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<keyword id="22976106" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indoor" source="keywords">Indoor</keyword> <keyword id="19900550" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="air-pollution" source="keywords">air pollution</keyword> is a bigger <keyword id="21117961" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="health-risk" source="keywords">health risk</keyword> than <keyword id="20543591" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="outdoor" source="keywords">outdoor</keyword> air pollution in India, and sometimes cities are cleaner than nearby villages where <keyword id="22976772" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="household-pollution" source="keywords">household pollution</keyword> is higher, according to the country's two top policy experts. Addressing the India <keyword id="20445293" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="clean-air" source="keywords">Clean Air</keyword> Summit (ICAS) 2024, Principal Advisor, <keyword id="19904190" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ministry-of-Health-and-Family-Welfare" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Ministry of Health and Family Welfare" meta.hostid="83" meta.entityid="Ministry of Health and Family Welfare">Ministry of Health and Family Welfare</keyword>, Soumya Swaminathan said, "Studies done in Delhi have shown that women's average exposure to high levels of <keyword id="20827287" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="black-carbon" source="keywords">black carbon</keyword> (women <keyword id="19895006" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="WHO" source="keywords">who</keyword> are mostly at home) is as much as auto-rickshaw passengers going around outdoor exposed to the ambient air pollution in Delhi, resulting in high systolic blood pressure." "Cities contribute less than 20 per cent to the overall state emissions, wherever they have been assessed, but household emissions predominate, ranging between 20 per cent and 40 per cent. Across the country, we are seeing is that sometimes cities are cleaner than the surrounding villages where household air pollution predominates," she said at the summit organised by think-tank Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy. This builds a strong case for expanding the scope of India's National Clean Air Programme (<keyword id="20133150" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NCAP" source="keywords">NCAP</keyword>), which currently focuses on non-attainment cities. Air pollution is a major threat to public health and contributes to a significant amount of morbidity as well as mortality. Apart from PM2.5 and PM10, short-lived climate pollutants such as black carbon, methane, ozone, and hydrocarbons have the potential to harm the environment and warm the atmosphere even more than CO2. Black carbon can cause chronic respiratory illnesses, lung cancer, emphysema, pneumonia, asthma, heart disease, and low birthweight. "In terms of reducing our life expectancy, globally, PM2.5 is contributing to about 2.3 years of life lost. Just below that is tobacco. In fact, there's so much attention on tobacco and global frameworks for control, but not the same level of attention has been paid to PM2.5 and certainly not the same level of commitments," Swaminathan said. The impact of air pollution is not limited to public health but has a significant economic cost as well. Recently, the World Bank published a study highlighting that air pollution has resulted in a loss of around USD 8.1 trillion in 2019, which is 6.1 per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP). "We are always talking about air pollution as a problem but studies also show a strong economic case for action on clean air. There are significant positive consequences to investing in cleaning up the air in terms of the return on investments. We know air pollution is not just bad for our health, but it's also bad for agriculture, because it reduces the sunlight that's reaching the crops and it's bad for our economy or any country's economy as it deters people from coming and living or visiting those places," Swaminathan added. Kalpana Balakrishnan, Director, WHO Collaborating Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, said that the main barrier to shifting to clean cooking fuels that can help reduce household air pollution levels is finance. "If we give free LPG to women for two years, they are unlikely to shift back to biomass cooking even if you remove the subsidies," she said. Through Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) launched in May 2016, more than 100 million households in India received LPG cylinders by the end of March 2023. Studies shows over 50 per cent of the households that received new LPG cylinders under PMUY did not choose to refill it even once. Around a third of the world's population - 2.4 billion people globally (including 500 million people in India) - still lack access to clean cooking solutions. Although the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOPNG) claims that the country's household LPG "coverage" stands at 99.8 per cent, the National Family Health Survey conducted in 2019-21 (NFHS-5) shows that 41 per cent of the population still cooks on biomass.

Indoor air pollution poses greater health risk than outdoor: Experts

Climate Action 15: 2024's top global innovators powering green solutions

<keyword id="55910" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Air-Pollution" source="Orion">Air pollution</keyword> is a pressing global issue that affects both developed and developing nations. Using data from the IQAir 2022 World Air Quality Ranking we will examine the <keyword id="19039904" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="most-polluted-countries-in-the-world" source="Orion">most polluted countries in the world</keyword> from 2018 to 2022, shedding light on the sources of <keyword id="13001" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pollution" source="Orion">pollution</keyword> and the impacts on public health and the environment. 1. Chad Chad tops the list as one of the <keyword id="13437378" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="most-polluted-countries" source="Orion">most polluted countries</keyword>, with alarming levels of particulate matter (PM2.5). The sources of pollution primarily stem from various factors, including industrial activities and vehicular emissions. 2. Iraq Iraq is the second most polluted country on our list. The rise in air pollution can be attributed to increased industrial activities and a growing number of vehicles on the road. 3. Pakistan Pakistan has consistently faced severe air pollution, and the data indicates fluctuations in pollution levels. Major sources of pollution include vehicular emissions, industrial discharges, and crop burning. 4. Bahrain Bahrain, despite its small size, faces significant air pollution challenges primarily due to industrial activities and oil refineries. The government has initiated measures to combat this issue. 5. Bangladesh Bangladesh has been grappling with air pollution, mainly driven by vehicular emissions, industrial pollution, and construction activities. The health impacts are severe, leading to respiratory diseases and other health issues. 6. Burkina Faso Burkina Faso, with limited available data, experiences air pollution challenges. The lack of comprehensive data makes it difficult to identify specific sources of pollution. 7. Kuwait Kuwait's air quality is affected by factors such as industrial activities, oil refineries, and construction dust. The hot and arid climate exacerbates pollution issues, leading to health problems. 8. India India, with its rapid urbanization and industrialization, has faced significant air pollution challenges. Major cities like New Delhi often experience hazardous air quality due to vehicular emissions, industrial discharges, and construction activities. 9. Egypt Egypt's air quality is affected by emissions from vehicles and industrial activities. The political situation in the country has hindered environmental regulations and enforcement. 10. Tajikistan Tajikistan has faced fluctuations in air pollution levels, driven by factors such as vehicular emissions and industrial activities. The lack of consistent data makes it challenging to track long-term trends. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Impact on Health and the Environment" comment="subhead" text="Impact on Health and the Environment">Impact on Health and the Environment</cmsannotation> The consequences of air pollution in these countries are severe, with a high incidence of respiratory diseases, cardiovascular problems, and other health issues. Long-term exposure to <keyword id="6489235" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Polluted-Air" source="Orion">polluted air</keyword> can lead to more severe conditions such as lung cancer. In addition to its effect on human health, air pollution also damages the environment, including contributing to climate change, impairing ecosystems, and harming agricultural productivity. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Efforts to Combat Pollution" comment="subhead" text="Efforts to Combat Pollution">Efforts to Combat Pollution</cmsannotation> Many of these countries have recognized the urgent need to address air pollution and have taken measures to mitigate its effects. These efforts include improving public transportation, implementing stricter emission standards, and promoting clean energy alternatives. However, challenges such as limited resources, rapid urbanization, and political instability continue to hamper progress. International cooperation and support are crucial in addressing the problem of air pollution. Multilateral agreements and partnerships can help countries access technology, financing, and expertise to combat pollution effectively. Air pollution is a global concern, and the data from 2018 to 2022 highlights the persistent challenges faced by the most <keyword id="19165516" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="polluted-countries" source="Orion">polluted countries</keyword>. These nations must continue their efforts to improve air quality, protect public health, and safeguard the environment. The path to cleaner air involves a combination of government initiatives, international collaboration, and individual actions to reduce emissions and protect the planet for future generations.

