Category Archives: Air pollution

Drought turns Amazonian capital into climate dystopia

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Forest fires leave Manaus with second worst air quality in the world, while low river levels cut off communities

A withering drought has turned the Amazonian capital of Manaus into a climate dystopia with the second worst air quality in the world and rivers at the lowest levels in 121 years.

The city of 1 million people, which is surrounded by a forest of trees, normally basks under blue skies. Tourists take pleasure boats to the nearby meeting of the Negro and Amazon (known locally as the Solimões) rivers, where dolphins can often be seen enjoying what are usually the most abundant freshwater resources in the world.

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Revealed: how a little-known pollution rule keeps the air dirty for millions of Americans

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Major investigation shows local governments are increasingly exploiting a loophole in the Clean Air Act, leaving more than 21 million Americans with air that’s dirtier than they realize

A legal loophole has allowed the US Environmental Protection Agency to strike pollution from clean air tallies in more than 70 counties, enabling local regulators to claim the air was cleaner than it really was for more than 21 million Americans.

Regulators have exploited a little-known provision in the Clean Air Act called the “exceptional events rule” to forgive pollution caused by “natural” or “uncontrollable” events – including wildfires – on records used by the EPA for regulatory decisions, a new investigation from The California Newsroom, MuckRock and the Guardian reveals.

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How anti-Ulez campaigners misused air pollution finding in Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah death

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Three years after unprecedented inquest ruling, absence of other cases has left a gap for pollution sceptics to exploit

Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah reserves a withering eye roll for people who question the impact that air pollution has on the health of children living in London. It helps her to shrug off the increasingly politicised debate over what needs to be done to improve the capital’s air quality.

Adoo-Kissi-Debrah fought a calm and determined campaign for seven years to make sure air pollution was included on her daughter Ella’s death certificate, and in December 2020 a second inquest ruled that air pollution contributed to Ella’s death from asthma in 2013.

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Sydney wakes to blanket of burn-off smoke that could linger for days

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Air quality measures at Randwick were ‘very poor’ according to the official gauge, with residents advised to stay indoors

Sydney awoke to a blanket of smoke over parts of the city on Monday from hazard reduction burns at the weekend.

Air quality degraded to “very poor” conditions in Sydney’s east, with residents urged to remain indoors and keep their windows and doors closed until conditions improved.

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Climate crisis poses greatest risk to people with respiratory illnesses, experts warn

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Call for EU to match WHO’s air pollution regulatory limits as impact of climate emergency interlinks with human health

The climate crisis may pose the greatest risks to people with respiratory illnesses, with high temperatures and changing weather patterns exacerbating lung health problems, experts have said.

Respiratory experts have called on the EU to lower its regulatory limits for air pollution in line with the World Health Organization (WHO). In a European Respiratory Journal editorial, they said: “We need to do all we can to help alleviate patients’ suffering.”

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Ignoring call to halt new airports would be ‘electoral carnage’, Sunak warned

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Campaigners speak out amid suggestion government could reject Climate Change Committee’s advice

Rishi Sunak faces “electoral carnage” if the government rejects its climate advisers’ recommendations on halting airport expansion, a coalition of community groups have warned.

The prospect of a renewed political battle around airport growth in various parts of England has been reignited amid concern from campaigners at suggestions the government could reject the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) advice that all such expansions must be halted.

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Foul fumes and sewage spills in Tory stronghold of Michael Gove

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Aggrieved residents tell of issues in constituency of housing secretary planning to rip up pollution laws

While Michael Gove was deciding to weaken pollution laws for new housing developments this week, his own constituency was being plagued by the stench of human waste.

People living on the outskirts of Camberley, the largest town in Gove’s constituency of Surrey Heath, have been complaining for months that foul-smelling fumes from the local sewage works have ruined their summers, causing even the washing they hang out to stink.

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China continues coal spree despite climate goals

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World’s biggest carbon emitter approving equivalent of two new coal plants a week, analysis shows

China is approving new coal power projects at the equivalent of two plants every week, a rate energy watchdogs say is unsustainable if the country hopes to achieve its energy targets.

The government has pledged to peak emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2060, and in 2021 the president, Xi Jinping, promised to stop building coal powered plants.

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Clean air ‘a right not a privilege’, says London mayor as Ulez is expanded

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Sadiq Khan defends expansion of ultra-low emission zone as government continues to criticise it

Clean air is “a right not a privilege”, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has said as the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) was expanded to include the outer boroughs of London.

People who drive in the zone in a vehicle that does not meet minimum emissions standards are required to pay a £12.50 daily fee or risk a £180 fine, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days.

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Ulez just the start and similar scheme needed for buildings, experts warn

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Lowering pollution produced by houses, offices and factories is just as crucial as tackling vehicle emissions

Imposing strict controls on car exhausts will only partially improve the quality of air people breathe in the UK, scientists have said. New measures to counter emissions of nitrogen oxides and other air pollutants will also be needed for buildings, heating plants and many other domestic and industrial sources in future.

The warning follows the controversy that has surrounded London’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez) in which drivers are charged for their vehicles’ polluting impact. This month the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, will expand the zone from inner London so it covers all boroughs in the city. The decision has provoked opposition from some drivers and was blamed by various Labour party figures for the Conservatives surprise byelection win in Uxbridge and South Ruislip last month.

