Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of News Item titled “CSE report finds dangerous increase in ozone pollution across urban India” appearing in Down to Earth dated 06.08.2024. The Principal Bench of the NGT heard the matter on March 21, 2025. In the original application, registered suo …
This report presents an overview and analysis of air quality in Europe from 2003 to 2012. It reviews progress towards meeting the requirements of the air quality directives and gives an overview of policies and measures introduced at European level to improve air quality and minimise impacts.
Air pollution in India is impacting the productivity of wheat crops, reducing it by almost half, a research paper has said. Noting that India has already been negatively affected by recent climate trends, the paper said the significant decreases in yield could be attributed to two air pollutants -- black …
This new study provides the first integrated historical examination of the role of both SLCPs (short-lived climate pollutants) and LLGHGs (long-lived greenhouse gases) on wheat and rice yields in India, and finds that the majority of losses are attributable to SLCPs - black carbon and ozone. It has been published …
Rising temperatures because of increased emissions of long-lived greenhouse gases (LLGHGs) have had and will continue to have significant negative impacts on crop yields. However, other climate changes caused by short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) are also significant for agricultural productivity. The SLCPs black carbon and ozone impact temperature, precipitation, radiation, …
China’s largely unregulated ports and shipping system generate significant air pollution that imposes a huge health and environmental burden and contributes to the country’s over 1 million pollution-related deaths each year, according to a new report released by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). China is now home to seven …
Deepawali, the festival of lights is also synonyms as festival of crackers. Like previous years, the Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi besides being associated with awareness programs on the evils of crackers, maintained a close watch on the data and carried out comprehensive monitoring of ambient noise and air quality …
This new air quality index for India launched by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Clean India Mission' is expected to provide an understanding of complex pollution data and its implications for their health. See this index, latest ambient air quality data of major …
The air quality in Hong Kong is expected to worsen later today after pollution readings hit "very high" and "high" in various areas, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) warned on Wednesday. The air quality health index (AQHI) – which measures the risk of hospital admissions due to air pollutants – …
This full version of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability released on 16 October 2014 provides the most comprehensive look to date at the widespread impacts and risks of climate change and the opportunities for response. There has been an evolution in the treatment …
One item on the agenda of the much-discussed Narendra Modi-Barack Obama meeting that has Indian commentators flummoxed is hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The joint statement issued after the meeting of the two heads of states says rather ambiguously that the two sides agreed to cooperate on "next steps to tackle the challenge …
A very recent study released in JAMA (Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities for Global Health) provides a very thorough review showing how climate change affects human health. Perhaps more importantly, the paper also describes how tackling climate change leads to many health and economic benefits. Authors Jonathan Patz, Howard Frumkin …
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an industry challenge to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations issued by Republican former President George W. Bush's administration that set standards for ozone pollution. By declining to hear the case, the court left in place the so-called primary air quality standards designed to protect …
Ingersoll-Rand, the Dublin-based manufacturing group, plans to phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which can have a much more powerful global warming effect than carbon dioxide, by 2030. The move comes as pressure is growing for the refrigeration and air conditioning industries to stop using such chemicals because their impact on the …
The White House on Tuesday announced steps to tackle a potent greenhouse gas used in refrigeration and air conditioning, of which the United States is the world's largest producer, a week ahead of a major UN summit focused on addressing climate change. The Obama administration unveiled a batch of voluntary …
The Earth's protective ozone layer is well on track to recovery in the next few decades thanks to concerted international action against ozone depleting substances, according to a new assessment by 300 scientists. The Assessment for Decision-Makers, a summary document of the Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2014, is being …
The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new record high in 2013, propelled by a surge in levels of carbon dioxide. This is according to the World Meteorological Organization’s annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, which injected even greater urgency into the need for concerted international action against accelerating …
In a single year alone, India's ozone pollution damaged millions of tons of the country's staple crops which could have fed a third of its poor. According to a study published last month in Geophysical Research Letters, surface ozone pollution damaged six million metric tons of India's wheat, rice, soybean …
The Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC) has released a report, titled ‘Time to Act – To reduce short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs).' The report details the causes and sources of SLCPs, and outlines the potential benefits of control measures. According to the report, SLCPs are …
Record Pollution Levels This July & August The weak monsoon this year hasn't just made the city extremely warm and humid; it has also affected its air quality . In July and August, air pollution levels almost always meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standard but this year they were …
Human conversion of forest ecosystems to agriculture is a major driver of global change. Conventionally, the impacts of the historical cropland expansion on Earth’s radiation balance have been quantified through two opposing effects: the release of stored carbon to the atmosphere as CO2 (warming) versus the increase in surface albedo …