The most polluted countries in the world: A global environmental concern

The top ten most polluted cities in the world

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Fifty oil and gas companies pledged to zero out methane emissions by 2030 at the UN climate summit.</li><li>Satellites are being deployed to track whether these companies actually meet their promises.</li></ul>Catherine Boudreau reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Erin Snodgrass reported from Los Angeles.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/satellites-locate-source-of-methane-leaks-to-fight-climate-crisis-2022-7">Satellites are the next tool</a> that will hold oil and gas companies accountable in their promise to cut methane emissions and slow global warming.The United Arab Emirates, host of this year's UN climate summit COP28, on Saturday announced that dozens of oil and gas companies — accounting for 40% of global production — aim to nearly eliminate their methane emissions by 2030. Many state-owned oil companies signed on, including the UAE's Adnoc, as well as Saudi Arabia's Saudi Aramco. US firms ExxonMobil and Shell, and other international oil majors will also participate.Shortly after, a separate initiative was announced that will use satellites to track whether the companies keep their promise. The billionaire businessman and philanthropist Michael Bloomberg pledged $40 million to the initiative — a partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund that will launch its own satellite early next year."Oil and gas companies often don't have the data on these methane emissions, including where leaks are happening," Bloomberg, UN special envoy for climate ambition and solutions, told reporters in Dubai. "Even when data is available, there often aren't rules and incentives in place to make sure companies do something about it."Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide, though it only lingers in the atmosphere for about a decade compared with centuries for carbon dioxide. That short lifespan is why climate scientists say eliminating methane emissions is one of the quickest ways to slow global warming.The oil and gas industry <a target="_blank" href="https://www.iea.org/reports/global-methane-tracker-2023">is responsible for 40% of human-caused methane emissions</a> from leaking wells, compression stations, and pipelines, as well as by routinely burning off excess gas in a practice known as venting and flaring.Even though numerous countries and oil and gas companies have pledged to slash methane emissions in recent years, they are still rising to record levels, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.iea.org/reports/global-methane-tracker-2023/overview">according to the IEA</a>. The agency, <a target="_blank" href="https://salatainstitute.harvard.edu/quantifying-methane-to-the-sky-and-beyond/#:~:text=Compelled%20by%20Sargent%20and%20Budney's,U.S.%20Environmental%20Protection%20Agency's%20inventories.">university scientists</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.edf.org/climate/methane-studies#:~:text=Extensive%20research%20led%20by%20EDF,than%20the%20government's%20estimate%20suggests.">environmental groups</a> have published research showing that national governments are significantly undercounting total emissions.Historically, measuring methane was challenging because the gas is colorless, leaks are unpredictable, and finding them involved expensive field studies with aircraft and handheld infrared cameras. That approach only offered a snapshot in time and the research took a long time to publish.Those methods have changed over the last decade. A new generation of satellites can now pinpoint methane leaks almost anywhere and, within days, computers equipped with AI models can calculate the amount of emissions escaping. This, in turn, means oil and gas companies responsible for the plumes can be notified faster and potentially take action.The UN last year launched its own methane alert and response system that uses satellites to monitor emissions and notify countries and companies. Since then, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/uns-global-methane-tracking-system-set-translate-data-revolution">1,500 methane plumes were identified</a> and some governments took action, including Argentina.The 50 oil and gas companies that signed a "decarbonization charter" on Saturday in Dubai agreed to eliminate routine flaring, improve the way they monitor methane leaks, and report progress on reducing emissions.COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber, who also heads Adnoc, during a speech on Saturday said that tackling methane emissions are "a quick and easy win." Adnoc earlier this year already promised to zero-out the pollutant by 2030, even as it plans to expand oil production.<div type="image" title="COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber walks through the venue ahead of the UN Climate Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates." height="5760" width="8640" msid="105684000" hostid="261" sizebytes="420292"></div>"If companies deliver, we calculate it means reducing methane emission by 80% to 90%, which is critical," EDF President Fred Krupp told reporters. "But that only happens if there's accountability."The satellite being launched by EDF, known as MethaneSAT, can regularly monitor methane emissions from regions accounting for much of the world's oil and gas production. That includes emerging and developing economies, where state-owned oil companies have been largely absent from methane pledges until now.The data gathered by satellites can also help climate advocates push governments to implement tougher methane laws. EDF and Bloomberg Philanthropies are working with the IEA, UN, and the climate nonprofit RMI on its accountability push.<h2>The EPA's 'super emitter' program</h2>The US and European Union are already cracking down on methane emissions. The US Environmental Protection Agency <a target="_blank" href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-finalizes-standards-slash-methane-pollution-combat-climate#:~:text=EPA's%20final%20rule%20leverages%20the,the%20power%20sector%20in%202021.">on Saturday finalized regulations</a> that will reduce an estimated 58 million tons of methane emissions over the next 15 years. That figure is comparable to the emissions released by the entire US power sector in 2021, the agency said. The rules require companies to monitor leaks, limit flaring at oil wells, and reduce emissions from equipment like pumps and storage tanks.A "super emitter" program will allow certain third parties that detect large methane plumes to submit data to EPA, which will do its own verification before notifying the oil and gas company responsible.The methane that will be captured, rather than released into the atmosphere, would be enough to heat 7.8 millions homes this winter, EPA officials said during a press conference Friday. Once fully implemented, the rule will prevent the emissions of the equivalent of 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, they said.The EU in November agreed to its first-ever law directing fossil fuel companies to measure and report their methane emissions, and bans most flaring and venting by 2027.The US and EU are part of the Global Methane Pledge that calls for a 30% reduction in methane emissions by 2030. At least 155 countries have signed the pledge, which launched in 2021 at the UN climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.However, China and Russia — the top two producers of methane emissions in the world — aren't signatories. China in November <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-unveils-action-plan-reduce-methane-emissions-2023-11-07/">published its own plan to reduce the pollutant</a>, but it doesn't include any hard targets. The country's state-owned oil companies are also absent from the "decabonization charter" announced in Dubai.Melanie Robinson, global climate program director at the World Resources Institute, said in a statement that the methane commitments were encouraging but require strong measures to hold oil and gas companies accountable.She added that the oil and gas sector still isn't being held accountable for all the emissions created by the fuel they sell to other industries. That's akin to a cigarette maker "claiming no responsibility for the impact of their product once it leaves the factory door," Robinson said, adding that voluntary promises alone won't acheive global climate goals.

