Original version

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

Science in Action

Science In Action

Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

The BBC brings you all the week's science news.

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC World Service South Asia

Science In Action: Record-breaking Air Pollution in Delhi

Magazines & Reviews

Record-breaking Air Pollution in Delhi

10/11/2016 GMT

BBC World Service - Science In Action, Record-breaking Air Pollution in Delhi

Understanding the huge spike in levels of particulate matter in the air over Delhi

Understanding the huge spike in levels of particulate matter in the air over Delhi and why some seabirds sniff out ocean plastics?

Pollution - from car exhausts, crop burning, wood fires and Diwali fireworks - has reached record dangerous levels in Delhi in India this week. Scientists are attempting to discover why particulate pollution is so bad in the city and what can be done about it.

Leprosy in Red Squirrels 
Many of the endangered red squirrels in the UK have been found to be infected with, and suffering from leprosy. Genetic analysis of the bacterium has shown that the form of leprosy is the human form, which infected people in Europe in medieval times. Professor Anna Meredith at the University of Edinburgh wants to know whether other red squirrels in Eurasia also have the debilitating disease. 

Seabirds Sniff Out Plastic
Plastic pollution in the sea gives off a smell that attracts foraging birds. Floating plastic provides a substrate for algae to grow. The algae are fed on by plankton, and the process produces a chemical which attracts seabirds, who feed on the fish and other animals. The discovery could explain why seabirds that use smell to hunt for food, such as petrels and shearwaters, ingest plastic, causing injury or death.

Picture: Delhi schools close due to extreme levels of air pollution, Credit: Allison Joyce/Getty Images

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Science In Action

Record-breaking Air Pollution in Delhi

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

About BBC World Service