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by Laurence THOMANN Agence France-Presse AGRA, India (AFP) – Foreign tourists have been welcomed back to India after pandemic travel bans but intrepid travellers will have to brave the intense pollution season to visit the country’s most famous attraction. Around the palatial gardens of the Taj Mahal, air quality deteriorates each winter, enveloping the white marble mausoleum in a thick coat of hazardous smog. The problem is replicated across whole swathes of northern India, where […]
by Laure FILLON Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Air quality is improving in countries under coronavirus quarantines, experts say, but it is far too early to speak of long-term change. Images by the US space agency NASA are clear, in February the concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) fell dramatically in Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, passing from an indicator that was red/orange to blue. NO2 is mainly produced by […]
MILAN, Italy (AFP) – Milan will ban cars from driving within the city on Sunday, a measure aimed at tackling high pollution levels, even as authorities consider new measures, such as prohibiting smoking at bus stops. The measure – which is not the first time that Italy’s economic capital has banned driving within city limits – has been met with skepticism by some, with the regional counsellor for the environment, Raffaele Cattaneo, calling it “demagogy […]
by Patrick GALEY Agence France-Presse Paris, France (AFP) – Hydrocarbon gases bubbling from the bottom of the Red Sea are polluting the atmosphere at a rate equivalent to the emissions of some large fossil fuel exporting countries, researchers said Tuesday. The gases seeping from the waters — which are ringed by the resorts and ports of several countries, including Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia — then mix with emissions from industrial shipping and […]
The Eiffel Tower isn’t just an attraction for millions of visitors each year but also plays a crucial role in monitoring the French capital’s air quality. Regularly, an engineer from air quality watchdog Airparif, takes the lift up to the top of the Eiffel tower, above the many tourists gazing at the city’s stunning views. A small station monitors levels and concentration of pollutants in the Paris skies, mainly generated by road traffic. Having a […]
Indonesia authorities struggled on Sunday (October 25) to contain fires started by slash-and-burn agriculture practices while the deteriorating air quality in the region led to at least one new death. Southeast Asia has suffered for years from an annual “haze” caused by forest and peat clearing across Indonesia, which has come under increasing political pressure to stop the problem, but so far to no avail. Fires this year have been helped by drier weather brought […]
Air quality in most cities worldwide that monitor outdoor (ambient) air pollution fails to meet WHO guidelines for safe levels, putting people at additional risk of respiratory disease and other health problems. Jim Hipolito reports from Geneva, Switzerland
