Toxic particulate matter has decreased by about a third over the past decade, but levels are still above what’s considered healthy.
ozone
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Arctic Ozone Loss Brings Warming to the Near Surface
New research confirms that ozone loss over the Arctic can lead to widespread warming near the Artic surface during late winter and early spring.
Posted inNews
Air Pollution Linked to Adverse Mental Health Effects
Adolescents exposed to higher levels of ozone experienced an increase in depressive symptoms.
Posted inNews
Australian Wildfires Linked to Ozone Layer Depletion
New research shows that the Black Summer bushfires damaged the ozone layer, eliminating a decade’s worth of progress.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Air Pollution Was Reduced During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A decrease in emissions of ozone precursor gases during the COVID-19 economic downturn likely explains the unusual reduction in ozone concentrations observed during the spring and summer of 2020.
Posted inNews
Iodine-Laden Desert Dust Is Eating at Ozone Pollution
In a happy accident, scientists found a potential solution to an atmospheric chemistry mystery. Their findings could be a missing piece in the iodine cycle and in atmospheric models.
Posted inEditors' Vox
New Insights into Polar Stratospheric Clouds
New satellite observations of polar stratospheric clouds have advanced our understanding of how, when, and where they form, their composition, and their role in ozone depletion.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Removal of Ozone Air Pollution by Terrestrial Ecosystems
Tropospheric ozone is removed at Earth’s surface through uptake by plant stomata and other nonstomatal deposition pathways, with impacts on air pollution, ecosystem health, and climate.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Tracking Tropospheric Ozone Since 1979
Stratospheric ozone depletion between 1979 and 2010 resulted in a slight decrease of ozone in the troposphere during that period despite increased ozone production from anthropogenic emissions.
Posted inNews
Banned CFC Emissions Tracked to Eastern China
A new study indicates that better atmospheric monitoring networks are needed to enforce the Montreal Protocol.