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Smog covering Santiago, Chile with the sun high in the sky
Image: Matias Basualdo/Zuma/picture alliance

Smog

Topic

Technically, it's volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight. Practically, it's dirty air caused by emissions from vehicles, agriculture and industry. And smog is making us sick.

Skip next section Reports & Analysis

Reports & Analysis

Eco Africa Sendung 11.11.2022

Air pollution and a call to end dirty electricity production

Air pollution and a call to end dirty electricity production

South African township residents are fighting back against toxic air pollution from aging coal-fired power plants.
Nature and EnvironmentJanuary 27, 202307:23 min
Electric tractor on a road near a field

Electric tractor to revolutionize agriculture

Electric tractor to revolutionize agriculture

Volkswagen Germany has teamed up with a Rwandan university to produce an e-tractor to cut air pollution.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 2, 202205:01 min
A cruise ship by operator TUI sails on the water

Can cruise ships be environmentally friendly?

Can cruise ships be environmentally friendly?

Environmentalists accuse the industry of not doing enough to combat climate change. Can cruise ships find a solution?
Nature and EnvironmentNovember 28, 2022
Students on their way to school on a cold and smoggy winter morning

India: What's being done to clean up Delhi's toxic air?

India: What's being done to clean up Delhi's toxic air?

The winter air quality in New Delhi and other Indian cities dips to hazardous levels every year.
Nature and EnvironmentNovember 24, 2022
People walk along a road near New Delhi's India Gate, which is obscured by smog.

Smog forces school closures in New Delhi

Smog forces school closures in New Delhi

Hazardous levels of smog have prompted school closures and calls to work from home or carpool.
HealthNovember 5, 202201:39 min
Factories pumping exhaust into the air

EU set to tighten rules on deadly air pollution

EU set to tighten rules on deadly air pollution

The EU hopes for zero harmful pollution in its air, water and soil by 2050. It's going to be a rocky road to get there.
PoliticsOctober 26, 2022
Skip next section In the spotlight

In the spotlight

People walk under an orange sky in the city of Kemerovo, Russia, next to the silhouette of a cross, as smog hangs over the city in the background and factories with smokestacks are seen in the distance

Fossil fuel ban would save lives, say global health groups

Air pollution linked to carbon emissions causes millions of deaths every year — and almost no one is spared.
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 14, 2022
Women sorting plastic bottles

How we can overcome the growing plastic crisis

The plastic emergency is worsening. What can we do about it?
Nature and EnvironmentJune 3, 2022
A man walks along a road on a smoggy morning in New Delhi, India

India struggles to move on from coal

Choked in toxic smog, New Delhi has partly shut down. But replacing coal will be difficult for India's booming economy.
Nature and EnvironmentNovember 16, 2021