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Sadiq Khan expands £2,000 Ulez grant to all Londoners with non-compliant vehicles

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Capital’s mayor moves to reduce political fallout over scheme’s extension after Tory byelection win in Uxbridge

Sadiq Khan has expanded the grant scheme for London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to cover any household with a heavily polluting car or motorbike, spending an extra £50m after intense pressure over the political fallout of the plan.

The revised proposals, announced on Thursday, also notably increase the scrappage payments available for non-compliant vans owned by sole traders and small firms, as well as for minibuses and wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

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Ulez key to tackling ‘unacceptably high’ child illness and death, doctors say

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Leading scientists and medics back London and other clean air schemes and urge politicians to keep their nerve

Leading doctors and scientists have warned politicians against watering down plans to expand city-wide schemes aimed at reducing traffic pollution levels linked to thousands of deaths each year.

They urged politicians not to lose their nerve over plans to improve poor air quality, such as the expansion of the ultra low emission zone (Ulez) in London, which they said were central to tackling “unacceptably high” levels of illness and child deaths, and called for more ambitious policies to reduce toxic air.

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Time to worry about car tyre pollution, Chris Whitty tells MPs

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Chief medical officer says move to electric cars can reduce impact of exhausts, but may bring different problem to the fore

Ministers need to start looking seriously at the health risks from vehicle tyre wear as the impact of pollutants from car exhausts gradually reduces, Sir Chris Whitty has told MPs.

Giving evidence to the environmental audit committee, England’s chief medical officer said improvements in emissions from petrol and diesel vehicles, and a shift towards electric cars, were reducing the extent of dangerous pollutants such as nitrogen oxides.

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Rise in racist abuse against Sadiq Khan linked to London clean air zone expansion

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Study by Greater London authority finds mayor has received over 300,000 pieces of racist abuse since being elected

Sadiq Khan has received more than 300,000 pieces of openly racist or racially-oriented abuse on social media since he was elected London mayor, with a recent surge in such messages connected to his plan to expand the city’s clean air zone, research has found.

The study, carried out by the Greater London authority, found that racist abuse against the Labour mayor, which peaked when he was targeted on Twitter by Donald Trump, has started to rise again this year.

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US temperatures continue to rise as millions affected by extreme heat and wildfire smoke – as it happened

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East coast cities under air quality alerts while southern states grapple with record-breaking deadly heatwave

Here are some pictures coming across the newswires of the heatwave in Texas:

The National Weather Service has issued a fireworks warning as the country heads into next week and Independence Day with record-breaking temperatures across the country.

“In addition to the increasing temperatures, fire danger will also be increasing as we head into next week and Independence Day. Please be safe with fireworks and review any and all burn bans in your area,” it said.

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Low emission zones are improving health, studies show

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Review of research finds particularly clear evidence that LEZs in cities reduce heart and circulatory problems

An increasing number of research studies are showing that low emission zones (LEZs) improve health.

More than 320 zones are operating across the UK, Europe and notably in Tokyo, Japan. These reduce air pollution across an area by curbing the number of highly polluting vehicles, normally older diesels. Schemes, including London’s ultra-low emission zone, can improve air quality. This should lead to improved health, but does this actually happen?

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EU countries accuse TfL debt collectors of breaching data protection laws over London penalty fines

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Belgium and Dutch vehicle licensing agency say citizens’ details obtained unlawfully to issue driving fines

Two EU countries have accused Transport for London’s debt collection agency of breaching data protection laws to obtain the names and addresses of citizens in order to issue fines for driving in the capital.

Motorists from across Europe have been hit with penalties, some totalling thousands of pounds, for driving in London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (Ulez). Penalty notices are being sent to foreign motorists who enter the capital without pre-registering their vehicle, and the Guardian has revealed hundreds of drivers have been fined despite driving emissions-compliant cars.

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US midwest braces for smoky skies as Canadian wildfires rage on

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Air quality alerts issued in Minnesota and Wisconsin with winds expected to blow airborne pollution from Ontario blazes south

The smoke-filled skies seen across US cities last week are set to make another appearance, as Canadian wildfires rage on and winds are bringing the airborne pollution south and again triggered fears over risks to health.

Air quality alerts were issued on Wednesday for the entire state of Minnesota and large parts of Wisconsin. This time, the culprit is a series of wildfires from the Canadian province of Ontario.

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Heatwave brings surge in A&E patients as England doctors’ strike begins

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Some hospitals record highest ever A&E attendance figures as heat, high pollen count and air pollution bring rise in demand

A&E units across the UK are experiencing a surge in patients seeking care as a direct result of the heatwave, which is leaving many people unwell with shortness of breath, heat exhaustion and sunburn.

The number of people suffering problems as a direct result of the sustained high temperatures in many parts of the country has resulted in some hospitals recording their highest A&E attendance figures.

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Poor air quality returns to US north-east from Canada wildfires

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New York City, parts of Pennsylvania and Baltimore all issued warnings as 421 wildfires continue to burn up north

Poor air quality returned to the north-east US on Sunday, although it was nowhere near as bad as the heavy haze that recently shrouded the region and triggered global headlines as wind-borne smoke from raging Canadian wildfires caused orange skies, thick smog and record-setting pollutant levels.

On Sunday morning, a smoke plume moved across New York City, leaving the air quality index in the city at 103 and categorized as “unhealthy for sensitive groups”, particularly for those with heart or lung problems.

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