Satellites are the new climate police for oil and gas polluters

Seattle has the worst air quality in the world right now due to fires. Here are the top 10 most air-polluted cities from 2021.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The US is trying to cut itself off from China's green tech like solar, EVs, and batteries.</li><li>The moves could hit China's economy and risks slowing down the green transition.</li></ul>There will be a long list of grievances when China's top climate envoy, Liu Zhenmin, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-30/china-climate-chief-to-visit-us-with-aim-to-bolster-key-ties?srnd=green">visits the US this month</a> for his first formal talks with US officials.The meeting comes as the US and China jockey for power in the green-energy transition. The Biden administration is trying to cut itself off from Chinese goods that are key to solving the climate crisis — such <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-fights-back-china-cheap-solar-panels-2024-4">as solar panels</a>, electric vehicles, batteries, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-is-firing-back-again-in-china-chip-semiconductor-wars-2024-3">and semiconductors</a>. The US wants to protect its factories against competition from cheaper products, which, in turn, could hit China's economy and risk slowing down the green transition. China is also under pressure to stop building new coal plants, the dirtiest form of power production, because the expansion undercuts the country's promise that its greenhouse-gas emissions will start dropping after 2030."The recent moves by the US to connect the climate issue with trade measures, industrial competition, and national security is something I'm sure the Chinese will raise because they have a lot of concerns on this policy direction," Li Shuo, the director of China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute, told Business Insider.Li said China's view was that the US prioritized economic competition at the expense of mitigating the climate emergency. The world needs affordable green technology for the energy transition, and China's record levels of investment have driven down the costs, he added.A recent example <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-chinese-automaker-byd-rose-to-challenge-tesla-2024-4">is the remarkable rise of BYD</a>, a Chinese automaker that briefly eclipsed Tesla this year as the world's largest seller of EVs.However, the US views China as a threat to both national security and the climate. The country's boom in green-tech manufacturing was largely powered by dirty energy, with coal still accounting for about 60% of China's electricity, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/energy-transition/013124-coal-still-accounted-for-nearly-60-of-chinas-electricity-supply-in-2023-cec">an S&amp;P Global analysis</a> found. And even though China is adding renewable energy to its grid faster than any other country, it's also building new coal-fired power plants at a rapid clip.Coal is a major source of tension between the US and China, Li said. China has no policy to signal a coal slowdown, undermining its climate promises.The issue could be inflamed following a deal this week among seven of the world's wealthiest countries to stop burning coal for power by 2035. During a G7 meeting in Italy, Japan, another major coal user, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.g7italy.it/wp-content/uploads/G7-Climate-Energy-Environment-Ministerial-Communique_Final.pdf">endorsed the timeline for the first time</a> and was joined by the US, Canada, and several European nations.For its part, the US in late April finalized stricter emissions limits on power plants, which are expected to speed up the shift away from coal. About 16% of US electricity comes from coal, a steep drop over the past decade largely due to the fracking boom that made gas a cheaper source of power.But neither the US nor China is in a position to compromise, Li said.China defends its coal expansion as a matter of energy security. Last year, sky-high temperatures and drought in regions reliant on hydropower forced rolling blackouts and factory closures.Biden-administration officials, including the climate envoy John Podesta and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in recent months have said the US is evaluating new strategies to counter China's dominance over green technology. Former President Donald Trump <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-impose-tariffs-china-if-elected-2024-2">said he would impose tariffs</a> of more than 60% on China if he won the election in November.Given the tension, there likely won't be any major breakthroughs during this month's talks, Li said. But the fact that the world's two largest polluters are meeting in person shows that the climate still carries special weight. Few Chinese senior officials travel to the US.

China's top climate envoy is coming to the US this month as tensions over green tech run high

