Abstract 36: Mapping and Multilevel Modeling of Climate Change and Air Pollution With Risk of Stroke in the United States and China: Findings From the Drexel-SARI Low Carbon and Healthy City Study

Stroke ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Longjian Liu ◽  
Hui Liu ◽  
Xuan Yang ◽  
Feng Jia ◽  
Mingquan Wang
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Pollution Index ◽  
The United States ◽  
Potential Interaction ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Healthy City ◽  
Nationally Representative

Introduction and Hypothesis: Stroke is a leading cause of death and the major cause of disability in the world. However, few studies applied multilevel regression techniques to explore the association of stroke risk with climate change and air pollution. In the study, we aimed to test the hypothesis that the disproportionately distributed stroke rates across the counties and cities within a country are significantly associated with air pollution and temperature. Methods: We used data from U.S. 1118 counties in 49 states, which had estimated measures of particulate matter (PM)2.5 for the years 2010-2013, and data from China 120 cities in 32 provinces (including 4 municipalities), which had measures of Air Pollution Index (API) for the years 2012-2013. We assessed the association between air quality and prevalence of stroke using spatial mapping, autocorrelation and multilevel regression models. Results: Findings from the U.S. show that the highest average PM2.5 level was in July (10.2 μg/m3) and the lowest in October (7.63 μg/m3) for the years 2010-2013. Annual average PM2.5 levels were significantly different across the 1118 counties, and were significantly associated with stroke rates. Multilevel regression analysis indicated that the prevalence of stroke significantly increased by 1.19% for every 10 μg/m3 increase of PM2.5 (p<0.001). Significant variability in PM2.5 by states was observed (p=0.019). More than 70% of the variation in stroke rates existed across the counties (p=0.017) and 18.7% existed across the states (p=0.047). In China, the highest API was observed in the month of December, with a result of 75.76 in 2012 and 97.51 in 2013. The lowest API was observed in July, with a result of 51.21 in 2012, and 54.23 in 2013. Prevalence of stroke was significantly higher in cities with higher API concentrations. The associations between air quality and risk of stroke were significantly mediated by temperatures. Conclusions: The study, using nationally representative data, is one of the first studies to address a positive and complex association between air quality and prevalence of stroke, and a potential interaction effect of temperatures on the air - stroke association.

scholarly journals Climate Change and Air Pollution

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heba Akasha ◽  
Omid Ghaffarpasand ◽  
Francis Pope
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Time Inconsistency ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
The Media ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Environmental Causes ◽  
Technical Capacity

This rapid literature review explores the interactions between climate change and air pollution, with a focus on human health impacts. In particular, the report explores potential synergies in tackling climate change and air pollution together. The impacts and implications of the transition from a carbon-intensive economy upon air quality and consequently human health are examined. Discussing climate change without air pollution can lead to risks. For example, strategies that focus on electrification and transition to renewable energy achieve maximum health and air quality benefits compared to strategies that focus mainly on combustible renewable fuels (biofuel and biomass) with some electrification. Addressing climate change necessitates a shift towards a new low carbon era. This involves stringent and innovative changes in behaviour, technology, and policy. There are distinct benefits of considering climate change and air pollution together. Many of the processes that cause climate change also cause air pollution, and hence reductions in these processes will generate cleaner air and less global warming. Politically, the consideration of the two issues in tandem can be beneficial because of the time-inconsistency problems of climate change. Air pollution improvements can offer politicians victories, on a useful timescale, to help in their aims of reversing climate change. By coupling air pollution and air pollution agendas together, it will increase the media and political attention both environmental causes receive. Policies should involve the integration of climate change, air quality, and health benefits to create win-win situations. The success of the strategies requires financial and technical capacity building, commitment, transparency, and multidisciplinary collaboration, including governance stakeholders at multiple levels, in both a top-down and bottom-up manner.

scholarly journals ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND AIR POLLUTION IN CHINA THROUGH HEALTH AND LABOR SUPPLY PERSPECTIVE: AN INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT MODEL ANALYSIS

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (03) ◽  
pp. 2041001
Author(s):  
CAN WANG ◽  
HAI HUANG ◽  
WENJIA CAI ◽  
MENGZHEN ZHAO ◽  
JIN LI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Labor Supply ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Integrated Assessment ◽  
Integrated Assessment Model ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Study Results

