How might the health effects of air pollution change when the planet gets warmer?

In this chapter, we examine in depth how a warmer planet could affect human health by increasing our exposure to air pollution. The possible mechanisms of this increased exposure are diverse, and include a dryer earth leading to more dust storms, and a hotter earth leading to more forest fires. The consequences of increased exposure are more serious for the most vulnerable people in society; increased pollution has been linked to increased death in the elderly, and to increased visits to hospital and reduced lung function in the young. The pollution sources that cause these health problems are the same sources that have contributed to global warming, namely the combustive pollutants of traffic and industry. Cleaning up these sources will therefore, not only assist in curbing future global warming, but will have an immediate beneficial effect on worldwide health.