www.nbcnews.com Open in urlscan Pro
2600:141b:5000:686::2506  Public Scan

Form analysis
3 forms found in the DOM

GET https://www.nbcnews.com/search

<form action="https://www.nbcnews.com/search" method="GET" class="search-form js-search-form"><label class="search-label" for="q" id="search_label">Search</label>
  <div class="search-inner"><input type="search" class="search-input js-search-input" aria-labelledby="search_label" id="q" name="q" placeholder="Search NBC News" tabindex="-1"><button class="search-button" tabindex="-1"><span
        class="search-button-icon"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="currentColor" aria-labelledby="search_title">
          <title class="search_title">Search</title>
          <path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M13.773 11.649L20 17.876 17.876 20l-6.227-6.227a7.508 7.508 0 112.124-2.124zm-6.265.364a4.505 4.505 0 100-9.01 4.505 4.505 0 000 9.01z"></path>
        </svg></span></button></div>
</form>

GET https://www.nbcnews.com/search

<form action="https://www.nbcnews.com/search" method="GET" class="search-form js-search-form"><label class="search-label" for="q" id="search_label">Search</label>
  <div class="search-inner"><input type="search" class="search-input js-search-input" aria-labelledby="search_label" id="q" name="q" placeholder="Search NBC News"><button class="search-button"><span class="search-button-icon"><svg
          xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="currentColor" aria-labelledby="search_title">
          <title class="search_title">Search</title>
          <path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M13.773 11.649L20 17.876 17.876 20l-6.227-6.227a7.508 7.508 0 112.124-2.124zm-6.265.364a4.505 4.505 0 100-9.01 4.505 4.505 0 000 9.01z"></path>
        </svg></span></button></div>
</form>

<form class="nl-signup-input__form"><input class="nl-signup-input__input" name="emailAddress" placeholder="Enter your email" value=""><button class="animated-ghost-button animated-ghost-button--normal nl-signup-input__button"
    id="email-subscribe-button" type="button">Sign Up</button></form>

Text Content

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another
browser.
SKIP TO CONTENT
NBC News Logo
Sponsored By

 * Russia-Ukraine full coverage
 * Live Updates
 * Plan Your Vote
 * Politics
 * Covid
 * U.S. News
 * Opinion




Atlanta, Minneapolis had sharp upticks in air pollution last year, report finds

 * Share & Save —
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

Search
Search

Profile

 My NewsSign Out
 Sign InCreate your free profile

Sections

 * CORONAVIRUS
 * U.S. News
 * Politics
 * World
 * Local
 * Business
 * Health
 * Investigations
 * Culture Matters
 * Science
 * Sports
 * Tech & Media
 * Decision 2020
 * Video Features
 * Photos
 * Weather
 * Select
 * Asian America
 * NBCBLK
 * NBC Latino
 * NBC OUT

tv

 * Today
 * MSNBC
 * Nightly News
 * Meet The Press
 * Dateline

Featured

 * NBC NEWS NOW
 * THINK
 * BETTER
 * NIGHTLY FILMS
 * STAY TUNED
 * SPECIAL FEATURES
 * NEWSLETTERS
 * PODCASTS

More From NBC

 * CNBC
 * NBC.COM
 * NBC LEARN
 * Peacock
 * Next Steps for Vets
 * Parent Toolkit
 * NBC Archives
 * Help

Follow NBC News

 * 
 * 
 * 

Search
Search
 * Facebook
 * Twitter
 * Email
 * SMS
 * Print
 * Whatsapp
 * Reddit
 * Pocket
 * Flipboard
 * Pinterest
 * Linkedin

My NewsManage ProfileEmail PreferencesSign Out




Climate in Crisis


ATLANTA, MINNEAPOLIS HAD SHARP UPTICKS IN AIR POLLUTION LAST YEAR, REPORT FINDS

IQAir, a Swiss company that monitors air pollution, found that seven of the 10
most populous U.S. cities have returned to pre-pandemic levels of air pollution.

The Minneapolis skyline on April 21, 2021.Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via
Getty Images
Link copied
March 22, 2022, 12:13 PM UTC
By Lucas Thompson

Wildfires in the U.S. combined with the near-elimination of pandemic
restrictions pushed air pollution levels in the U.S. back to pre-Covid levels in
2021, according to a report released Tuesday.

