Even the finest particles of pollution influence the process of cloud formation and the rainfall regime. A study conducted in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state in Brazil’s North region, shows that oxidation leads small aerosols expelled by factories and car exhausts, for example, to grow very rapidly, reaching up to 400 times their original size, and that this affects raindrop formation.

Heat and drought exacerbated fire season in 2020, but cattle grazing and other human activities also primed the region to burn.

Having a solid estimate of the amount of carbon that forests can pull from the atmosphere is essential for global accounting of climate change — leaders are counting on forests to pull a good chunk of human-produced carbon back to earth.

Microplastics can be found everywhere — from the air to the ocean — but there's still much to learn about the sources and how they move through the landscape.

Winters are warming faster than summers in North America, impacting everything from ecosystems to the economy. 

Cities that adopt roadside emissions sensors to detect high polluting vehicles, together with an enforcement program to inspect and repair these vehicles, could significantly improve urban air quality, new research shows.

Results of a recent study highlight the importance of improving air quality in homes for employees who continue to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thawing permafrost in the Arctic could be emitting greenhouse gases from previously unaccounted-for carbon stocks, fuelling global warming. 

If you had to guess which part of the world has the highest levels of atmospheric mercury pollution, you probably wouldn’t pick a patch of pristine Amazonian rainforest. Yet, that’s exactly where they are.

When rain falls, it picks up pollution from streets, farms and other manmade features as it winds toward the ocean.