"serious problems"

#12992224

16 November 2025

Thick smog covers Delhi, India, on July 24, 2024. India's capital, with 18 million residents, has the world's most polluted air with six times the amount of small particulate matter (pm2.5) than what the World Health Organization (WHO) considers safe. The air's hazardous amount of pm2.5 can reach deep into the lungs and enter the blood, causing serious long-term health effects. The WHO declares that India has the world's highest death rate from chronic respiratory diseases. India, home to 13 of the world's top 20 polluted cities, is also the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind the United States and China.

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#12992250

16 November 2025

Thick smog covers Delhi, India, on July 24, 2024. India's capital, with 18 million residents, has the world's most polluted air with six times the amount of small particulate matter (pm2.5) than what the World Health Organization (WHO) considers safe. The air's hazardous amount of pm2.5 can reach deep into the lungs and enter the blood, causing serious long-term health effects. The WHO declares that India has the world's highest death rate from chronic respiratory diseases. India, home to 13 of the world's top 20 polluted cities, is also the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind the United States and China.

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#12992266

16 November 2025

Thick smog covers Delhi, India, on July 24, 2024. India's capital, with 18 million residents, has the world's most polluted air with six times the amount of small particulate matter (pm2.5) than what the World Health Organization (WHO) considers safe. The air's hazardous amount of pm2.5 can reach deep into the lungs and enter the blood, causing serious long-term health effects. The WHO declares that India has the world's highest death rate from chronic respiratory diseases. India, home to 13 of the world's top 20 polluted cities, is also the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind the United States and China.

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#12992322

16 November 2025

Thick smog covers Delhi, India, on July 24, 2024. India's capital, with 18 million residents, has the world's most polluted air with six times the amount of small particulate matter (pm2.5) than what the World Health Organization (WHO) considers safe. The air's hazardous amount of pm2.5 can reach deep into the lungs and enter the blood, causing serious long-term health effects. The WHO declares that India has the world's highest death rate from chronic respiratory diseases. India, home to 13 of the world's top 20 polluted cities, is also the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind the United States and China.

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#12992359

16 November 2025

Thick smog covers Delhi, India, on July 24, 2024. India's capital, with 18 million residents, has the world's most polluted air with six times the amount of small particulate matter (pm2.5) than what the World Health Organization (WHO) considers safe. The air's hazardous amount of pm2.5 can reach deep into the lungs and enter the blood, causing serious long-term health effects. The WHO declares that India has the world's highest death rate from chronic respiratory diseases. India, home to 13 of the world's top 20 polluted cities, is also the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind the United States and China.

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#12992362

16 November 2025

Thick smog covers Delhi, India, on July 24, 2024. India's capital, with 18 million residents, has the world's most polluted air with six times the amount of small particulate matter (pm2.5) than what the World Health Organization (WHO) considers safe. The air's hazardous amount of pm2.5 can reach deep into the lungs and enter the blood, causing serious long-term health effects. The WHO declares that India has the world's highest death rate from chronic respiratory diseases. India, home to 13 of the world's top 20 polluted cities, is also the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind the United States and China.

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#12992363

16 November 2025

Thick smog covers Delhi, India, on July 24, 2024. India's capital, with 18 million residents, has the world's most polluted air with six times the amount of small particulate matter (pm2.5) than what the World Health Organization (WHO) considers safe. The air's hazardous amount of pm2.5 can reach deep into the lungs and enter the blood, causing serious long-term health effects. The WHO declares that India has the world's highest death rate from chronic respiratory diseases. India, home to 13 of the world's top 20 polluted cities, is also the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind the United States and China.

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#12992368

16 November 2025

Thick smog covers Delhi, India, on July 24, 2024. India's capital, with 18 million residents, has the world's most polluted air with six times the amount of small particulate matter (pm2.5) than what the World Health Organization (WHO) considers safe. The air's hazardous amount of pm2.5 can reach deep into the lungs and enter the blood, causing serious long-term health effects. The WHO declares that India has the world's highest death rate from chronic respiratory diseases. India, home to 13 of the world's top 20 polluted cities, is also the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind the United States and China.

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#12871970

17 October 2025

A portion of Kathmandu, Nepal, is covered by a thin layer of smog that shrouds the atmosphere of the bowl-shaped Kathmandu Valley on October 17, 2025, with the Air Quality Index measuring above 100. The average readings of Kathmandu's pollution exceed the annual average concentrations of PM2.5 of 5 ug/m3, while 24-hour average exposures should not exceed 15 ug/m3 more than 3-4 days per year, as prescribed by the World Health Organization. PM2.5 refers to particulate matter (solid or liquid droplets) in the air less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter. It is among the most dangerous pollutants that can get past the nose and throat to penetrate the lungs and even the bloodstream. PM2.5 particles are small and are also likely to stay suspended in the air for long, increasing the chances of people inhaling them. According to Nepal's Environmental Protection Agency's air quality index, an air quality reading of 151-200 is considered unhealthy, causing everyone to experience problems and sensitive groups to feel more severe effects. When air quality reaches 201-300, it is considered a very unhealthy level, and health risks increase for everyone in the area. When it crosses 300, it becomes hazardous, meaning that the air is of extremely poor quality and poses serious health risks to everyone.