IQAir, a Swiss company that monitors air quality around the world, said in the
report that the U.S. as a whole saw a 7 percent increase in fine particle air
pollution in 2021 compared to the previous year. Seven of the top 10 most
populous cities in the United States have returned to pre-pandemic levels of air
pollution, with Dallas, Miami and Washington, D.C., as the exceptions.




Atlanta recorded a 33 percent increase in pollution, attributed to traffic
returning and increased monitoring. Similarly, Minneapolis recorded a spike of
35.7 percent last year. 

Christi Chester-Schroeder, an air quality scientist for IQAir, said the reason
for the jump in Minneapolis was stagnant air, increased monitoring and wildfires
in the western U.S. 

“In July 2021, the measurement was three times what an average July would be for
Minneapolis,” she said.

The report adds to growing concern about the immediate health fallout of growing
air pollution, something health experts have increasingly warned about in recent
years. The report estimated that the deaths of 40,000 children under the age of
5 around the world in 2021 were linked to air pollution.

A layer of smog to the east of the Las Vegas Strip on Jan. 11, 2022.George Rose
/ Getty Images file

The World Health Organization has estimated air pollution kills 7 million people
worldwide every year.



IQAir’s report used air quality data from 6,475 cities in 117 countries, regions
and territories provided by stations operated by governments, nonprofit
organizations, research institutions, educational facilities and citizen
scientists. The report measured fine particle air pollution, called PM2.5, which
can consist of anything from soot, smoke and mold spores to pollen, sand and
human hair. 

The report highlighted an ongoing disparity in air quality monitoring around the
world. The U.S. has the largest number of air quality monitors of any country,
but only 13 out of 54 countries in Africa had sufficient public air quality
monitoring data, the report found. The Latin America and Caribbean regions also
lacked sufficient monitoring. Between 2020 and 2021, the number of air quality
monitoring stations increased significantly in India, New Zealand and Canada. 

The harsh effects of climate change were directly tied to smoke, sand and dust
pollution in China, South Korea, India, Australia and the United States.
Bangladesh received the worst average measurement of air pollution concentration
over any other country. 

Some parts of the world showed improvement. China reported its fifth-consecutive
decline in national air pollution, though it still ranked 95th out of the 117
areas surveyed. The U.S. ranked 27th.



Fine particle air pollution can be directly linked to adverse health effects
“such as stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung
cancer,” the report stated.



Ananya Roy, an environmental epidemiologist and senior health scientist for the
Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, said the
health consequences of air pollution can quickly become societal issues.

“It manifests in various different ways,” Roy, who is not affiliated with IQAir,
said. “One is poor quality of life, missed school days, asthma exacerbations,
which end up having huge out-of-pocket expenditures or catastrophic health
expenditures, leading to hospitalizations or ER visits or the inability to go to
work.”



Roy added that air pollution is also a driver of global warming.

“Many of the sources that result in fine particle air pollution are also
responsible for greenhouse gasses that lead to climate change,” she said.

Air pollution caused by a temperature inversion in Salt Lake City on Jan. 20,
2022.George Frey / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Health officials have been warning about the dangers of air pollution.

In September, the World Health Organization updated its air quality guidelines
to limit fine particle air pollution. Though not legally binding, the WHO stated
the guidelines “are an evidence-informed tool for policy-makers to guide
legislation and policies, in order to reduce levels of air pollutants and
decrease the burden of disease that results from exposure to air pollution
worldwide.”



According to the IQAir report, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the
French territory of New Caledonia in the South Pacific are the only places in
the world that meet the updated WHO guidelines.

The WHO’s guidelines suggest annual concentrations of PM2.5 should not exceed 5
units per measurement. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency’s
primary standard is 12 units per measurement. 

A think blanket of smoke from wildfires covers downtown Portland, Ore., on Sept.
14, 2020. Gillian Flaccus / AP file

Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles recorded 2021 averages above the EPA standard,
according to the IQAir report.

Roy said the availability of air pollution measurements, such as this report,
can potentially help mitigate inequities around the world.



“It’s really important to track and measure and map air pollution across
communities in order to find actionable solutions that can deliver clean air to
the families living in these communities,” she said.

Get the Morning Rundown

Get a head start on the morning's top stories.

Sign Up
This site is protected by recaptcha Privacy Policy | Terms of Service

Lucas Thompson

Lucas Thompson is a content producer for the NBC News Climate Unit.



