In this week’s newsletter: pollutants from fossil fuels and wildfires damage nearly every part of our bodies – but initiatives such as cycle zones can make our cities safer
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Air pollution affects nearly every person on this planet. Yet global efforts to combat the scourge – which is associated with about 8 million premature deaths worldwide every year, can damage nearly every part of our body and is linked to everything from miscarriages to dementia – lag decades behind our knowledge of its impacts.
Tens of millions of people in Indonesia are now suffering in swathes of thick smoke caused by “slash and burn” agriculture and exacerbated by the hot conditions. In India, ground-level ozone from vehicle fumes and industry has emerged as the key summer threat, while outside its megacities there have been protests in areas affected by toxic coal dust. Across the northern hemisphere this summer, wildfires driven by the climate crisis have spread poor air across continents – already, 1.5 million people globally die every year from the impacts of wildfire smoke.
Nearly 1,400 missing, mostly tourists, after Nepal-Tibet flash flood kills at least 270
Two planned datacentres will have higher UK carbon emissions than ExxonMobil, analysis finds
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