Post Category Indoor Air Quality

Beyond the immediate destruction of life, structures, and landscapes, wildfires also release harmful pollutants into the air that can infiltrate indoors and persist long after the flames are extinguished. The air people breathe at home in the weeks and months following wildfires can be a serious health concern. In a new study published in ACS […]

On a single day, the opinions of our colleague Dr. Parham Azimi, Research Associate in the Healthy Buildings Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, were featured in two New York Times Real Estate articles. That dual spotlight — one article on household mold anxiety and another on the viral trend of […]

The Los Angeles wildfires of early January 2025 marked a watershed moment for America’s urban disaster preparedness. In just a few days, wind-driven fires claimed 29 lives, destroyed more than 16,000 structures, and exposed millions to toxic smoke. The lessons learned from this disaster are detailed in a Nature Cities commentary authored by Dr. Amir […]

The COVID-19 pandemic brought attention to the importance of indoor air quality and ushered in new guidance on higher ventilation rates to help with infection risk reduction. As the pandemic eased, questions emerged on the benefits of these higher outdoor air ventilation rates beyond disease transmission. To investigate this, we leveraged a unique opportunity to […]

In this TED Talk, Dr. Joseph Allen, Associate Professor and the Director of the Healthy Buildings Program at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, opens by asking the audience to take a long, slow, deep breath, and think about their “Indoor Age”. The average person spends 90% of their life inside. To find our […]

The Los Angeles (LA) wildfires in January 2025 had a profound impact on air quality throughout the region. Smoke from wildfires can penetrate into our homes even when windows and doors are closed. It poses serious health risks given the significant amount of time we spend in our homes. The Harvard Healthy Buildings team worked […]

Flood events continue to occur globally, causing severe impacts on our economy, environment, and society. Floods are well known for their devastating immediate effects, but what often goes unnoticed is the negative impact they have on indoor environments. Specifically, the growth of mold spores post-flood poses significant respiratory health challenges. There has been a lack […]

Urban wildfires, like those in the Bay Area (2020), Boulder (2021), Lahaina (2023), and L.A. (2025), bring a devastating loss of life, homes, schools, businesses, and community. Urban wildfires release a mix of pollutants that can impact lung health, brain health, heart health, and immune system health. The impacts extend far beyond the immediate fire […]

In March 2020, the Harvard Healthy Buildings Program completed data collection for the Global CogFx study, an international, one-year study of indoor environmental quality and office worker health and productivity. This week, the first of several papers analyzing data from the Global CogFx study was published.  This first paper evaluated how building operations impacted indoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations […]