Climate Change May Boost Contact With Pollutants

FRIDAY, Dec. 26 (HealthDay News) — Global climate change may lead to a rise in health problems due to increased exposure to harmful air pollutants, suggest researchers who reviewed studies projecting the impact of climate change on air quality.

The review authors also concluded that reducing greenhouse gas emissions could help reduce the harmful effects of climate change.

The review looked at how climate change will affect ground-level ozone, a known pulmonary irritant that affects the respiratory mucous membranes, other lung tissues, and respiratory function. Exposure to elevated levels of ozone is associated with increased hospital admissions for asthma, allergic rhinitis, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and other respiratory diseases.

“Projections suggest that climate change will increase concentrations of tropospheric ozone, at least in high-income countries, when precursor emissions are held constant, which would increase morbidity and mortality,” wrote review authors Kristie L. Ebi and Glenn McGregor. “The potential impact of climate change on ozone concentrations have not been projected for low-income countries, many of which currently have significantly higher ozone exposures.”

Washington Post