Despite tighter nitrogen oxides (NOx) emission norms for diesel cars, buses and trucks in several countries, the actual amount of NOx emitted by diesel vehicles is far more during on-road driving conditions than under laboratory testing carried out at the time of certification. As a result, the excess NOx emitted over certification limits caused nearly... Continue Reading →
IIT Kanpur finds more aerosol in the atmosphere produces heavier, widespread rainfall
Contrary to the general notion that pre-monsoon aerosol loading results in decrease in seasonal rainfall, a long-term (2002-2013) satellite observational study and model-based analysis by researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has found that higher aerosol loading results in delayed but more rainfall over Central and Northern India. Higher aerosol loading changes... Continue Reading →
IIT Kanpur unravels brown carbon’s effect on atmospheric warming
The effect of biomass burning in increasing the atmospheric aerosol and in turn the atmospheric warming through light absorption has been clearly highlighted in a study carried out by a team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur. While the role of black carbon produced by biomass burning in increasing the atmospheric... Continue Reading →
Non-communicable diseases killed more Indians in 2015
In 2015, India, like other developed countries, had more number of deaths caused by non-communicable diseases. In the case of males, deaths due to non-communicable diseases (3.6 million) were more than double that caused by communicable diseases (1.5 million), while it was nearly double in females (2.7 million due to non-communicable diseases and nearly... Continue Reading →
Thanks to air pollution, magnetic particles found in the brain
The effects of air pollution on human health has gone up by a few notches with the discovery of large number of rounded magnetite nanoparticles of about 18 nanometres in diameter (and maximum of 150 nm) in the frontal cortex tissue of the brain of 37 people. The people studied were 3-92 years old and... Continue Reading →
Emissions from biomass burning cross the Himalayas
Contrary to the general assumption that the southern slopes of the Himalayas act as a barrier and effectively block the transportation of pollutants from India and other parts of South Asia, a study published a couple of days ago in the Nature Group journal Scientific Reports finds sound evidence to prove otherwise. Aerosols have been... Continue Reading →
