Steady improvements in ambient air quality in the USA over the past several decades, in part a result of public policy1,2, have led to public health benefits1–4. However, recent trends in ambient concentrations of particulate matter with diameters less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5), a pollutant regulated under the Clean Air Act1, have stagnated or begun to reverse throughout much of the USA5. Here we use a combination of ground- and satellite-based air pollution data from 2000 to 2022 to quantify the contribution of wildfire smoke to these PM2.5 trends. We find that since at least 2016, wildfire smoke has influenced trends in average annual PM2.5 concentrations in nearly three-quarters of states in the contiguous USA, eroding about 25% of previous multi-decadal progress in reducing PM2.5 concentrations on average in those states, equivalent to 4 years of air quality progress, and more than 50% in many western states. Smoke influence on trends in the numbe
Global pollution's impact on health revealed by Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) data. Reduction in PM2.5 pollution could extend life expectancy. Read more at news18.com
The High-Level Forum on Clean
Air is being jointly organized by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of
Mongolia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific (ESCAP) on 2-3 March 2023 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Fitness fanatics have been warned that getting their daily dose of training is about to become even more of a challenge and a health risk, with experts predicting a sharp rise in levels of PM2.5 toxic dust.