U.S. embassies end air pollution monitoring that spurred China and others to action

U.S. embassies and consulates have stopped monitoring air quality abroad, ending a program that had provided essential public health data for more than a decade.

HONG KONG — U.S. embassies and consulates have stopped monitoring air quality abroad, ending a program that had provided essential public health data for more than a decade.

The State Department said its collection of air pollution data at more than 60 U.S. embassies and consulates around the world had been suspended as of Tuesday due to “budget constraints.”

“The current budget climate requires us to make difficult cuts,” a spokesperson said. “Unfortunately, we cannot continue to publish this data.”

The announcement follows the Trump administration’s mass layoffs of federal workers offering environment-related services last week.

The air quality data had been published on AirNow, a website run by the Environmental Protection Agency, and ZephAir, a mobile app managed by the State Department.