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Harvard physicist Avi Loeb announced the discovery of tiny "spherules" at the bottom of the Pacific.</li><li>He said these spherules may be from an alien technology outside of our solar system.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aliens-ufo-harvard-expert-avi-loeb-meteor-spaceship-science-astrophysics-2023-7">Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb</a> announced that he and his team discovered fragments of material at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean that may potentially be linked to aliens.The fragments "could be a spacecraft from another civilization, or some technological gadget," Loeb told <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/avi-loeb-harvard-professor-alien-technology-fragments-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBS News</a>.But experts who have been searching for alien life for many years told Insider they aren't sold on the idea that <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ac8eac/pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Loeb's findings</a> represent evidence of alien intelligence."I like wild and crazy ideas — they make us all think — occasionally one of them might be right. But I'm extremely skeptical about this one," said <a href="https://seti.berkeley.edu/people/Dan.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dan Werthimer</a>, chief technologist of the SETI Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley.<h2>'A lot of unknowns' in the data</h2>Loeb's team found 50 sub-millimeter-sized "spherules" that he said he thinks came from an interstellar meteoroid, which he named IM1, that crashed into waters near Papua New Guinea in 2014.Both the speed of the meteor and the composition of the spherules is why Loeb thinks they may be of possible alien origin. But experts aren't convinced."As I look at the data, there are just a lot of unknowns," said <a href="http://meti.org/en/board/douglas-vakoch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Douglas Vakoch</a>, president of <a href="http://meti.org/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI)</a>, an organization that searches for signs of extraterrestrial life by transmitting intentional signals to nearby stars.<h2><div type="image" title="allen telescope array ata seti institute" height="987" width="1484" msid="102041992" hostid="261" sizebytes="97790"></div></h2><h2>The meteroid's speed was calculated from incomplete data, experts said</h2>Loeb proposed that the meteor IM1 was of interstellar origin in a <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1904.07224.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paper</a> he published in 2019. To estimate its speed, he and a student used data from the Center for Near Earth Object Studies, which tracks the speed and trajectory of objects in space that travel close to, and occasionally hit, Earth.Loeb wrote in a first-hand account on <a href="https://avi-loeb.medium.com/summary-of-the-successful-interstellar-expedition-61ff4467070d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Medium</a>:"[The data] showed that IM1 was moving outside the solar system faster than 95% of all stars in the vicinity of the Sun. The possibility that IM1's excess speed benefited from propulsion and the fact that it was tougher than all known space rocks, raise the possibility that it may have been technological in origin."Bu Werthimer pointed out that the radar used to detect the meteor is known to make mistakes on the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/483/4/5166/5256650" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speed of meteors</a> that come in at a shallow angle — like this one did — compared to other instruments.That said, US Space Command followed up on Loeb's calculations and, in 2022, issued a <a href="https://lweb.cfa.harvard.edu/~loeb/DoD.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">formal letter</a> to NASA confirming IM1's interstellar origin with 99.999% confidence."The velocity estimate reported to NASA is sufficiently accurate to indicate an interstellar trajectory," the letter stated.But it doesn't matter what any government official tells you — the DOD statement has no standing in the scientific community, Vakoch said, echoing the <a href="https://gizmodo.com/interstellar-meteor-2014-scientists-skeptical-1848782995" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concerns of some astrophysicists</a>.<h2>The composition of the spherules could mean something totally different</h2>Let's forget about the meteor for a second. What about those peculiar spherule fragments?Loeb wrote in Medium that "based on the measured abundance of U238, Pb206, U235 and Pb207," in two of the collected spherules, their age was closer to the age of the universe than the age of our solar system."In the coming weeks we will examine further any clue for the spherules being different from solar system materials. This will constitute independent evidence for the interstellar origin of IM1 in addition to its measured speed," Loeb wrote.Some experts are still skeptical. <a href="https://www.open.ac.uk/people/mmg67" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Monica Grady</a>, professor of planetary and space sciences at The Open University, wrote in <a href="https://theconversation.com/physicist-who-found-spherical-meteor-fragments-claims-they-may-come-from-an-alien-spaceship-heres-what-to-make-of-it-209101" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> that spherules from space have been found at the bottom of the ocean as far back as 1872 by the HMS Challenger.Nowadays, it can be difficult to tell the difference between spherules and products of industrial pollution.Vakoch agreed, saying that, "I don't see anything in the reports of these metallic spheroids that suggests anything close to them being an alien technology, or even necessarily something from outside our solar system."Loeb said that early reports of the spherules' chemical composition were from a small sample and not representative of the full collection. Moreover, "the X-ray Fluorescence analyzer used on the ship was blind to some elements," he told Insider over email.Now that he's back on land, he said the team has shared the materials with three leading labs that "include world experts with state-of-the-art diagnostic instruments, such as X-ray fluorescence analyzers, mass spectrometers, and scanning electron microscopes," to analyze the spherules' composition in more detail.Loeb told Insider that, when ready, the team will publish their findings in a scientific paper that will be "shared openly and submitted for a peer-reviewed journal."In the meantime, experts will likely remain skeptical until more concrete proof presents itself."I'm very optimistic about life in the universe — I think it's likely to be teeming with life — but this is not evidence for it," Werthimier said.

The world's top alien hunters explain why a Harvard physicist's discovery of 'alien' tech is likely a false alarm

