3 May 2017
Cutting through the smog: Is pollution getting worse?
The quality of air varies from country to country and in some places pea-soupers are becoming more frequent, in others, the air is getting ever cleaner
By Nic Fleming
In rapidly growing economies, the amount of pollution in the air is undeniably rising, but it is a different story in most rich countries. Take, for instance, PM2.5 particulates – believed to account for most of the health burden of air pollution (see “What’s in the air“). Worldwide, average concentrations rose 11 per cent between 1990 and 2015, according to a report by the Health Effects Institute and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, both in the US. The trend reflects large increases in India, Bangladesh and China: concentrations in the US, the European Union, Canada and Australia fell over the same period (see graph).
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2129548-cutting-through-the-smog-is-pollution-getting-worse/
