Health and equity implications of individual adaptation to air pollution in a changing climate

Future climate change can cause more days with poor air quality. This could trigger more alerts telling people to stay inside to protect themselves, with potential consequences for health and health equity. Here, we study the change in US air quality alerts over this century due to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), who they may affect, and how they may respond. We find air quality alerts increase by over 1 mo per year in the eastern United States by 2100 and quadruple on average. They predominantly affect areas with high Black populations and leakier homes, exacerbating existing inequalities and impacting those less able to adapt. Reducing emissions can offer significant annual health benefits ($5,400 per person) by mitigating the effect of climate change on air pollution and its associated risks of early death. Relying on people to adapt, instead, would require them to stay inside, with doors and windows closed, for an extra 142 d per year, at an average cost of $11,000 per person. It appears likelier, however, that people will achieve minimal protection without policy to increase adaptation rates. Boosting adaptation can offer net benefits, even alongside deep emission cuts. New adaptation policies could, for example: reduce adaptation costs; reduce infiltration and improve indoor air quality; increase awareness of alerts and adaptation; and provide measures for those working or living outdoors. Reducing emissions, conversely, lowers everyone's need to adapt, and protects those who cannot adapt. Equitably protecting human health from air pollution under climate change requires both mitigation and adaptation.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2024

Erschienen:

2024

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:121

Enthalten in:

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America - 121(2024), 5 vom: 30. Jan., Seite e2215685121

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Sparks, Matt S [VerfasserIn]
Farahbakhsh, Isaiah [VerfasserIn]
Anand, Madhur [VerfasserIn]
Bauch, Chris T [VerfasserIn]
Conlon, Kathryn C [VerfasserIn]
East, James D [VerfasserIn]
Li, Tianyuan [VerfasserIn]
Lickley, Megan [VerfasserIn]
Garcia-Menendez, Fernando [VerfasserIn]
Monier, Erwan [VerfasserIn]
Saari, Rebecca K [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Air Pollutants
Air pollution adaptation
Health effects of climate change mitigation
Journal Article
Modeling for sustainability
Multi-sector dynamics
Particulate Matter
Place-based approach

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 18.01.2024

Date Revised 04.02.2024

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1073/pnas.2215685121

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM367182041