Fundamental policy changes aimed at fixing India’s seemingly intractable air pollution health crisis were suggested at the India Clean Air Summit (ICAS) held in Bengaluru recently.  Among the dozens of presentations by air quality scientists and officials, five key elements emerged for policy action that can speed up the reduction of air pollutants. These involve: […] Continue reading ->
New Delhi’s decades-old regime to control vehicular pollution, including a heavy reliance by commercial vehicles on compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel, has been challenged by a new study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).  The report upends the narrative the that CNG is a ‘clean’ fuel, pointing to its high level of health-damaging […] Continue reading ->
A little known, but potentially lethal virus is spreading throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, prompting the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other health agencies to issue warnings for travelers and clinicians. Oropouche virus, an arbovirus like dengue, Zika, and chikungunya, is spread through certain midge or mosquito bites. Oropouche symptoms are similar […] Continue reading ->
Climate change is endangering children’s health at every stage of development, threatening to reverse decades of progress in reducing child mortality worldwide, according to a new UNICEF report. The U.N. children’s agency’s “Threat to Progress” report released last week consolidates growing evidence of climate change’s effects on children’s health, identifying six major hazards: extreme heat, […] Continue reading ->
New research suggests long-term exposure to wildfire smoke may significantly increase dementia risk, posing a greater threat to brain health than other forms of air pollution. The study, presented this week at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, examined a decade of electronic medical records for 1.2 million older adults in Southern California from 2009 to […] Continue reading ->
The lifesaving HIV treatment dolutegravir (DTG), used by 24 million people in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), has unexpectedly contributed to a significant reduction in carbon emissions when compared to the previous standard of care, efavirenz, according to the latest report by global health initiative Unitaid. The report estimates that the transition to DTG will have […] Continue reading ->
Caribbean leaders from “the frontlines of climate change” are appealing for international support in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, which has already caused widespread destruction – even before the usual start to the hurricane season. Hurricane Beryl, the earliest recorded Category 4 storm in the region’s hurricane season, levelled 90% of the buildings on Grenada’s […] Continue reading ->