NEW DELHI (AP) — The U.S. government will stop sharing air quality data gathered from its embassies and consulates, worrying local scientists and experts who say the effort was vital to monitor global air quality and improve public health.
In response to an inquiry from The Associated Press, the State Department said Wednesday that its air quality monitoring program would no longer transmit air pollution data from embassies and consulates to the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow app and other platforms, which allowed locals in various countries, along with scientists around the globe, to see and analyze air quality in cities around the world.
The stop in sharing data was “due to funding constraints that have caused the Department to turn off the underlying network” read the statement, which added that embassies and consulates were directed to keep their monitors running and the sharing of data could resume in the future if funded was restored. The fiscal cut, first reported by the New York Times, is one of many under President Donald Trump, whose administration has been deprioritizing environmental and climate initiatives.
The U.S. air quality monitors measured dangerous fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, which can penetrate deep into the lungs and lead to respiratory diseases, heart conditions, and premature death. The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution kills around 7 million people each year.
News of the data sharing being cut prompted immediate reaction from scientists who said the data were reliable, allowed for air quality monitoring around the world and helped prompt governments to clean up the air.
“A big blow” to global air quality research
Cars drive along a highway shot through a glass window during a dust storm amid heavy pollution in Beijing, March 10, 2023. Almost the entire world breathes air that exceeds the World Health Organization’s air-quality limits at least occasionally. (AP Photo/Borg Wong, File)
Cars drive along a highway shot through a glass window during a dust storm amid heavy pollution in Beijing, March 10, 2023. Almost the entire world breathes air that exceeds the World Health Organization’s air-quality limits at least occasionally. (AP Photo/Borg Wong, File)
Bhargav Krishna, an air pollution expert at New Delhi-based Sustainable Futures Collaborative, called the loss of data “a big blow” to air quality research.
“They were part of a handful of sensors in many developing countries and served as a reference for understanding what air quality was like,” Krishna said. “They were also seen to be a well-calibrated and unbiased source of data to cross-check local data if there were concerns about quality.”
“It’s a real shame”, said Alejandro Piracoca Mayorga, a Bogota, Colombia-based freelance air quality consultant. U.S. embassies and consulates in Lima, Peru, Sao Paulo and Bogota have had the public air monitoring. “It was a source of access to air quality information independent of local monitoring networks. They provided another source of information for comparison.”
Khalid Khan, an environmental expert and
21 Comments
rqtwteye
This is just nuts. Stuff like this is what made the US a leader. I bet next is to turn off GPS outside the US because no money. That's how you lose world leadership.
adamiscool8
>The stop in sharing data was “due to funding constraints that have caused the Department to turn off the underlying network” read the statement, which added that embassies and consulates were directed to keep their monitors running and the sharing of data could resume in the future if funded was restored.
Hmm…
>The Washington Monument syndrome,[0] also known as the Mount Rushmore syndrome or the firemen first principle, is a term used to describe the phenomenon of government agencies in the United States cutting the most visible or appreciated service provided by the government when faced with budget cuts. It has been used in reference to cuts in popular services such as national parks and libraries or to valued public employees such as teachers and firefighters, with the Washington Monument and Mount Rushmore being two of the most visible landmarks maintained by the National Park Service. This is done to put pressure on the public and lawmakers to rescind budget cuts.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument_syndrome
msie
The GOP are so petty.
DidYaWipe
What could this have possibly cost? $10 a day worldwide? Pathetic.
defrost
Highlighted in earlier reports and included in this APNews brief:
( earlier: https://phys.org/news/2025-03-embassies-pollution-popular-ch… + https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43265021 )
This is a low cost to gather and deliver data stream that has a profound effect on global air quality and improving health and well being for all.
asix66
https://map.purpleair.com/
ta988
They really found the most efficient way to reduce every dependency the rest of the world had on the US. When the US will finally wake up, there will be nothing left but countries ready to sell their better technology to the US and maybe not even sell it in dollars.
iamshs
Indian Government would be so relieved. US Embassy data was the most reliable one cited to highlight the pollution crises in Delhi, the nation's capital. Otherwise for their own sensors, they sometimes just sprayed them with artificial water showers to change climate around the sensors.
owenpalmer
> The stop in sharing data was “due to funding constraints that have caused the Department to turn off the underlying network”
What is the actual recurring cost of broadcasting this data? The sensor and network infrastructure are presumably already established.
bvan
Absolutely tragic. Trump is literally dragging the country back into the proverbial cave or dark ages. Just take NOAA for example: gutting this agency has widespread 2nd and 3rd order consequences the Trump administration is either clueless or willfully ignorant about. This administration is screwing over generations to come.
Aeolun
In light of all recent news, this seems stupid, but almost banal in comparison to everything else.
BurningFrog
[flagged]
refurb
If I open IQAir, I see dozens of monitoring stations in every country. Even in Myanmar, which is a developing country in the middle of a civil war there are 7 monitoring stations in Yangon.
Considering the US typically has only a handful of embassies and consultants in countries, and they are located in major cities, it comes across as a hyperbole when describing the loss of a few stations as setting back air quality monitoring globally.
declan_roberts
I think this is a good place for a public/private partnership.
The govt installs and collects the sensors around the world and makes it available to private companies who contractually provide a suitable and free API.
That sounds like a decent enough division of labor. We can even give a private company a tax credit for providing the API.
sitkack
1984 was a manual.
lunarboy
How does this reduce the fraud in the federal spending? How does this decrease inflation, and make america great again?
andreygrehov
DOGE is sharing all the data. Is there a specific line item that addresses the defunding of air quality monitoring? I couldn’t find one. If I were anti-DOGE, I could say, “Hey, people love air quality. Let’s stop sharing the air quality data and blame it on Musk! That’ll make people really angry at him.”
dyauspitr
Our president is an enemy of the state.
feverzsj
Good or bad, influence is the most powerful weapon of a superpower in peace time. Cutting it off won't save your money but instead weaken the country.
teekert
Thank you US for providing us with air quality data for all those years!
aaron695
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