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Climate Change May Increase Human Health Problems
Global warming could lead to a rise in human health problems due to exposure to
harmful air pollutants, according
to researchers in a study published in the journal Environmental Health
Perspectives.
The reviewers looked at how a changing climate changes
ground-level ozone, a known lung irritant that affects tissues and respiratory
function.
According to the
study, exposure to elevated levels of ozone is associated with increased
hospital admissions for a range of respiratory issues including asthma,
pneumonia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
"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," review authors Kristie L. Ebi and Glenn McGregor
wrote.
"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.”
"As we reduce vehicle-based emissions of pollutants, urban
concentrations of ozone will also be reduced, thereby positively protecting the
health of humans for generations to come,” said the journal’s editor-in-chief
Hugh A. Tilson.
The World Health
Organization also asserts that climate and weather have powerful direct and
indirect impacts on human life.
Written by NWF Staff
