| | The Potential Impacts of Climate Variability and Change on Air |
| | 0,48 | | MB | Pollution-Related Health Effects in the United States |
| | 11 | | stron |
| | 2473 | | ID | UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY |
| | 2001 | | rok |
| | Climate change may affect exposures to air pollutants by affecting weather, anthropogenic |
| | emissions, and biogenic emissions and by changing the distribution and types of airborne allergens. |
| | |
| | Local temperature, precipitation, clouds, atmospheric water vapor, wind speed, and wind direction |
| | influence atmospheric chemical processes, and interactions occur between local and global-scale |
| | environments. If the climate becomes warmer and more variable, air quality is likely to be affected. |
| | |
| | However, the specific types of change (i.e., local, regional, or global), the direction of change in a |
| | particular location (i.e., positive or negative), and the magnitude of change in air quality that may |
| | be attributable to climate change are a matter of speculation, based on extrapolating present |
| | understanding to future scenarios. There is already extensive evidence on the health effects of air |
| | pollution. Ground-level ozone can exacerbate chronic respiratory diseases and cause short-term |
| | reductions in lung function. Exposure to particulate matter can aggravate chronic respiratory and |
| | cardiovascular diseases, alter host defenses, damage lung tissue, lead to premature death, and |
| | possibly contribute to cancer. Health effects of exposures to carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and |
| | nitrogen dioxide can include reduced work capacity, aggravation of existing cardiovascular |
| | diseases, effects on pulmonary function, respiratory illnesses, lung irritation, and alterations in the |
| | lung’s defense systems. Adaptations to climate change should include ensuring responsiveness of |
| | air quality protection programs to changing pollution levels. Research needs include basic |
| | atmospheric science work on the association between weather and air pollutants; improving air |
| | pollution models and their linkage with climate change scenarios; and closing gaps in the |
| | understanding of exposure patterns and health effects. Key words: air pollution, climate change, |
| | criteria air pollutants, global warming, ozone, particulate matter. — Environ Health Perspect |
| | 109(suppl 2):199–209 (2001). |