 * About
 * Contact
 * Help
 * Careers
 * Ad Choices
 * Privacy policy
 * Cookie Notice
 * CA Notice
 * Terms of Service
 * NBC NEWS SITEMAP
 * Advertise

© 2022 NBC UNIVERSAL

NBC News LogoMSNBC LogoToday Logo




COOKIE NOTICE

This Cookie Notice (“Notice”) explains how NBCUniversal and its affiliates
(“NBCUniversal” or “we”), along with our partners, including advertisers and
vendors, use cookies and similar tracking technologies when you use our
websites, applications, such as games, interactive TV, voice-activated
assistants, and other services that link to this policy, as well as connected
devices, including those used in our theme parks (“Services”). This Notice
provides more information about these technologies, your choices, and is part of
the NBCUniversal Privacy Policy available here. You should read the Privacy
Policy and this Notice for a full picture of NBCUniversal’s use of your
information.

WHAT ARE COOKIES AND HOW ARE THEY USED?

Like many companies, we use cookies (small text files placed on your computer or
device) and other tracking technologies on the Services (referred to together
from this point forward as “Cookies”, unless otherwise stated), including HTTP
cookies, HTML5 and Flash local storage/flash cookies, web beacons/GIFs, embedded
scripts, ETags/cache browsers, and software development kits.

First-party Cookies

First-party Cookies are placed by us (including through the use of third-party
service providers) and are used to allow you to use the Services and their
features and to assist in analytics activities.

Third-party Cookies

Certain third parties may place their Cookies on your device and use them to
recognize your device when you visit the Services and when you visit other
websites or online services. These third parties collect and use this
information pursuant to their own privacy policies. Third-party Cookies enable
certain features or functionalities, and advertising, to be provided on the
Services.

Types of Cookies

The Services use the following types of first and third-party Cookies for these
purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies: These Cookies are required for Service
functionality, including for system administration, security and fraud
prevention, and to enable any purchasing capabilities. You can set your browser
to block these Cookies, but some parts of the site may not function properly.

Information Storage and Access: These Cookies allow us and our partners to store
and access information on the device, such as device identifiers.

Measurement and Analytics: These Cookies collect data regarding your usage of
and performance of the Services, apply market research to generate audiences,
and measure the delivery and effectiveness of content and advertising. We and
our third-party vendors use these Cookies to perform analytics, so we can
improve the content and user experience, develop new products and services, and
for statistical purposes. They are also used to recognize you and provide
further insights across platforms and devices for the above purposes.

Personalization Cookies: These Cookies enable us to provide certain features,
such as determining if you are a first-time visitor, capping message frequency,
remembering choices you have made (e.g., your language preferences, time zone),
and assist you with logging in after registration (including across platforms
and devices). These Cookies also allow your device to receive and send
information, so you can see and interact with ads and content.

Content Selection and Delivery Cookies: Data collected under this category can
also be used to select and deliver personalized content, such as news articles
and videos.

Ad Selection and Delivery Cookies: These Cookies are used to collect data about
your browsing habits, your use of the Services, your preferences, and your
interaction with advertisements across platforms and devices for the purpose of
delivering interest-based advertising content on the Services and on third-party
sites. Third-party sites and services also use interest-based Advertising
Cookies to deliver content, including advertisements relevant to your interests
on the Services and third-party services. If you reject these Cookies, you may
see contextual advertising that may be less relevant to you.

Social Media Cookies: These Cookies are set by social media platforms on the
Services to enable you to share content with your friends and networks. Social
media platforms have the ability to track your online activity outside of the
Services. This may impact the content and messages you see on other services you
visit.

We and third parties may associate Measurement And Analytics Cookies,
Personalization Cookies, Content Selection, Delivery Cookies, and Reporting, Ad
Selection, Delivery and Reporting Cookies, and Social Media Cookies with other
information we have about you.

COOKIE MANAGEMENT

Depending on where you live, you may be able to adjust your Cookie preferences
at any time via the “Cookie Settings” link in the footer of relevant websites.
You can also use the methods described below to manage Cookies. You must take
such steps on each browser or device that you use. If you replace, change or
upgrade your browser or device, or delete your cookies, you may need to use
these opt-out tools again. As some Cookie-management solutions also rely on
Cookies, please adjust your browser Cookie settings carefully, following the
relevant instructions below.