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Climate scientists officially named 2023 the hottest year on record dating back to 1850.</li><li>Data from ancient ice cores and tree rings suggest the world hasn't been this warm in 100,000 years.</li><li>Greenhouse gas pollution is the main cause of rising heat, but other factors are being investigated.</li></ul>Anyone who made it through <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/last-three-months-on-earth-were-the-hottest-on-record-2023-9">2023's scorching summer</a> won't be surprised to learn that last year was the hottest on record. But climate scientists who track these trends were still shocked by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-climate-change-crisis-extreme-weather-is-costing-you-2023-9">how high temperatures soared</a>.Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Service <a target="_blank" href="https://climate.copernicus.eu/global-climate-highlights-2023">made the official call</a> this week. The planet's average temperature was 1.48 degrees Celsius warmer than the preindustrial era was more than a century ago. The new average topped the record set in 2016. Most alarming, the year-over-year jump was the largest scientists have recorded.Carlo Buontempo, the service's director, said evidence suggests the world hasn't been this warm in 100,000 years, meaning no cities, farms, or other parts of modern society have ever endured this heat."This calls for a fundamental rethink of the way in which we assess our environmental risk," Buontempo said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNQdnsMIDbI">during a press call Tuesday</a>, "as our history is no longer a good proxy for the unprecedented climate we're already experiencing."The scorching heat is exacerbating <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-crisis-forcing-red-cross-to-expand-disaster-recovery-2023-8">natural disasters</a>, which the insurer Munich Re estimated <a target="_blank" href="https://www.munichre.com/en/company/media-relations/media-information-and-corporate-news/media-information/2024/natural-disaster-figures-2023.html">cost the global economy $250 billion last year</a>.Copernicus scientists answered many burning questions from reporters. Here are my top three:<h2>What made 2023 so hot?</h2>The main cause was all the greenhouse-gas emissions entering the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels for energy, transportation, and other industries, Buontempo said. These emissions trap heat, the vast majority of which <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/record-ocean-temperatures-california-heat-atmospheric-river-storms-santa-cruz-2023-1">is absorbed by oceans</a>.Another contributor to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/extreme-heat-cost-the-global-economy-an-estimated-16-trillion-2023-8">record heat</a> was El Niño, a natural climate pattern that warms the Pacific Ocean. It began in early July, making July and August the hottest months of the year. El Niño is expected to peak this month or next. This is partly why scientists expect 2024 to be even hotter than 2023.But the Copernicus climate scientists said that these weren't the only factors and that some required more research. They pointed to unusual marine heat waves beyond the Pacific; Antarctic sea ice that temporarily reached record lows; and an underwater volcano that erupted in 2022 near Tonga, an island in the Pacific, and spewed water vapor — a powerful greenhouse gas — into the atmosphere. They also said it was unclear <a target="_blank" href="https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/aerosols-are-so2-emissions-reductions-contributing-global-warming">whether the shipping industry's</a> efforts to reduce emissions were having the counterintuitive effect of worsening the climate crisis.<h2>How do scientists know what the climate was like 100,000 years ago?</h2>Samantha Burgess, Copernicus' deputy director, said scientists at the organization look at recent data from satellites; global temperature records dating back to 1850; and archival "paleoclimate and proxy data" from deep-sea sediments, coral skeletons, tree rings, and ice cores around the world."The last time global temperatures were this high there were no satellites," Burgess said.Scientists have measured the concentration of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane in ancient ice cores and other natural sources — those samples create a record of what the atmosphere was like tens of thousands of years ago.<h2>Does this mean global climate goals are unreachable?</h2>No. Countries are aiming to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, as set out in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. While the average temperature in 2023 was dangerously close to that threshold, one year of data isn't enough to call the climate deal a failure. There would need to be a long-term trend.Under the guidelines from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, if the global average temperature were to hold at more than 1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels for at least two decades, the signatory countries would have failed to uphold their promise."We are likely to overshoot 1.5 degrees," Burgess said. "That's basic physics of the system and the amount of warming that is locked into the system. However, the reality is that every single fraction of a degree matters."However, some researchers say that if there isn't a steep drop in emissions this decade, that 1.5-degree goal will likely be a lost cause.

