Pollution

Environmental exposures, from air and ocean pollution to climate change and urbanization, have profound and far-reaching effects on human health and well-being. This hub brings together authoritative, evidence-based articles that examine the health risks associated with pollution, microplastics, toxicants, and environmental changes, alongside practical strategies for risk reduction and public health protection. Explore how environmental hazards influence conditions such as asthma, neurological health, pregnancy outcomes, and skin health, and discover the vital connections between planetary health and individual well-being. These resources support informed decision-making for clinicians, policymakers, and the public alike.

Bacterial Risks at Beaches and Evidence-Based Safety Strategies

Beaches face escalating risks from microbial contamination due to climate change and human activity, increasing the burden of waterborne illnesses for swimmers. Integrating advanced monitoring technologies, improved public education, and policy reforms is essential for protecting beachgoers’ health.

Pollution and Mental Health

Air Pollution and Eye Health

Pollution and Alzheimer's

How Composting Protects Public Health and Our Planet

Ocean Pollution and Human Health

Urbanization and Human Health

Anti-Pollution Skincare: Protecting Skin in Urban Environments

How has COVID-19 Influenced Pollution?

How Air Pollution Impacts Brain Health

What are the Health Effects of Exhaust Emissions?

Health Effects of Artificial Light

See more featured articles »

Can Weather or Air Pollution Trigger Migraine?

What Impact does Climate Change have on Our Health?

Autism and Particulate Air Matter

The Role of Toxicology in Wildlife Conservation

5 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Microplastic Intake

How Does the Health of Our Planet Affect Our Own Health?

Healthcare During The Climate Crisis

What is Planetary Health?

AAM - Air pollution and Alzheimer's

Pollution and Mental Health

Environmental Health Hazards: An Overview

The Effect of Climate Change on Asthma

What are the Health Effects of Exhaust Emissions?

Environmental Hazards in Pregnancy

Air Pollution and Lung Health

How PFAS Are Impacting Human Health

How do Microplastics Affect Our Health?

Latest Pollution News and Research

Wearable devices track real-time health effects of pollution and heat

As climate change drives more frequent extreme heat and worsening air pollution, researchers are seeking better ways to understand how these exposures affect health in real time.

8 May 2026

Methylmercury may harm metabolism beyond its known neurological effects

Methylmercury can accumulate in water environments and enter the food chain. Human exposure is of particular concern in communities affected by contaminated rivers, industrial pollution, artisanal gold mining and environmental disasters.

7 May 2026

Airborne microbial pollutants may pose hidden respiratory health risks

Public concern about air pollution has traditionally centred on chemical pollutants such as vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions found in fine particulate matter (PM2.5).

7 May 2026

Climate change increases stroke risk through extreme weather and pollution

The World Stroke Organization is warning that climate change poses an escalating threat to brain health, with extreme heat in particular increasing the risk of having a stroke and of patients dying from stroke.

30 Apr 2026

AHA calls for lifelong brain health strategy to prevent cognitive decline

The AHA scientific statement calls for a life-course approach to brain health that integrates cognitive, emotional, behavioral, vascular, environmental, inflammatory, sleep, microbiome, and social factors. It highlights how early-life exposures, mental health, pollution, chronic inflammation, poor sleep, gut dysbiosis, and socioeconomic adversity may shape brain resilience and later-life cognitive decline.

29 Apr 2026

Rising bowel and ovarian cancer rates in younger adults raise new concerns

Cases of several cancers are rising in England among both younger and older adults, but rates of bowel and ovarian cancer are rising only among younger adults (under 50s), finds research published in the open access journal BMJ Oncology.

28 Apr 2026

Prenatal air pollution exposure linked to delayed toddler development

Babies exposed to high amounts of air pollution in the womb show slower signs of development at 18 months than those exposed to lower levels.

28 Apr 2026

New scientific statement defines brain health across life

Brain health isn't determined only by genetics or what happens later in life. A growing body of research shows that a range of factors-from mental health and sleep to environment, lifestyle and social conditions-play a powerful role in shaping how the brain functions and ages.

28 Apr 2026

Soy-based nutrients may help reduce COPD symptom burden

Higher isoflavone consumption is associated with improved respiratory health in former smokers with COPD, highlighting diet's role in disease management.

28 Apr 2026

Scientists seek to reverse neurodegeneration by eliminating harmful RNA pollution

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, the Salk Institute and Sanford Burnham Prebys have received a four-year, $13 million award from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to investigate how to reverse age-related neurodegeneration by eliminating what the researchers call "RNA pollution" in aging neurons.

27 Apr 2026

Scientists identify STING switch driving inflammation in Alzheimer’s disease

The brain has its own immune system, which detects threats and mounts a defense. A growing body of evidence has shown that in Alzheimer's disease, those immune cells are chronically overactivated, causing inflammation that damages the connections between brain cells.

24 Apr 2026

Heatwaves and coldwaves linked to increase in major cardiovascular events

Heatwaves and coldwaves are associated with increases in major cardiovascular events that are exacerbated by air pollution.

24 Apr 2026

WHO reports measurable health gains but warns of unmet goals

The World Health Organization (WHO) today released its Results Report, highlighting measurable improvements in people's health worldwide in 2025, despite funding cuts affecting both the organization and the broader global health sector.

24 Apr 2026

Air quality in infancy may fundamentally shape long-term immune development

Ambient air pollution is associated with respiratory infection burden in the first year of life, according to preliminary findings from the Immune Development in Early Life (IDEaL) Rome Cohort. Findings from the cohort will be presented during the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) 2026 Meeting, taking place April 24-27 in Boston.

24 Apr 2026

Microplastics in the liver may drive global liver disease rates

There is considerable evidence that microplastics and nanoplastics are present in the livers of humans, and wild animal populations on land and in the ocean.

23 Apr 2026

Study links common herbicide to rising early-onset colorectal cancer risk

Researchers used DNA methylation-based “epigenetic fingerprints” as proxies for lifelong exposome-related patterns and found that early-onset colorectal cancer was associated with lower Mediterranean diet adherence, lower education, smoking-related signatures, and higher picloram-related exposure signals. They then supported the picloram association in nine independent cohorts and with 21 years of US county-level pesticide-use data, while noting that the findings show association rather than proof of causation.

22 Apr 2026

Chronic wildfire smoke exposure may raise long-term cancer risks

Exposure to wildfire smoke was associated with a significantly increased risk of lung, colorectal, breast, bladder, and blood cancer, according to results from a study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2026, held April 17-22.

21 Apr 2026

Long-term exposure to air pollution (PM2.5) raises risk of developing cancer by 11 % and of dying from cancer by 12 %

The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), with support from the Clean Air Fund, has released a global report, Clean air in cancer control: An overview of the evidence, presenting data on the scale of cancer risk and mortality from polluted air.

21 Apr 2026

Climate change could make humidity-driven heat risks more dangerous, study finds

Researchers analyzing 2.46 million ambulance dispatches across 13 Chinese cities found that humidity can intensify the health risks linked to both hot and cold temperatures, with cold-dry and warm-wet conditions posing the greatest risks. Future climate projections suggest compound temperature-humidity events will become more frequent and increasingly shift health burdens toward heat-related events in China.

19 Apr 2026

Short-term and cumulative exposure to air pollution tied to increased migraine activity

Air pollution is associated with increased migraine activity, according to a study published on April 15, 2026, in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

17 Apr 2026