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#12871973

17 October 2025

Smoke billows from a residential area in Kathmandu, Nepal, on October 17, 2025, as a thin layer of smog shrouds the atmosphere of the bowl-shaped valley, with the Air Quality Index measuring above 100. The average readings of Kathmandu's pollution exceed annual average concentrations of PM2.5 of 5 ug/m3, while 24-hour average exposures should not exceed 15 ug/m3 more than 3-4 days per year, as prescribed by the World Health Organization. PM2.5 refers to particulate matter (solid or liquid droplets) in the air less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter. It is among the most dangerous pollutants that can get past the nose and throat to penetrate the lungs and even the bloodstream. PM2.5 particles are small and are also likely to stay suspended in the air for long, increasing the chances of people inhaling them. According to Nepal's Environmental Protection Agency's air quality index, an air quality reading of 151-200 is considered unhealthy, causing everyone to experience problems and sensitive groups to feel more severe effects. When air quality reaches 201-300, it is considered a very unhealthy level, and health risks increase for everyone in the area. When it crosses 300, it becomes hazardous, meaning that the air is of extremely poor quality and poses serious health risks to everyone.

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#12871974

17 October 2025

Smoke billows from a residential area in Kathmandu, Nepal, on October 17, 2025, as a thin layer of smog shrouds the atmosphere of the bowl-shaped valley, with the Air Quality Index measuring above 100. The average readings of Kathmandu's pollution exceed annual average concentrations of PM2.5 of 5 ug/m3, while 24-hour average exposures should not exceed 15 ug/m3 more than 3 to 4 days per year, as prescribed by the World Health Organization. PM2.5 refers to particulate matter (solid or liquid droplets) in the air less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter. It is among the most dangerous pollutants that can get past the nose and throat to penetrate the lungs and even the bloodstream. PM2.5 particles are small and are also likely to stay suspended in the air for long, increasing the chances of people inhaling them. According to Nepal's Environmental Protection Agency's air quality index, an air quality reading of 151-200 is considered unhealthy, causing everyone to experience problems and sensitive groups to feel more severe effects. When air quality reaches 201-300, it is considered a very unhealthy level, and health risks increase for everyone in the area. When it crosses 300, it becomes hazardous, meaning that the air is of extremely poor quality and poses serious health risks to everyone.

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#12871975

17 October 2025

A portion of Kathmandu, Nepal, is covered by a thin layer of smog that shrouds the atmosphere of the bowl-shaped Kathmandu Valley on October 17, 2025, with the Air Quality Index measuring above 100. The average readings of Kathmandu's pollution exceed the annual average concentrations of PM2.5 of 5 ug/m3, while 24-hour average exposures should not exceed 15 ug/m3 more than 3-4 days per year, as prescribed by the World Health Organization. PM2.5 refers to particulate matter (solid or liquid droplets) in the air less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter. It is among the most dangerous pollutants that can get past the nose and throat to penetrate the lungs and even the bloodstream. PM2.5 particles are small and are also likely to stay suspended in the air for long, increasing the chances of people inhaling them. According to Nepal's Environmental Protection Agency's air quality index, an air quality reading of 151-200 is considered unhealthy, causing everyone to experience problems and sensitive groups to feel more severe effects. When air quality reaches 201-300, it is considered a very unhealthy level, and health risks increase for everyone in the area. When it crosses 300, it becomes hazardous, meaning that the air is of extremely poor quality and poses serious health risks to everyone.

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#12445312

5 June 2025

A young couple sits on a curved bench in a park, with the man leaning forward and holding his head while the woman sits upright beside him, in Prague, Czech Republic, on May 11, 2025.

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#12336962

5 May 2025

A passenger holds his nose to avoid dust while riding on an unfit vehicle in a low-income area in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on May 5, 2025. Poor air quality, caused by unregulated vehicles and road dust, continues to pose serious health risks for residents in the capital.

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#12003745

1 February 2025

Men extract sand and gravel using Pokeland in the Jhelum River in Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir, India, on February 1, 2025. Rivers are a key source of ecosystem services such as water, food, energy, and rocks. Within those ecosystem services, the extraction of riverbed material is a particularly important type of human activity in river ecosystems. Sand and gravel mining is a serious environmental problem around the globe in recent years.

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#12003746

1 February 2025

Men extract sand and gravel using Pokeland in the Jhelum River in Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir, India, on February 1, 2025. Rivers are a key source of ecosystem services such as water, food, energy, and rocks. Within those ecosystem services, the extraction of riverbed material is a particularly important type of human activity in river ecosystems. Sand and gravel mining is a serious environmental problem around the globe in recent years.

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