The world hasn't been this warm in 100,000 years 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>New York City's air is abysmal this week because of smoke from Canadian wildfires. </li><li>Hazy skies are a shock to New York and other eastern locales but poor air is common in many cities.</li></ul>As a former New York City resident, I'm always curious about what's going on there. This week I didn't expect my texts to be about air quality. Coworkers, friends, and family members in various locales up and down the East Coast texted me about the terrible smoke blanketing their neighborhoods, with a cousin saying he'd had some trouble breathing. Another family member said Manhattan looked apocalyptic.For the past few days, New York City's air has appeared dirtier than the bottom of a subway track. The foul air from massive Canadian wildfires is expected to linger through at least Saturday. As shocked as New Yorkers — and people in other big cities from Detroit to Washington, DC — might be to barely be able to make out their skylines, this is nothing new for many people who live in other parts of the world. Lahore, Pakistan; Hotan, China; and Bhiwadi, India, had the worst air quality in the world in 2022, according to <a href="https://www.iqair.com/us/world-most-polluted-cities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data from IQ Air</a>. My colleague Spriha Srivastava wrote that New York's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-air-quality-awful-pollution-every-day-delhi-2023-6">suffocating smog reminds her of growing up in Delhi</a>. Indeed, New York City has found itself atop the rankings — and above all of the perennial offenders — for having the worst air quality and being hazardous to breathe. New York Mayor Eric Adams said that by Wednesday afternoon the <a href="https://abc7ny.com/air-quality-nyc-forecast-alert-canada-wildfire-smoke/13357814/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">air quality index hit 484</a>, out of a scale of 500. As of midday Thursday, it's around 180 — still not great.New Yorkers and others are getting a taste of what it can be like to live in Doha, Qatar, and Shanghai, where at least air pollution <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1283503/china-annual-pm25-particle-levels-shanghai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appears to be improving</a>.<div type="image" title="A hazy Manhattan skyline" height="2268" width="3023" msid="100858112" hostid="261"></div>In many developed economies, expectations about clean air are baked in. But that wasn't always the case, even in the US. Landmark legislation like the Clean Air Act, signed into law by President Nixon in 1970 and beefed up in 1990, acted like a giant air filter for the nation. Today, in many global cities where the air quality is poor, the focus is often on building economies to lift people out of poverty. "They're in a period of rapid economic growth," Robert Kremens, a physicist who studies wildfires, told Insider. "They sacrifice air quality over human health." He said those decisions are often understandable because the focus is on ensuring citizens aren't going hungry, for example. Yet there are consequences from the pollution as well. A study published last year found 86% of people living in the world's urban spaces encounter air pollution that's <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00350-8/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more than seven times</a> above guidelines put out by the World Health Organization back in 2005. Cleaner air is something the US now takes for granted — even out west where smoke from wildfires is far more common. Kremens, who is with the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science at Rochester Institute of Technology, said the US made a decision decades ago to make cleaner air a priority. That meant a big drop in pollution from industrial smokestacks and tailpipes. That was quite a change from the years before the federal government had the authority to regulate what America was sending into the sky. In 1948, for example, over the course of five days in Donora, Pennsylvania, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4133758/#:~:text=The%20Clean%20Air%20Act%20of,from%20stationary%20and%20mobile%20sources." target="_blank" rel="noopener">20 people died</a> and thousands more were made sick by air pollution that spewed from a factory. It was incidents like this and seminal works like Rachel Carson's 1962 book "Silent Spring" on the effects of insecticides that propelled a nascent environmental movement.When the <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/earth-day.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first</a> Earth Day took place in April 1970, air pollution was a major problem in most US cities. In 1969, a river in Cleveland topped with industrial runoff caught fire, something that had happened at least a <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/cuyahoga-river-caught-fire-least-dozen-times-no-one-cared-until-1969-180972444/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dozen</a> times before. Almost one in 10 Americans took part in demonstrations or activities on the first Earth Day, and those participants sought something in particular: government action. Those actions have since made such a difference that many of us are now shocked by what poor air quality looks like."I'm going out to LA tomorrow. It's not red anymore. It used to be red when we went there," Kremens said this week from his office in Rochester, New York. "This is a societal decision, where we're going to clean up the air and the water." Kremens pointed to the Clean Air Act and the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-water-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clean Water Act</a> as examples for what can be done when enough attention is paid to an environmental challenge. These advance are likely why the recent haze choking so many eastern cities has been so jarring, even for Kremens, who has gone around the world studying — and fighting — fires for more than 20 years. "I go outside and it smells like Montana," he said. "I have so many pictures on my wall that look like here now, but they're from Utah and Montana and places I've worked out west."I'm looking forward to another batch of photos from friends and family in eastern cities — pictures showing clear skies.

New Yorkers are getting a taste of what it's like to live in the pollution of Delhi, Doha, and Shanghai

