Washington records world’s worst air quality for a city after over 850,000 Fourth of July fireworks

AI Summary

Washington DC experienced the world's worst air quality for a city following Independence Day fireworks, with particulate matter levels soaring to 6.7 times above normal. The event coincided with regulatory rollbacks on pollution by the Trump administration.

Hourly concentrations of particulate matter rose to 6.7 times their pre-fireworks levels, according to an analysis Washington DC residents breathed in “unhealthy” air for hours after a 40-minute Independence Day fireworks show over the National Mall on Saturday night, with the country’s capital briefly recording the worst air quality of any major city in the world. The highly emitting display, which the president called “spectacular”, came as the Trump administration rolls back an unprecedented number of pollution controls. Continue reading...