It's Raining Microplastics in France! %

A study in France found about 11,400 pieces of microplastic per square meters of air per month in Pyrenees, a mountain range between Spain and France. The study was carried out in a remote place roughly 75 miles away from the nearest city, Toulouse. The researchers found that 365 pieces of microplastic per square meter rained down each day.

Microplastics are tiny plastic pieces that measure less than five millimeters long and almost invisible to naked eye. Possessing an irregular shape and low density, microplastics can travel easily in the air, and researchers found that these tiny particles are wreaking havoc even in areas much further away from the shores they are known to be abundant in.

Plastic is already known to cause harm to animals, such as blocking guts of marine animals, or absorbing chemicals in animals and insects responsible for fight-or-flight responses. With an increase of microplastics in not just the water we drink, food we eat, and now even the air we breathe, scientists confirm that microplastics can adversely affect our bodies too.