I've often found it hard to understand why so many people do not take the precautions needed to reduce their exposure to #AirPollution (they do quite the opposite. E.g., burn materials & or fuels & dismiss & downplay any thought that it's unhealthy)
This means that in any population, a number of people die prematurely because of prolonged (I.e., lifelong) exposure to pollutants in the air they breathe
#health #biology #ParticlePollution #Disease #dementia #Cancer #lungdisease #ageing
We can't breathe
The Invisible #ClimateChange Effect That Is Most Likely to Kill You
#AirPollution is less dramatic than floods or storms, less inconvenient, and much harder to politicize. It’s also much more deadly.
Liza Featherstone, August 1, 2025
Excerpt: "In #NewYorkCity, I’m lucky enough to enjoy better air quality than many other places. We are only the fiftieth most #polluted city in the world, way behind #Chicago, #Dubai, #Jakarta, #Delhi, and numerous (enormously populous) cities in #China. But for a few days early this week, it was hard to breathe and our phones were buzzing with alerts warning that the most vulnerable—the very young and the very old, and those with poor respiratory health—should stay indoors, due to smoke from Canadian wildfires. But the elderly, the asthmatic, and the babies weren’t the only ones feeling it; my son, a college soccer player, got headaches training outside, as did his friends—all fellow rain-or-shine athletes. Yet for the most part, the problem has gone unremarked.
"Compared to a flood, a fire, or a heat wave, a bad #AirQualityAlert isn’t that inconvenient even when it’s happening. You can still go to work and otherwise go about your day. If you own property, it won’t be damaged. And because #AirPollution lacks visuals, it doesn’t lend itself to morbid #doomscrolling or panicked media coverage.
"Yet compared to floods, fires, and heat waves, bad air is much more deadly. In fact, the danger is barely even comparable. The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution kills about seven million people every year. The direct death toll from heat waves is under half a million, although that’s getting worse. The number of people who die in floods annually is in the thousands, and the direct death toll from wildfires is much smaller than that, though these threats are also getting worse. "
#AirQualityAlert #AirQuality #AirQualityIndex #AQI #AirPollution #AirIsLife #ParticulatePollution #ParticlePollution
Sunny but #hazy as #WildfireSmoke returns to #Maine Sunday
An #AirQuality Alert is in place for Sunday.
Emily Pike, August 2, 2025
"Sunday morning lows in the 50s and 60s, with highs in the 70s to 80s. Skies will be mostly sunny, but Canadian wildfire smoke will bring a thick haze for the higher elevations. An Air Quality Alert is in effect Sunday.
"An #AirQualityAlert is in effect from 1 AM to 11 PM on Sunday, August 3, 2025, for parts of #Maine and #NewHampshire due to expected high levels of #ParticlePollution.
"The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has issued the alert for the Western and Eastern Interior regions of the state, including areas in #Franklin, #Somerset, #York, Cumberland, #Androscoggin, and #Kennebec counties. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services has issued a similar alert for #Coos, #Grafton, and #Carroll counties.
"Air quality is expected to reach levels that are considered 'Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups' due to a plume of smoke moving in from Canada.
"Those most at risk include children, older adults, people with respiratory conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, or emphysema, and anyone who is physically active outdoors. Even healthy individuals may experience mild symptoms and should consider limiting strenuous or prolonged outdoor activity during this time.
"High pressure is keeping things dry and sunny, which may allow the smoke to linger into next week, thickening into Monday.
"Looking Ahead: Maine is off to a dry start this August. Without significant rainfall soon, #drought conditions could develop, potentially affecting #crops and increasing #FireRisk.
"The 8-day forecast shows only a few chances for showers and slightly below-average temperatures, mainly in the 70s to 80s."
Source:
https://www.wmtw.com/article/sunny-but-hazy-as-wildfire-smoke-returns-to-maine-sunday/65581788
#ClimateDiary #ClimateDiaryMaine #MaineWx #NewEnglandWx #WildfireSmoke #Hazy #ClimateChangeWeatherWheel
#Beijing #AirPollution study could unlock solution to #PersistentSmog
#ParticlePollution in £China’s capital has fallen by 60% in 10 years, but it remains six times higher than #WHO guidelines
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/09/beijing-air-pollution-study-could-unlock-solution-to-persistent-smog
#PricePollution: Wear and tear on #tires and #brakes produce more #particlepollution, by mass, than #car #exhaustsystems... fine #particles (known as PM 2.5, with diameters up to 2.5 microns) and #ultrafine particles (known as PM 0.1, with diameters of 100 nanometers), which can enter through our #bloodstream and harm our #organs.
ScienceCommunicator
DoomsdaysCW
SubtleBlade ⚔️
Gladwyn d’Souza