Almost 30 years ago the world responded to the realisation that our ozone layer was in trouble. The resulting Montreal Protocol was a rare example of global cooperation, but there’s no room for complacency.
A clear day at Acadia National Park in Maine.
John Marino
US national parks protect some of America’s most spectacular outdoor settings. But new research shows that ozone pollution levels in the parks are roughly as bad as in major cities.
Smog alert in Cleveland, Ohio, July 20, 1973.
USEPA
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt wants to change the grounds for setting US air pollution targets. An environmental lawyer explains why Pruitt’s approach misreads the law and could roll back decades of gains.
Good for you, bad for the air?
Gts/Shutterstock.com
New research is spotlighting personal care products, such as shampoos and skin lotions, as a significant source of chemicals that contribute to urban air pollution.
False-color image of ozone concentrations above Antarctica on Oct. 2, 2015.
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Earth’s ozone layer shields us from harmful ultraviolet radiation. Nations have been working to reduce ozone-depleting chemicals since the 1980s, but recent studies show that there is still work to do.
When present in the lowest atmospheric layer – the troposphere, 8-14 kilometers above earth – ozone becomes a concern for human and plant health.
Wikimedia
In recent years the number of motor vehicles – and the pollution they generate – has grown astronomically, leading some citydwellers to wear facemasks in the hopes of protecting themselves. So do they work?
The Montreal Protocol is finally closing the hole in the ozone layer.
A boy plays cricket among smoke in Karachi. Deaths from air pollution across the globe will increase as climate change accelerates.
REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
Guang Zeng, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research e Jason West, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A new study suggests climate change will cause changes to patterns of ground-level ozone and smog – two deadly pollutants set to increase deaths by about 260,000 worldwide by the end of the century.
You can only truly understand the weather by flying above the clouds.
NASA
Far from being “politicised science”, as a Trump advisor has claimed, NASA’s satellite monitoring has been a crucial help in understanding the planet we live on.
The Montreal Protocol has successfully reduced the use of chemicals that destroy the Earth’s ozone layer.
Atmosphere image from www.shutterstock.com
U.S. states need to put in place new ozone air quality standards, but how they are measured – based on peak ozone – doesn’t always best reflect a city’s overall air quality.
Smog over Mexico City: bad air quality has led to limits on when people can drive their cars in the city.
ilai/flickr
Paulina Segarra, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey e Ajnesh Prasad, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
Mexico City is suffering through an air quality crisis this spring, but institutional corruption is making the proposed solution – restricting car usage – ineffective.
Aided by expanded farming in Asia, there’s been a global increase in greenhouse gases from farming.
asiandevelopmentbank/flickr
The Paris climate summit yielded a pact to reduce air pollutants that contribute to global warming but missed a chance to address the interlinked effects of agriculture and climate.
The US has stricter ozone rules but the limits lag guidelines set by some other countries and more coordination in regulation is needed to address air pollution globally.
Traffic is one of the major sources of pollution worldwide, particularly in Asia’s packed cities.
EPA/Diego Azubel/AAP
Outdoor air pollution causes 3.3 million premature deaths a year, mainly in Asia. And without policies to cut particulate pollution from traffic, industry and home biofuels, the deaths could double by 2050.
Antarctica has actually been protected from sea ice melt by the ozone hole.
Vassil Tzvetanov
Many people think of sunburn and skin cancer when they hear about the ozone hole. But more ultraviolet (UV) radiation isn’t the only problem. The ozone hole has also led to dramatic changes in Southern…
In 2012 and 2013 parts of New Zealand suffered the worst drought in 70 years.
Dave Young/Flickr
Jim Salinger, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Over 2012 and 2013, parts of New Zealand experienced their worst drought in nearly 70 years. Drought is the costliest climate extreme in New Zealand; the 2012-2013 event depressed the country’s GDP by…
Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong
Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Air Quality & Health Research and Evaluation, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney; Senior Research Fellow, South West Sydney Clinical School, UNSW Sydney