In Ontario, 20 per cent of hospital admissions for acute bronchitis, bronchiolitis and pneumonia in infants under the age of one can be attributed to the summer pollutants, ozone and sulphates.”
R.T. Burnett et al, Environ Research, volume 65, 172-194, 1994.According to the Government of Canada, air pollution already causes up to 16,000 Canadians to die prematurely each year. Burning fossil fuels is a major cause of both air pollution and climate change, and scientists believe that climate change will actually make air pollution an even greater threat to our health.
Climate change is expected to bring more excessively hot weather. The combination of certain air pollutants and heat leads to the formation of urban smog. Smog worsens during heat waves because higher temperatures and/or ultra violet radiation levels lead to more ground level ozone, a primary ingredient of smog.
Ozone is toxic at low concentrations and deadly at high concentrations. It bursts cell membranes in the lungs, and as cellular fluids build up, breathing becomes more rapid, shallow and painful. The elderly and children are especially vulnerable, and ozone can lead to lifelong damage as lungs stiffen and scar. Ozone also sensitizes the airways to irritants and other allergens. Elevated ozone levels mean more hospital admissions for asthma, respiratory disease and acute respiratory disorders.
Air pollution from burning fossil fuels produces many other compounds that hurt our health: carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, and small airborne particulates. They can cause impaired lung function, shortness of breath, wheezing, asthma attacks and premature death.
By reducing our use of coal, oil and natural gas, we can save thousands of lives and lessen the threat to human health of both climate change and air pollution.
further information, link to
Taking our Breath Away: The Health Effects of Air Pollution and Climate Change)
Visit Environment Canada’s Smog Web pages