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The Bootleg Fire rages across central Oregon state, in Klamath County, Oregon, in this July 13, 2021 picture obtained from social media.
Oregon State Fire Marshal | via Reuters

Air quality in the United States and Europe improved over the last decade thanks to stricter environmental regulations, but intensifying wildfires raise new air pollution concerns.

The National Interagency Fire Center reported that, as of August 8, there were 107 large active fires that had burned more than 2.2 million acres domestically across 15 states so far this year. In Europe, wildfires in Greece and Turkey are raging amid record heat waves now as well.

As a result, more people are turning to mobile apps to understand when air quality is better or worse, wherever they may be. These apps use a mix of data from government-operated satellites, or weather, fire and ambient air quality stations, as well as sensors and systems run by private sector entities. Some are even crowdsourced from relatively affordable air quality sensors sold by companies such as PurpleAir and IQAir.

Air quality apps

According to senior mobile insights analyst Jonathan Briskman of Sensor Tower, the top-rated apps for outdoor air quality monitoring in the U.S. between January 2020 and July 2021 have been: AirCare, AirVisual, and South Coast AQMD, based on ratings from the App Store, and Google Play.

The AirCare app shows air pollution, active fires, wind conditions and pollen levels on a map.
CNBC

Here’s what those three apps do:

  • AirCare, made by developers in Northern Macedonia, is available for iOS and Android mobile devices, including iPhones, iPads, Apple Watch and Huawei smartphones, among many others. Tiers include a free, ad-supported version, a 99 cents ad-free version, and at the premium level, a $14.99 annual subscription for a pro-version. The app includes kid-friendly air pollution information, charts and maps that show pollutant levels derived from government-run sensors and stations, alongside volunteers’ PurpleAir and other sensors throughout the U.S., Europe and Australia. In some major metro areas, the app also tracks ultra-violet and pollen levels.
  • AirVisual, made by the Swiss air quality company IQAir, tracks air pollution in more than 10,000 cities and 80 countries drawing on data from tens of thousands of sensors, some positioned at U.S. embassies overseas. The company’s free mobile apps are also ad-free and available for iOS and Android devices. Besides real-time maps that show levels of six different types of major pollutants, IQAir’s AirVisual and mobile website provide seven-day air pollution and weather forecasts, along with air pollution-related news and health information. The apps can pair with the company’s own sensors, including the portable AirVisual Pro sold for around $269.
  • South Coast AQMD, is a free and ad-free app run by the local air pollution agency in Southern California of the same name and tracks air pollution across Orange County, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino, specifically. It features real-time and forecasted air quality and weather conditions, and maps that show where drivers can charge their electric vehicles or find other non-traditional fueling stations. It also includes information about upcoming local events and political hearings related to air quality issues to encourage community participation. The app is available in both English and Spanish for Apple and Android devices.
The South Coast AQMD app shows air pollution levels in Greater Los Angeles.
CNBC

The five most popular air quality apps in the U.S., based on installs since the start of 2020, according to Sensor Tower included two of those top-rated apps, AirVisual (from IQ Air) and Air Care, as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s app AirNow, an app from venture-backed startup Breezometer that shows air quality, pollen and active fire data, and an app called Oregon Air developed for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

Use of these apps, and new installs are often driven by regional events. As of August 8, 2021 there were 16 large active fires searing through Oregon according to the NIFC.

How air pollution impacts health

Air quality monitoring and measurement are critical for public health, says Yanelli Nunez, a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

She notes that robust studies have shown that air pollution contributes to lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections, and even impacts mortality, pregnancy outcomes and cardiovascular disease.

Nunez works in an environmental health sciences laboratory with Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou. Their research has also found long-term exposure to air pollution can affect the nervous system and may influence functions such as memory or cognitive capabilities.

The scientists wrote in an e-mail to CNBC: “Americans living in poor air quality areas tend to be people of color or low-income communities. We are finally starting to pay more attention to these issues, which hopefully will lead to change. The air pollution composition is also changing.”

In one example, greenhouse gas emissions from transportation declined in New York City from 2014 to 2017, while commercial cooking emissions rose.

