Latest Air quality News
Pakistan shuts primary schools for a week in Lahore due to dangerous air quality
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Dangerously poor air quality on Monday forced Pakistani authorities in the cultural capital of Lahore to close primary schools for a week, government officials said, after the air-quality index hit a record high over the weekend. The measures in Lahore were...
With carbon capture boom, a wariness in historic Louisiana Black community over more pollution
ELKINSVILLE, La. (AP) — A dispute over a planned ammonia plant near a historic Black town in southeastern Louisiana ratcheted up a notch Friday with a challenge to the state's approval process. The battle over the plant is occurring despite the fact that part of the impetus to...
Toxic smog cloaks India's capital as Diwali firecrackers push air pollution to hazardous levels
NEW DELHI (AP) — A thick layer of toxic smog cloaked India’s capital on Friday as smoke from firecrackers used to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, pushed air pollution to hazardous levels. New Delhi's air quality index plunged into the “severe” category,...
Use of smoke-emitting firecrackers renews air pollution debate in India's capital ahead of Diwali
NEW DELHI (AP) — As India gears up for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, people are divided over whether they should celebrate by setting off firecrackers, which worsen the country’s chronic air pollution. Diwali, which will be celebrated Thursday, is marked by socializing...
Citing brush fire smoke, Massachusetts officials cancel high school classes, trick-or-treat event
BOSTON. (AP) — A high school in Salem, Massachusetts, shut down classes early Tuesday and an annual Downtown Trick or Treat event in a second town was canceled because of smoky conditions as firefighters continued to battle stubborn brush fires in eastern parts of the state. School...
Big offshore wind project proposed for New York as other sites are evaluated in 3 states
BRIGANTINE, N.J. (AP) — Offshore wind energy projects in New York, New Jersey and Maryland are moving forward, as federal regulators examine the proposals and opponents escalate their legal challenges to the work. A large offshore wind farm is being proposed in the waters off New...
Washington state's landmark climate law hangs in the balance this election
SEATTLE (AP) — A groundbreaking law that forces companies in Washington state to reduce their carbon emissions while raising billions of dollars for climate programs could be repealed by voters this fall, less than two years after it took effect. The Climate Commitment Act, one of...
Chemical smoke spewing from a Georgia factory is projected to spread toward Atlanta as winds shift
MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) — Heavy smoke was causing low visibility Wednesday along Interstate 20 east of Atlanta as chemicals continued spewing from a beleaguered chlorine facility, and emergency officials warn that smoke from the disaster scene is projected to move toward Georgia's capital city after...
New Jersey offshore wind farm clears big federal hurdle amid environmental concerns
SEA GIRT, N.J. (AP) — The federal government gave a key approval Tuesday to an offshore wind farm in New Jersey, even as residents in the town where its power cable would come ashore worry it could go through underground toxic waste that's still being cleaned up. The U.S. Bureau...
Shelter-in-place order for more than 90,000 Georgia residents is lifted after chemical fire
Authorities on Monday night ended a shelter-in-place order for more than 90,000 people east of Atlanta following a weekend chemical plant fire that sent a massive plume of dark smoke into the Georgia sky and led to complaints about a strong chemical smell and haze. The smell had...
