Inseparable Link between Air pollution and Climate Change*

Air Pollution- the leading environmental risk factor for mortality, 7 million premature deaths and as many as 23 million emergency room visits in 2015. It is a silent killer and expected to get worse. It is given very little attention by policy makers because the death due to Air pollution is not as dramatic and media attention grabbing as fthose directly linked to climate.

 

Often called short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), particulate matter tropospheric ozone and methane contribute to both the warming of the climate as well as air pollution.  Air pollution can significantly affect the water cycle. By reducing solar radiation reaching the earth particulate matter can affects the rate at which water evaporates and moves into the atmosphere. and affect clouds' formation.

 

Climate change induced hotter summers come with an increase in stagnation events stationary domes of hot air that can cause air pollutants to get trapped and persist in the lower atmosphere.  Climate warming, causes the Earth to experiences more extreme weather, such as heat waves and drought, which can negatively impact air quality as an increase in ground ozone levels. Although they may seem to be two very different issues by reducing air pollution we also protect the climate.

 

While air pollution is a universal problem and impacts everyone, the main victims are low-income communities, communities of color and people in low- and middle-income countries. Our work is focused on laboratory measurement of optical and chemical properties of biomass burning emissions from biomass fuels from Africa to understand their impact on climate and health. The populations in African megacities are growing at the fastest rates of all global regions. Africa is projected to have the fastest urban growth rate in the world: by 2050, Africa's cities will be home to an additional 950 million people, and the continent's population is anticipated to be primarily urban by 2035. The acute levels of indoor and outdoor air pollution in Africa have already become the most significant environmental contributor to premature death, outpacing both malaria and HIV with 1.1 million premature deaths in 2019.

 

The link between air quality and climate change will be discussed and some results of laboratory studies will be presented.