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Mountaineer Garrett Madison recently summited Mt. Everest, Mt. Lhotse, and Mt. Nuptse this season.</li><li>This is his second time doing it, earning him another Everest "triple crown" of mountaineering.</li></ul>Few people have successfully summited the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mount-everest-sherpas-mountain-guide-jobs-not-worth-it-2024-6">Everest region's</a> "triple crown."These three peaks — Mt. Everest, Mt. Lhotse, and Mt. Nuptse — are some of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mount-everest-death-zone-what-happens-to-body-2019-5">most dangerous climbs</a>, boasting some of the harshest conditions on Earth: freezing temperatures, low oxygen levels, and treacherous terrain.Summiting any one of these three peaks could <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mount-everest-deaths-causes-altitude-sickness-crowding-2023">risk your life</a>. Climbers can die from severe altitude sickness, falls into deep crevasses, exposure, and other threats.Professional mountaineer Garrett Madison has achieved the Everest triple crown not once, but twice — first in 2023, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mount-everest-climbers-dead-sherpas-blame-carelessness-2023-6">deadliest Everest climbing season</a> on record, and again this year.But visiting the top of the world isn't just about climbing for Madison anymore. He's summited Mt. Everest 14 times, and after years of watching <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-to-mount-everest-waste-2024-2">trash accumulate</a> on the mountain and its surrounding peaks, he's decided to tackle the issue head-on.He started the Madison Mountaineering Mountain Cleanup Project in the fall of 2023, and he and his team have now collected a total of 4,000 pounds of trash — 2,000 pounds in 2023 and another 2,000 pounds this year — from Everest and neighboring peaks."I think we've made a big dent. There's obviously more work to be done," Madison told Business Insider.<h2 id="e3b19906-0e7f-4bab-bea6-0dd50eb87c05">Cleaning up polluted peaks</h2><div type="image" title="An Everest camp littered with trash" height="680" width="1024" msid="111093945" hostid="261" sizebytes="94242"></div><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mount-everest-climbers-ordered-buy-poop-bags-bring-waste-down-2024-2">Picking up trash</a> on some of the world's tallest mountains adds yet another layer of complexity and intensity to an expedition like this, Madison said."It's not just like walking down the street and picking up trash out of the ditch. It's really hard work," he said.Doing any sort of physical labor at such a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/37-morgan-chesky-hiker-couldnt-catch-breath-cardiac-arrest-hape-2023-4">high altitude</a>, while also spending entire days climbing, can lead to exhaustion fast.Plus, the climbers have to carry extra protective equipment like gloves and packages for transporting the trash down the mountain. Every additional pound is extra strain."Our teams could only work for like an hour at a time before they'd have to rest," Madison said.The climbers also had to be wary of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfXIDMDmyL8">dangerous terrain</a>. Most of the trash is in the camp areas, which are relatively flat, Madison said. But Camp 3 is located on the Lhotse Face, which is very steep with a high risk of avalanches and falling rocks.<div type="image" title="Everest camp 3" height="1030" width="773" msid="111093955" hostid="261" sizebytes="94456"></div>"That's a treacherous area to be operating in, you don't want to fall. People have fallen down and died," he said.But for Madison and his cleanup team, the work is worth the risk.<h2 id="8c6653f8-1425-4a90-9e49-7f67176f2774">Pollution flows down</h2><div type="image" title="Three men hold oxygen canisters" height="666" width="1024" msid="111093957" hostid="261" sizebytes="85754"></div>The Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone, which includes Mt. Everest and seven of its neighboring peaks, has a serious trash problem. Most of the garbage is left behind by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mt-everest-so-expensive-2024-2">climbers</a>, and includes stuff like abandoned tents, discarded food packaging, and empty oxygen canisters.A 2010 study <a target="_blank" href="https://bioone.org/journals/mountain-research-and-development/volume-30/issue-2/MRD-JOURNAL-D-10-00028.1/Solid-Waste-and-Water-Quality-Management-Models-for-Sagarmatha-National/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-10-00028.1.full">estimated</a> that park tourism generated roughly 4.6 tons of solid waste per day during climbing seasons. But that number is likely higher today, because the amount of people climbing these peaks has generally increased since then while garbage disposal methods are still lacking.Waste management rules on Mt. Everest haven't been well-enforced, Troy Aupperle, an experienced mountaineer who climbed Everest twice and summitted once, told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.livescience.com/63061-how-much-trash-mount-everest.html">Live Science</a> in 2022. And he doesn't think most climbers are all that concerned with carrying their trash back down the mountain."You barely have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boost-energy-strength-stamina-eat-more-snacks-carbs-protein-nutritionist-2024-3">enough energy</a> to get yourself off the mountain, so anything you don't have to carry or can get rid of, you just off-load so you can get down," Aupperle told Live Science.<div type="image" title="Mt Everest covered in trash" height="683" width="1024" msid="111093947" hostid="261" sizebytes="79090"></div>All that waste is polluting critical water resources for local communities, Madison said. "Where does all that trash go? It'll flow down the glaciers into the streams and rivers and water sources that communities rely upon," he said.Plus, discarded climbing equipment can break down into microplastics, which have been found in water and snow samples at Everest's base camp."Of course, what we really want to see is a change in policy and attitudes through education, where it's no longer acceptable to leave trash behind up there." But it's been a challenge.In 2014, for example, Nepal's government instituted a rule requiring every mountaineer who climbs above Everest's base camp to return with 18 pounds of trash from the mountain, or forfeit a $4,000 deposit. But many people just forfeit the money, Alton Byers, a mountain geographer <a target="_blank" href="https://theconversation.com/climbers-have-turned-mount-everest-into-a-high-altitude-garbage-dump-but-sustainable-solutions-are-within-reach-226073">wrote</a> in an article for The Conversation in May.<div type="image" title="Group of climbers" height="1200" width="1600" msid="111093953" hostid="261" sizebytes="147492"></div>Madison's cleanup project is perhaps one of the most recent efforts but it's certainly not the first. In 1991, local Sherpa people created the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), which monitors waste on the permit-required peaks in this region, like Mt. Everest, Byers wrote.And in 2019, the nonprofit Sagarmatha Next started a "Carry Me Back" program that encourages tourists to take two-pound bags of trash out of the mountains to be properly processed and disposed of.Madison's cleanup project partners with both of these organizations in a united front against trash pollution on the world's tallest peaks."It's been an honor, very exciting to work with them a little bit," he said.Madison hopes that his clean-up project helps reduce the environmental impact that climbers have on Mt. Everest and other peaks in this region."It's a lot of work, but it's definitely worth it. I feel really lucky and privileged to get to go on these expeditions," Madison told Business Insider.

A team of climbers just summited 3 of the most challenging peaks in the world. They made it even harder by collecting roughly 2,000 pounds of trash along the way.

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