Browser Controls: You may be able to disable and manage some Cookies through
your browser settings. If you use multiple browsers on the same device, you will
need to manage your settings for each browser. Please click on any of the below
browser links for instructions:

Google Chrome
Apple Safari
Mozila Firefox
Microsoft Internet Explorer

If the browser you use is not listed above, please refer to your browser’s help
menu for information on how to manage Cookies. Please be aware that disabling
cookies will not disable other analytics tools we may use to collect information
about you or your use of our Services.

Analytics Provider Opt-Outs: To disable analytics Cookies you can use the
browser controls discussed above or, for some of our providers, you can use
their individual opt-out mechanisms:

Google’s Privacy Policy and Google Analytics Opt-Out
Omniture’s Privacy Policy and Omniture’s Opt-Out
Mixpanel’s Privacy Policy and Mixpanel’s Opt-Out

The above are examples of our analytics providers and this is not an exhaustive
list. We are not responsible for the effectiveness of any other providers’
opt-out mechanisms.

Flash Local Storage: These cookies are also known as local shared objects and
may be used to store your preferences or display content by us, advertisers and
other third-parties. Flash cookies need to be deleted in the storage section of
your Flash Player Settings Manager.

Interest-Based Advertising: Most third-party advertisers offer a way to opt out
of their interest-based advertising. For more information or to opt out of
receiving interest-based advertising from participating third-party advertisers,
depending on your country of residence, please visit:

Digital Advertising Alliance in the US
Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada
European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance
Australian Digital Advertising Alliance

You can also opt out of some of the advertising providers we use by visiting
their opt-out pages:

Google’s Privacy Policy and Google Analytics Opt-Out Page
Facebook Privacy Policy and Facebook’s Opt-Out Page
Twitter Privacy Policy and Twitter’s Opt-Out Page
Liveramp’s Privacy Policy and Liveramp Opt-Out Page

These are examples of our advertising providers and this is not an exhaustive
list. In addition, we are not responsible for the effectiveness of any of these
providers’ opt-out mechanisms.

After you opt out, you will still see advertisements, but they may not be as
relevant to you.

Mobile Settings: You may manage the collection of information for interest-based
advertising purposes in mobile apps via the device’s settings, including
managing the collection of location data. To opt out of mobile ad tracking from
Nielsen or other third parties, you can do so by selecting the “Limit Ad
Tracking” (for iOS devices) or “Opt out of Ads Personalization” (for Android
devices) options in your device settings.

Connected Devices: For connected devices, such as smart TVs or streaming
devices, you should review the device’s settings and select the option that
allows you to disable automatic content recognition or ad tracking. Typically,
to opt out, such devices require you to select options like “limit ad tracking”
or to disable options such as “interest-based advertising,” “interactive TV,” or
“smart interactivity”. These settings vary by device type.

Cross-Device Tracking: If you would like to opt out of our browser-based
cross-device tracking for advertising purposes, you may do so by using the
various methods described above. You must opt out separately on each device and
each browser that you use. For more information about cross-device matching,
please visit the Network Advertising Initiative or the Digital Advertising
Alliance. If you opt out of cross-device tracking for advertising purposes, we
may still conduct cross-device tracking for other purposes, such as analytics.

Consequences of Deactivation of Cookies: If you disable or remove Cookies, some
parts of the Services may not function properly. Information may still be
collected and used for other purposes, such as research, online services
analytics or internal operations, and to remember your opt-out preferences.



CONTACT US

For inquiries about this Cookies Notice, please contact us at Privacy@nbcuni.com
or Chief Privacy Officer, NBCUniversal Legal Department, 30 Rockefeller Plaza,
New York, NY 10112, US.

For inquiries from users who reside in the European Economic Area, the United
Kingdom or Switzerland, please contact us at Privacy@nbcuni.com or Privacy,
Legal Department, Central Saint Giles, St Giles High Street, London, WC2H 8NU,
UK

CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

This Notice may be revised occasionally and in accordance with legal
requirements. Please revisit this Cookie Notice regularly to stay informed about
our and our analytic and advertising partners’ use of Cookies.

STRICTLY NECESSARY COOKIES

Always Active

These Cookies are required for Service functionality, including security and
fraud prevention, and to enable any purchasing capabilities. You can set your
browser to block these Cookies, but some parts of the site may not function
properly.


BACK BUTTON PERFORMANCE COOKIES



Vendor Search Search Icon
Filter Icon

Clear
checkbox label label
Apply Cancel
Consent Leg.Interest
checkbox label label
checkbox label label
checkbox label label

Close