Latest Air quality News
Shelter in place lifted after fire at Michigan paper mill produces plumes of heavy smoke
CHEBOYGAN, Mich. (AP) — People living near a northern Michigan paper mill that caught fire, filling the air with thick grey smoke, emerged from their homes Thursday after sheltering in place for more than a day, as environmental officials found the local air quality had improved to safe levels. ...
Sydney blanketed by smoke for a 4th day due to hazard reduction burning
SYDNEY (AP) — Sydney was blanketed under thick wood smoke for a fourth consecutive day on Thursday due to hazard reduction burns in preparation for the wildfire season. Australia’s most populous city after Melbourne has recorded some of the world’s worst air quality readings...
This summer was a global record breaker for the highest heat ever measured, meteorologists say
GENEVA (AP) — Earth has sweltered through its hottest Northern Hemisphere summer ever measured, with a record warm August capping a season of brutal and deadly temperatures, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Last month was not only the hottest August scientists...
Environmental Protection Agency delays new ozone pollution standards until after the 2024 election
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is delaying plans to tighten air quality standards for ground-level ozone — better known as smog — despite a recommendation by a scientific advisory panel to lower air pollution limits to protect public health. The decision...
California regulators approve more gas storage capacity at the site of the worst US methane leak
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California regulators on Thursday approved a controversial proposal to greatly increase storage capacity at the site of the nation's largest known methane leak, which sickened thousands of families and forced them from their Los Angeles homes in 2015. Despite...
California prison on generator power after wildfires knock out electricity and fill cells with smoke
A Northern California prison was on generator power for a second week and inmates were issued masks to cope with unhealthy air after wildfires knocked out electricity and choked the remote region with smoke. Dozens of lightning-sparked blazes have burned for weeks near Oregon, where...
Canadian firefighters prevent more wildfire losses and step up defense of territorial capital
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Canadian firefighters prevented wildfires from destroying more structures in a scenic region of British Columbia and stepped up their defense of a territorial capital threatened by flames, authorities said Monday as the prospect of rain raised hopes for the...
Jakarta is the world's most polluted city. Blame the dry season and vehicles for the gray skies
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The dry season and and motorized vehicles are the main causes of the air pollution in Jakarta, Indonesian authorities said Friday, after a Swiss air quality technology company named the city as the most polluted in the world. Thick smoke and gray skies...
You-pick farms lose customers and crops through heat, drought and haze in Iowa
BRIGHTON, Iowa (AP) — You-pick farms are struggling through heat, drought and haze as customers cancel picking appointments and crops across Iowa refuse to grow. These farms offer visitors the chance to harvest their own produce straight from the tree, bush or ground. ...
New Jersey sues federal highway officials in bid to stop New York City's plan to charge big tolls
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey has filed a federal lawsuit aimed at stopping New York's plan to charge big tolls to drive into the most visited parts of Manhattan, arguing that New Jersey residents and towns will bear the brunt without benefiting. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy...
