The haze which annually envelops huge swathes of Southeast Asia could be worse than ever this year, according to the region's environment ministers. The problem occurs when smoke from forest fires combines with industrial pollution to create and acrid smog. As well as being an environmental issue, the smog costs the region's countries billions of dollars each year through lost working days and tourism.

Olympics - Radcliffe More Concerned About Heat Than Pollution UK: April 9, 2008 LONDON - World women's marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe has said she is more concerned about heat and humidity at the Beijing Olympics than the Chinese capital's pollution despite suffering from asthma. Ethiopian men's world record holder Haile Gebrselassie, who also has asthma, withdrew from the Beijing marathon last month because of concerns about the polluted air.

For Londoners used to paying an

UN Body To Slash Ship Fuel Pollution By 2015 UK: April 7, 2008 LONDON - The world's top maritime body agreed tough new limits on ship fuel pollutants at a week-long meeting that ended on Friday, an industry source said. The United Nations' International Maritime Organisation (IMO) measures will sharply curb harmful sulphur emissions by 2015. The ambitious targets, first reported by Reuters on Thursday, will likely cost the oil and ship industry billions of dollars to implement.

The pavements are choked with hawkers and the air is toxic

The city government has decided to launch the "CNG Bus Project' on a public-private partnership basis for the introduction of an environment-friendly public transport system. Under the project, 2,500 more CNG buses would be brought to city over the next five years. City government sources said that in the first phase, 500 CNG buses would be brought to the city roads through private sector. The city government has invited expression of interest (EoI) to be submitted by the interested parties by May 8 with the office of the Karachi Mass Transit Cell.

THE Supreme Court on Friday paved the way for bringing in CNG to Gurgaon and Faridabad. The move comes with pollution reaching alarming levels in the Capital and its surroundings. The three-member Bench led by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan ordered the Centre to ensure supply and availability of -compressed natural gas (CNG) through two private players in the two satellite towns. The interim order asked the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) to facilitate supply to pumps set up by Adani Energy Private Limited and Haryana Gas Distributors, in Gurgaon and Faridabad respectively.

This month, NASA begins the most extensive field campaign ever to investigate the chemistry of the Arctic's lower atmosphere. The mission is poised to help scientists identify how air pollution contributes to climate changes in the Arctic. The recent decline of sea ice is one indication the Arctic is undergoing significant environmental changes related to climate warming. NASA and its partners plan to investigate the atmosphere's role in this climate-sensitive region with the Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) field campaign.