An energy supply dominated by the use of fossil fuels causes both climate change and air pollution, which have negative impacts on human capital via both health and productivity. In addition, different people are affected differently because of factors such as age, gender and education level. To enhance the understanding of the benefits of low carbon transition from the labor supply perspective and help to identify strategies of collaborative control for CO2 and local air pollutants in China, an integrated assessment model linking the air quality module and the health impact module with a disaggregated labor sector computable general equilibrium (CGE) economic system is developed and applied in this study. Results show some key findings. First, renewable energy development and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies will contribute significantly to GDP in terms of their impact on air quality improvement by 0.99% and 0.54%, respectively, in 2050. Second, due to differences in labor composition, air pollution has, and will continue to have, the greatest impact on sectors with a higher proportion of male and lower-educated workers — such as the coal sector, and it will have the least impact on sectors with a higher proportion of female and higher-educated workers — such as the public administration sector. Third, the different impacts of sector output will increase economic inequality. Highlights • The economic impact of climate change and air pollution is assessed. • A CGE model with disaggregated labor sectors is developed. • The secondary industry is most affected by pollution from a health perspective. • Low-income groups suffer the largest loss of income due to pollution. • A low carbon policy will improve air quality and economic equity.

scholarly journals Air Pollution Increases Influenza Hospitalizations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregor Singer ◽  
Joshua Graff Zivin ◽  
Matthew Neidell ◽  
Nicholas Sanders
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Seasonal Influenza ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Inpatient Hospitalization ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Health Burden ◽  
Severe Influenza

AbstractSeasonal influenza is a recurring health burden shared widely across the globe. We study whether air quality affects the occurrence of severe influenza cases that require inpatient hospitalization. Using longitudinal information on local air quality and hospital admissions across the United States, we find that poor air quality increases the incidence of significant influenza hospital admissions. Effects diminish in years with greater influenza vaccine effectiveness. Apart from increasing vaccination rates, improving air quality may help reduce the spread and severity of influenza.

Air Pollution, Air Quality, and Climate Change

Heat Advisory ◽  
2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan H. Lockwood
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Carbon Monoxide ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Ozone Production ◽  
Atmospheric Water ◽  
Particulate Pollution ◽  
Volatile Organic

The effects of climate change on air quality are difficult to model due to the large number of unpredictable variables. Hotter temperatures favor ozone production. Higher atmospheric water content may blunt this effect in some regions. Higher levels of natural volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as terpenes from plants, are likely to act synergistically with anthropogenic VOCs to favor ozone production. Droughts increase wildfire risks that produce particulate pollution and carbon monoxide, a VOC involved in ozone production. Some models predict increased ozone concentrations in many urban settings. Future revisions of National Ambient Air Quality Standards, a process driven by politics and science, should consider these effects.

Environment Air Pollution Analysis of XiaoYang Barbecue Bar in Xi’an

2012 ◽  
Vol 599 ◽  
pp. 367-371
Author(s):  
Hua Guo ◽  
Chao Liu ◽  
Xi Ping Zhao ◽  
Yin Shan Wu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Daily Variation ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Standard ◽  
Variation Characteristics ◽  
The Common ◽  
Pm2.5 Concentration

The concentration of CO2 and PM2.5 were monitored at XiaoYang barbecue bar of Jianshe west road in Xi’an. Then we analyze the daily variation characteristics of CO2 and PM2.5 concentration between peak hours of dining and the common hours. Using GBT18883-2002 and the United States national air quality, Air quality at XiaoYang barbecue bar is evaluated by the data from the monitoring, which shows that the air quality of some barbecue bar in Xi’an is not in accord with the national standard. Air pollution is serious. so much more attention should be paid.

scholarly journals Projections of mid-century summer air-quality for North America: effects of changes in climate and precursor emissions

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 5367-5390 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Kelly ◽  
P. A. Makar ◽  
D. A. Plummer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
North American ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Climate Simulation ◽  
Ammonia Emissions

Abstract. Ten year simulations of North American current and future air-quality were carried out using a regional air-quality model driven by a regional climate model, in turn driven by a general circulation model. Three separate summer scenarios were performed: a scenario representing the years 1997 to 2006, and two SRES A2 climate scenarios for the years 2041 to 2050. The first future climate scenario makes use of 2002 anthropogenic precursor emissions, and the second applied emissions scaling factors derived from the IPCC Representative Concentration Pathway 6 (RCP 6) scenario to estimate emissions for 2050 from existing 2020 projections. Ten-year averages of ozone and PM2.5 at North American monitoring network stations were used to evaluate the model's current chemical climatology. The model was found to have a similar performance for ozone as when driven by an operational weather forecast model. The PM2.5 predictions had larger negative biases, likely resulting from the absence of rainwater evaporation, and from sub-regional negative biases in the surface temperature fields, in the version of the climate model used here. The differences between the two future climate simulations and the current climate simulation were used to predict the changes to air-quality that might be expected in a future warmer climate, if anthropogenic precursor emissions remain constant at their current levels, versus if the RCP 6 emissions controls were adopted. Metrics of concentration, human health, and ecosystem damage were compared for the simulations. The scenario with future climate and current anthropogenic emissions resulted in worse air-quality than for current conditions – that is, the effect of climate-change alone, all other factors being similar, would be a worsening of air-quality. These effects are spatially inhomogeneous, with the magnitude and sign of the changes varying with region. The scenario with future climate and RCP 6 emissions for 2050 resulted in an improved air-quality, with decreases in key pollutant concentrations, in acute human mortality associated with air-pollution, and in sulphur and ozone deposition to the ecosystem. The positive outcomes of the RCP 6 emissions reductions were found to be of greater magnitude than the negative outcomes of climate change alone. The RCP 6 scenario however resulted in an increase in the deposition of nitrogen, as a result of increased ammonia emissions expected in that scenario, compared to current ammonia emissions levels. The results of the study raise the possibility that simultaneous reductions of greenhouse gases and air pollution precursors may further reduce air pollution levels, with the added benefits of an immediate reduction in the impacts of air pollution on human and ecosystem health. Further scenarios to investigate this possibility are therefore recommended.

