DELHI, INDIA – North India’s air quality index (AQI) is rising sharply, having already crossed 300 in parts of the region, indicating “very poor” levels. And it is expected to worsen as winds shift towards Delhi and farmers intensify their autumnal practice of burning crop waste. The sharp seasonal increases have come yet again this […] Continue reading ->
Europe is now poised to deliver cleaner, healthier air – thanks to adoption this week of the revised Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD) by the European Union. This marks a crucial victory for the health and wellbeing of millions across the EU and serves as a beacon for the clean air movement worldwide. The AAQD […] Continue reading ->
BERLIN – Countries worldwide, regardless of income level, can halve premature death rates by 2050, a new Lancet report presented at the closing of the World Health Summit in Berlin suggests. Fifteen key health threats are driving premature deaths worldwide, with tobacco use leading the pack “by far”, the Lancet Commission for Investing in Health […] Continue reading ->
BERLIN – The World Health Organization secured $1 billion in pledges at a landmark fundraising event in Berlin on Monday, kickstarting a major campaign by the UN agency to overhaul its funding model and enhance its ability to tackle global health emergencies. The billion-dollar total includes $700 million in new pledges from European nations and […] Continue reading ->
Governments worldwide allocated almost $700 million (15%) more international development aid to fossil fuel expansion in 2022 than to projects improving better air quality – which typically also promote green energy and reduce climate emissions, according to a new report from the Clean Air Fund. This marks a sharp reversal from 2021 when international aid […] Continue reading ->
Nearly 4.1 billion people, roughly half the planet’s population, experienced unusually hot temperatures between June and August, in what was Earth’s hottest season on record. Climate change made these high temperatures three times more likely, according to the latest report by Climate Central, a US-based non-profit of scientists and science communicators that conducts research on […] Continue reading ->
NEW YORK CITY – Brazil is advancing two major health-related declarations – on climate and One Health and on local medicines production – that it hopes to have ready for the upcoming G20 Summit that it is hosting in Rio in November. Despite political pushback, Brazil’s Deputy Minister of Health expressed hopes that the two […] Continue reading ->
Over 130 United Nations member states convened in New York City Sunday and Monday for a long-anticipated Summit of the Future that aimed to press the “reset button” on stalled global development goals and polarized geopolitical debate. The event, held just ahead of the annual debate in the U.N. General Assembly, kicked off with the […] Continue reading ->
Royda Joseph, a 32-year-old mother of three lives in a community next to the PuguKinyamwezi dump in Tanzania. “The dump is on fire every two days,” Royda told the UK NGO TearFund. “Sometimes, when it is on fire, the smoke is so dark and huge that you can’t see the person in front of you […] Continue reading ->
Long-term exposure to air pollution and lack of green spaces significantly increases the risk of hospitalization for respiratory conditions, according to new research presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress in Vienna this week. Researchers from the University of Bergen, Norway, found that even in Northern Europe, where air pollution levels are relatively […] Continue reading ->