WMO: Climate change worsens air quality
According to a report by the World Weather Organization (WMO), longer and stronger heat waves and the associated forest fires like this summer are worsening air quality. Because climate change is causing more and more intense periods of heat and drought, hundreds of millions of people are likely to be affected, the WMO reported in Geneva on today’s Clean Air Day. According to the European earth observation service Copernicus, emissions from forest fires in Europe this summer were the highest since 2007.
Atmospheric conditions, solar radiation and weak winds result in high pollution levels, WMO chief Petteri Taalas said. “We saw it with the heat waves in Europe and China this year. (…) This is a foretaste of the future, as we expect a further increase in the frequency, intensity and duration of heat waves, which could lead to even worse air quality.« The WMO also warns about ozone pollution.
According to the Federal Environment Agency, high air temperatures and intense solar radiation promote the formation of ozone near the ground. In higher concentrations, ozone causes tears, respiratory problems and headaches. If the respiratory volume is increased, for example due to physical changes, it could also penetrate deep into the lung tissue, damage the tissue and cause inflammation.
According to the WMO, the development will particularly affect Asia, where around a quarter of the world’s population lives. If greenhouse gas emissions are not significantly curbed and the average global temperature rises by three degrees above pre-industrial levels, the ozone concentration in the region of Pakistan, northern India and Bangladesh is likely to rise by 20 percent and in eastern China by 10 percent, according to the WMO. A large part of this would be related to the burning of fossil fuels there, but 20 percent would also be related to the effects of climate change, which favor ozone formation at ground level.
In the Paris climate agreement, the world agreed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees if possible.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:220907-99-658642/2