With increased wildfires, the scientists wrote, “The sources and composition of the air pollution mixture that we are experiencing could differently impact our health, so we need to better understand source-specific effects, especially for these newly prominent sources.”

Indoor air matters, too

While outdoor air quality is important, society doesn’t talk or do enough about indoor air quality, said Richard Corsi, UC Davis’ incoming dean of the college of engineering, currently a professor and dean at Portland State University.

Using pre-pandemic numbers, Corsi explained that the average American would spend almost 70 out of 79 years of their life domiciled inside of buildings. “Because we spend so much time indoors, even our exposure to pollutants of outdoor origin is dominated by what we breathe there, especially in our homes,” he said.

Pollutants of outdoor origin which come from the likes of internal combustion engine vehicles, photochemical smog, refineries and wildfires can get into homes and buildings when doors and windows are opened, when heat and air conditioning systems are used, or through other cracks in the building envelope.

Consumer apps and devices today don’t give users an absolute, precise measurement down to micrograms per cubic meter of a given pollutant, Corsi noted. But they’re very valuable for spotting trends and relative changes in air quality.

Sensors set up indoors can work well to check whether protective measures are working to improve the air inside of a house, school or other building.

Especially during wildfire season, Corsi said, some other simple actions that can protect or improve air quality indoors include: wet-mopping floors and wiping surfaces so pollutants don’t accumulate, using HEPA or high-efficiency particulate air filters, and increasing the MERV or minimum efficiency reporting value of filters in central air systems in a house.

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Apple leads a drop in tech stocks after Trump tariff announcement

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 Apple leads a drop in tech stocks after Trump tariff announcement

Apple CEO Tim Cook, center, watches during the inauguration ceremonies for President Donald Trump, right, and Vice President JD Vance, left, in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025.

Shawn Thew | Afp | Getty Images

Apple slid more than 6% in late trading Wednesday and led a broader decline in tech stocks after President Donald Trump announced new tariffs of between 10% and 49% on imported goods.

The majority of Apple’s revenue comes from devices manufactured primarily in China and a handful of other Asian countries. Nvidia, which manufactures new chips in Taiwan and assembles its artificial intelligence systems in Mexico and elsewhere, fell about 4%, while electric vehicle company Tesla dropped 4.5%.

Across the rest of the megacap universe, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta all dropped between 2.5% and 5%, and Microsoft was down by almost 2%.

If Apple’s postmarket loss is matched in regular trading Thursday, it would be the steepest decline for the stock since September 2020.

Trump on Wednesday afternoon said the new taxes on imported goods would be a “declaration of economic independence” for the country. He announced a 10% blanket tariff on all imports, and higher duties for specific countries, including 34% for China, 20% for European nations, and 24% for Japanese imports, based on what tariffs they charge on U.S. exports, Trump said.

“We will supercharge our domestic industrial base, we will pry open foreign markets and break down foreign trade barriers,” Trump said during his speech. “Ultimately, more production at home will mean stronger competition and lower prices for consumers.”

Stocks broadly got hit by Trump’s announcements. An exchange-traded fund tracking the S&P 500 slid 2.8%, while an ETF following the Nasdaq 100 lost more than 3%.

During his speech, Trump praised Apple, Meta, and Nvidia for spending money and investing in the United States.

“Apple is going to spend $500 billion, they never spent money like that here,” Trump said. “They’re going to build their plants here.”

The Nasdaq just wrapped up its worst quarter since 2022, dropping 10% in the first three months of the year, though the tech-heavy index rose in each of the first two days of the second quarter.

WATCH: President Trump signs executive orders for reciprocal tariffs

Pres. Trump signs executive orders for reciprocal tariffs

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Amazon submits bid for TikTok as ban deadline nears

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Amazon submits bid for TikTok as ban deadline nears

Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk attend the Inauguration of Donald J. Trump in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. 

Julia Demaree Nikhinson | Getty Images

Amazon submitted a bid to the White House to purchase the social media app TikTok from its Chinese owners, CNBC has confirmed.

