Air

"Outdoor air pollution has grown 8% globally in the past five years, with billions of people around the world now exposed to dangerous air, according to new data from more than 3,000 cities compiled by the World Health Organisation (WHO)."

"The oil-producing region of North Dakota and Montana leaks 275,000 tons of methane annually, a significant amount of the greenhouse gas but less than previously believed, a study released Wednesday said."

"The Environmental Protection Agency will unveil on Thursday a rule to target methane emissions from new or modified oil and gas facilities, the first regulations to tackle the greenhouse gas from the sector, two sources briefed on the matter said."

"A fire crackles along the banks of the Yamuna River: a cremation of a young mother, struck by a car while she was fetching water. The stench of the river engulfs the sad assembly."

"Hundreds of industrial facilities across Texas are illegally spewing millions of pounds of toxic pollutants into the air each year when they break down or perform maintenance, and state environmental regulators are not adequately policing the rogue emissions, according to a new report."

"The situation at Mitsubishi Motors just went from bad to much, much worse. The Japanese automaker admitted Tuesday that it had falsified fuel efficiency tests for the past quarter century, the latest revelation in a scandal that has rocked the company."

"Coal-fired power plants have propelled much of China’s economic rise for decades, helping make the nation the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. Even with economic growth slackening, and other energy sources taking hold, new coal plants have been added. Now Beijing is trying to slow things down."

"More than half of the US population lives amid potentially dangerous air pollution, with national efforts to improve air quality at risk of being reversed, a new report has warned."

"The Environmental Protection Agency has released a major upward revision to its estimates of total emissions of methane, a hard-hitting if short-lived greenhouse gas, in an annual inventory that the agency submits to the United Nations. The revisions will further up the stakes in a political battle over regulations that the agency is preparing to issue that could affect operations at thousands of oil and gas wells."