Lung conditions will be made worse by climate change, researchers warn

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🗞️ Driving the news: In a European Respiratory Journal editorial respiratory experts note that those with lung conditions are especially vulnerable to climate change effects and stress the need for swift action against air pollution and climate change

🔭 The context: Climatic changes, including high temperatures, altered weather patterns, pollen increases, wildfires, and pollution from vehicles running on fossil fuels, intensify existing respiratory ailments or even cause new ones

🌎 Why does it matter for the planet: Air pollution, which shares many sources with greenhouse gases, resulted in the deaths of 6.7 million globally in 2019
• The environmental and human health implications of climate change have reached an "irreversible" stage, linking both

⏭️ What's next: The European Respiratory Journal's authors are pushing for the EU to adjust its air pollution limits to align with the more stringent standards set by the World Health Organisation (WHO)

💬 One quote: “Climate change affects everyone’s health, but arguably, respiratory patients are among the most vulnerable...Their symptoms will become worse, and for some this will be fatal.” (Professor Zorana Jovanovic Andersen, University of Copenhagen)

📈 One stat: Air pollution led to 373,000 deaths reported in Europe alone

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