The company sent its proposal in a letter this week to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to a source familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the discussions are confidential. The parties aren’t treating the bid seriously, however, given that it was submitted just days before a deadline staving off a U.S. ban is set to expire, the person said.

Amazon declined to comment.

The e-commerce company’s offer, which was first reported by The New York Times, comes as TikTok’s fate in the U.S. is up in the air. The short-form video app faces another potential shutdown in the U.S. on April 5 if ByteDance, its parent company, can’t reach a deal to divest TikTok’s American operations. Lawmakers passed a bill last year setting a Jan. 19 deadline for the sale, but Trump signed an executive order granting a 75-day extension for a potential deal.

Trump could announce a decision on TikTok’s fate in the U.S. as soon as Wednesday, sources familiar with the situation told CNBC’s David Faber. Mobile technology company AppLovin has also made a bid for TikTok, Faber reported separately, citing sources familiar with the matter.

TikTok has emerged as a major hub for e-commerce as it has poured money into growing its online marketplace, called TikTok Shop. TikTok’s lucrative marketplace, coupled with the app’s more than 170 million users, could be an attractive asset for Amazon. Following TikTok’s success, Amazon launched and then shuttered a short-form video service of its own.

Last August, the two companies formed a partnership that allowed TikTok users to link their account with Amazon and make purchases from the site without leaving the app. The deal attracted scrutiny from lawmakers who were concerned about its potential national security risks.

WATCH: How TikTok Shop is beating Amazon and Temu in social shopping

How TikTok Shop Became The Fastest Growing Social Media Shopping Platform

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Tesla shares rise on report Elon Musk could be leaving DOGE post soon

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Tesla shares rise on report Elon Musk could be leaving DOGE post soon

White House Senior Advisor Elon Musk walks to the White House after landing in Marine One on the South Lawn with U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured) on March 9, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump was returning to the White House after spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida. 

Samuel Corum | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Tesla shares rose Wednesday after Politico reported that Elon Musk could leave his post at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, paving the way for the CEO to return his focus on the struggling EV maker.

The White House later called the report “garbage.”

The stock was last up about 5%. At its session lows, it had dropped as much as 6.4% on the back of weaker-than-expected vehicle deliveries for the first quarter.

The report — which cites Trump insiders — noted that, while President Donald Trump is pleased with Musk and the DOGE spending cuts that have been pushed through, the two decided in recent days that the billionaire would soon return to his businesses. NBC News is reporting that Trump told the cabinet Musk could leave in the coming months.

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TSLA recovers

Wednesday’s report comes during a tough stretch for Tesla. Despite Wednesday’s gains, the stock has dropped more than 5% over the past month. Year to date, it has tumbled more than 31%. Shares also shed 36% in the first quarter, marking their biggest quarterly drop since 2022.

Musk’s role in the White House is one factor weighing on Tesla’s stock. It has sparked waves of protests, boycotts and violent attacks on Tesla stores and vehicles around the world. Trump’s automotive tariffs are also a concern as they involve Tesla’s key suppliers — notably in Mexico and China.

“My Tesla stock and the stock of everyone who holds Tesla has gone, went roughly in half,” Musk said on Sunday night at a rally he held in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to promote a Republican judge he backed in Tuesday’s state supreme court election, Brad Schimel. “This is a very expensive job is what I’m saying.”

In addition to holding the rally in Wisconsin, Musk spent millions and frequently posted about the race on his social network X. Judge Susan Crawford, who won the seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, was backed by Democrats and progressive groups who criticized Musk, his money and influence on the race as well as his DOGE work in their campaigns.

Separately, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander urged the city to sue Tesla on behalf of NYC pension funds citing Musk’s work for the White House.

In a Tuesday statement, Lander’s office said: “The basis of the potential litigation are the material misstatements from Tesla claiming that CEO Elon Musk spends significant time on the company and is highly active in its management, despite his helming the Trump Administration’s DOGE initiative, spending little of his time actually managing Tesla, and promoting policies that are actively harmful to Tesla’s business.”

CNBC reached out to the White House for comment.

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