Air quality

A fuller picture is beginning to emerge of how the coronavirus shutdowns are clearing the air in major epicenters of the outbreak, with some measures of air pollution dropping by as much as 60 percent in parts of northern China.

A newly published longitudinal study out of Canada has found a strong association between frequent use of household cleaning products and an increased risk of children developing asthma in the first three years of life.

Air pollution has long been associated with health problems such as respiratory diseases, and has more recently even been linked to psychotic experiences. New research now reinforces the theory that it may also cause osteoporosis.

A new solar-powered catalyst made of graphene and titanium dioxide nanoparticles can pluck pollutants out of the air, much more efficiently than others. The catalyst could be coated onto building or street surfaces to improve air quality in cities.

New research has found that each of us is regularly producing our own personal cloud of pollutants, affecting indoor air quality. But not the way you think. The team found that oils on our skin and clothes are reacting with ozone in the air, producing a range of volatile and semi-volatile substances

Given that the WHO estimates that seven million premature deaths annually around the world are caused by air pollution, monitoring air quality is vital. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have developed an optical nano-sensor that can be mounted to most streetlamps.

A new study out of MIT suggests rising temperatures are causing energy shifts in Earth's atmosphere that are strengthening midlatitude storms, while weakening other important weather systems over North America, Europe and Asia.

Through his pollution-fighting projects, Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde is bringing to light the importance of clean air, most notably through his Smog Free Towers. And as we learned in our interview with the inventor and artist, his penchant for cleaning up isn't limited to our home planet.​

​First installed in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and then moving onto Beijing in 2016, the pollution-sucking Smog Free Tower is now headed for a park in Poland. Part of a wider project aimed to highlight the need for cleaner air in urban centers, the tower will be put to work in Kraków.

​​We've seen some interesting ways that augmented reality can inform purchasing decisions. A new app called Plant Life Balance takes a similar approach, drawing on scientific research to help users kit out their homes with just the right amount of air and soul-cleansing plants. ​

Ideas like building apartment blocks that double as air-cleaning towers are becoming an increasingly entertain-able proposition. The latest metropolis to green-light such a project is Paris, which will welcome a new wooden structure to be shrouded in thousands of trees and plants.

​The vision of Italian architect Stefano Boeri is starting to take shape around the world. Now the Chinese region of Liuzhou will also play home to some of his handiwork, with construction underway on a so-called Forest City that is hoped to soak up some of the country's infamous air pollution.