean plate” campaign and more incinerators. But burning the waste has people up in arms.China has a trash problem. Its landfills are brimming, often with wasted food. So the government is trying to attack the problem with a “clean plate” campaign and more incinerators. But burning the waste has people up in arms.

An electronic sign above a Paris highway on March 17 reads "Road traffic forbidden for even-numbered license plates." Public transportation was free and drivers of cars with even-numbered license plates faced fines as authorities sought to reduce air poll

As the air clears in Paris, here’s a look beyond the smog emergency

Environment

The air is clearing again in Paris after a smog emergency led the government to take extraordinary measures to get people out of their cars.

An electronic sign above a Paris highway on March 17 reads "Road traffic forbidden for even-numbered license plates." Public transportation was free and drivers of cars with even-numbered license plates faced fines as authorities sought to reduce air poll

As the air clears in Paris, here’s a look beyond the smog emergency

Environment

The air is clearing again in Paris after a smog emergency led the government to take extraordinary measures to get people out of their cars.

Latest Episode

Kicking China’s Coal Habit