Cleaner air

RECENT research findings have come as a breath of fresh air. A study based on data from 27 monitoring stations all over the world reveals that the carbon monoxide levels in the atmosphere have taken a nosedive and the atmosphere is getting cleaner for the first time in 3 decades (New Scientist, Vol 142, No 1922).

Paul Novelli and his colleagues at the University of Colorado who conducted the study say that besides carbon monoxide (which fell from 6 to 7 per cent each year between 1991 to 1994), levels of methane and nitrous oxides have also registered lows. Novelli and his colleagues, however, have been unable to pinpoint the cause.