Air pollution got worse after US embassies stopped tracking it

A new study shows that air quality worsened in cities where US embassies stopped sharing data on pollution levels.

For years, US embassies in foreign countries kept a close eye on the air quality. They shared data on pollution to keep Americans living abroad safe. During the Trump administration, this program was changed and eventually stopped. A new study found that air pollution actually got worse in those cities once the monitoring stopped. Researchers think this happened because local governments stopped feeling the pressure to clean up the air. When the US government tracks air quality, other countries pay more attention. The study looked at several major cities. It found that the air became dirti…