scholarly journals Strong influence of 2000–2050 climate change on particulate matter in the United States: Results from a new statistical model

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Shen ◽  
Loretta J. Mickley ◽  
Lee T. Murray
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Statistical Model ◽  
The United States ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
Meteorological Variables ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Low Cloud

Abstract. We use a statistical model to investigate the effect of 2000–2050 climate change on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air quality across the contiguous United States. By applying observed relationships of PM2.5 and meteorology to the IPCC Coupled Model Intercomparision Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) archives, we bypass many of the uncertainties inherent in chemistry-climate models. Our approach uses both the relationships between PM2.5 and local meteorology as well as the synoptic circulation patterns, defined as the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) pattern of the spatial correlations between PM2.5 and meteorological variables in the surrounding region. Using an ensemble of 17 GCMs under the RCP4.5 scenario, we project an increase of ~ 1 μg m−3 in annual mean PM2.5 in the eastern US and a decrease of 0.3–1.2 μg m−3 in the Intermountain West by the 2050s, assuming present-day anthropogenic sources of PM2.5. Mean summertime PM2.5 increases as much as 2–3 μg m−3 in the eastern United States due to faster oxidation rates and greater mass of organic carbon from biogenic emissions. Mean wintertime PM2.5 decreases by 0.3–3 μg m−3 over most regions in United States, likely due to the volatilization of ammonium nitrate. Our approach provides an efficient method to calculate the climate penalty or benefit on air quality across a range of models and scenarios. We find that current atmospheric chemistry models may underestimate or even fail to capture the strongly positive sensitivity of monthly mean PM2.5 to temperature in the eastern United States in summer, and may underestimate future changes in PM2.5 in a warmer climate. In GEOS-Chem, the underestimate in monthly mean PM2.5-temperature relationship in the East in summer is likely caused by overly strong negative sensitivity of monthly mean low cloud fraction to temperature in the assimilated meteorology (~ −0.04 K−1), compared to the weak sensitivity implied by satellite observations (±0.01 K−1). The strong negative dependence of low cloud cover on temperature, in turn, causes the modeled rates of sulfate aqueous oxidation to diminish too rapidly as temperatures rise, leading to the underestimate of sulfate-temperature slopes, especially in the South. Our work underscores the importance of evaluating the sensitivity of PM2.5 to its key controlling meteorological variables in climate-chemistry models on multiple timescales before they are applied to project future air quality.

scholarly journals Increasing Influence of Party Identification on Perceived Scientific Agreement and Support for Government Action on Climate Change in the United States, 2006–12

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron M. McCright ◽  
Riley E. Dunlap ◽  
Chenyang Xiao
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Party Identification ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Government Action ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Reduce Emissions ◽  
Litmus Test

Abstract Since the mid-2000s, U.S. conservative leaders and Republican politicians have stepped up efforts to challenge the reality and seriousness of anthropogenic climate change (ACC). Especially with the rise of the Tea Party in 2009, ACC denial has become something of a litmus test for Republican politicians to prove their conservative bona fides. Two recent studies find that misperception of scientific agreement on ACC is associated with lower levels of support for government action to deal with ACC. Using nationally representative survey data from 2006 and 2012, the analytical model developed in those two studies was applied to investigate whether the effect of political orientation on perceived scientific agreement and support for government action to reduce emissions has increased since the heightened ACC denial by Republican politicians beginning in 2009. The results indicated that political ideology and party identification are moderately strong predictors of perceived scientific agreement; beliefs about the timing, human cause, seriousness, and threat of global warming; and support for government action in both 2006 and 2012. Further, as expected, the effect of party identification on perceived scientific agreement and support for government action increased from 2006 and 2012, evidence that rank-and-file Republicans in the general public are more strongly embracing the ACC denial espoused by Republican politicians in recent years. Such increased partisanship poses a formidable barrier to public understanding of ACC.

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