Search

When predicting the health impacts of PM2.5 from future air quality changes, it is crucial to consider both air quality improvements and population aging. This study divided future emission scenarios into a base and control scenario to project air quality from 2015 to 2030 and assess health outcomes. The GUIDE model, an Integrated Assessment Model (IAM), was used to estimate future emissions, while the CMAQ (Chemical Transport Model) and BenMAP (Health Impact Model) evaluated health impacts resulting from changes in air quality in Korea. The study focused on the impact of population aging on future health outcomes. Both scenarios showed improved PM2.5 concentrations, with the control scenario showing more substantial improvements due to stronger policy measures. When applying current age patterns, health impacts decreased as PM2.5 concentrations decreased. However, when considering future population aging, health impacts increased despite improved air quality. The results excluding aging show that the number of premature deaths due to cardiovascular disease and all other causes caused by PM2.5 is 18,413 in the base year, while in the future control scenario, the number decreases to 11,729. In contrast, when aging is taken into account, the number of premature deaths increases to 23,037. This finding suggests that, although PM2.5 concentrations are expected to decline, the increasing proportion of elderly individuals will exacerbate health risks. Therefore, accounting for aging population trends is essential when studying the health impacts of future air quality changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Wildfires in 2020 ravaged California to set the annual record of area burned to date. Clusters of wildfires in Northern California surrounded the Bay Area covering the skies with smoke and raising the air pollutant concentrations to hazardous levels. This study uses the Fire Inventory from the National Center for Atmospheric Research database and the Community Multiscale Air Quality model to estimate the effects of wildfire emissions on air quality during the period from August 16 to October 28 of 2020. In addition, low-cost sensor data for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from the PurpleAir network is used to enhance modeled PM2.5 concentrations. The resulting impacts on ozone and PM2.5 are used to quantify the health impacts caused by wildfires using the Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program – Community Edition. Results: Wildfire activity significantly increased direct PM2.5 emissions and emissions of PM2.5 and ozone precursors. Direct PM2.5 emissions surged up to 38 times compared to an average day. Modeling results indicated that wildfires alone led to a rise in ozone daily maximum 8-h average by up to 10 ppb and exceeded PM2.5 air quality standards in numerous locations by up to 10 times. While modeled PM2.5 concentrations were lower than measurements, correcting these with PurpleAir data improved the accuracy. The correction using PurpleAir data increased estimates of wildfire-induced mortality due to PM2.5 exposure by up to 16%. Conclusions: The increased hospital admissions and premature mortality attributed to wildfires were found to be comparable to the health impacts avoided by strategies aimed at meeting ozone and PM2.5 air quality standards. This suggests that widespread wildfire emissions can negate years of efforts dedicated to controlling air pollution. The integration of low-cost sensor data proved invaluable in refining the estimates of health impacts from PM2.5 resulting from wildfires.

We present a dynamic perspective to quantify the air quality–related health impacts of the electrification of light-duty vehicles in the United States between 2022 and 2050. Using a fleet turnover model and future electricity generation mix scenarios, we compare ambitious vehicle electrification to fleet renewal relying on newer internal combustion engine vehicles, without electric vehicles. The model includes vehicle-level pollutant emission factors and a reduced complexity air quality and valuation model and covers direct (tailpipe, brake wear, and tire wear) and indirect (production of electricity and liquid fuels) emissions of NOx, SO2, PM2.5, NH3, and VOCs, with a breakdown at the county level to identify geographical disparities in the distribution of health impacts. Short-term health benefits are mostly generated by reductions in NOx emissions from newer gasoline vehicles, while fleet electrification generates further benefits in the long term. The electricity mix plays a crucial role in the success of electrification policies. With continued grid decarbonization, electrification would reduce harmful air quality– related health impacts cumulatively by 84 to 188 billion USD over the study period, compared with fleet renewal without electric vehicles. In contrast, artificially freezing the 2022 grid would make electrification responsible for 32 to 71 billion USD additional health disbenefits compared with fleet renewal. Finally, we show that while fleet electrification achieves most of its benefits over fleet renewal in the long term, delaying the implementation of such policies would sacrifice meaningful cumulative benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the recognition of the importance of air pollution in Morocco, current scientific studies are predominantly descriptive and limited. This systematic review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of air pollution in Morocco, delineating the research status and identifying gaps. Searches conducted across PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus from 2016 to May 2023 yielded over 3200 articles. From these, 64 original studies are deemed eligible and selected, focusing on air pollution in Moroccan regions or cities. Review articles and those dealing with indoor air quality are excluded, with no restriction on specific pollutant. Research highlights road traffic as the primary contributor to air pollution in Morocco, followed by industrial activities. Exposure to air pollutants is associated with adverse health effects, including mortality, lung disease, respiratory disorders, asthma attacks, and cardiovascular disease. Pollution levels vary among cities, with Casablanca, Kenitra, and Essaouira consistently facing higher pollution levels due to transportation and industrial emissions. Altitude also influences air quality, with higher‐altitude areas generally experiencing lower pollutant concentrations. The review highlights the need for extensive research on air pollution's health and economic effects, improved air quality modeling, and broader pollutant focus beyond just regulated ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent regulations on exhaust emissions have led to an increase in non-exhaust emissions, which now surpasses exhaust emissions. Non-exhaust emissions are mainly generated from brake and tire particle abrasion, road wear, and re-suspended road dust. In Asia, non-exhaust emissions have increased significantly over the past 50 years, resulting in almost 92% of the population breathing polluted air, which accounts for 70% of air pollution related-deaths. Most Asian countries with poor air quality are developing or underdeveloped. Taking this into consideration, the current study aims to shed light on particulate pollution from non-exhaust emissions in the Asian context to assess the current status and its health consequences and provides technological solutions. The study is based on an in-depth analysis of existing reviews and research concerning non-exhaust emissions and their health impacts in Asia to pinpoint knowledge gaps. The study found that particulate pollutants had exceeded WHO's standards in many Asian countries, bringing deleterious health consequences among children and the elderly. The findings underscore the significance of future researchers' efforts to devise solutions that curtail non-exhaust emissions, ultimately reducing air pollution, augmenting air quality, fostering better health outcomes, and paving way for a more sustainable future before it is too late. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectivesAs wildfires and air pollution become more common across the United States, it is increasingly important to understand the burden they place on public health. Previous studies have noted relationships between air quality and use of Emergency Medical Services (EMS), but until now, these studies have focused on day-to-day air quality. The goal of this study is to investigate the effect of sustained periods of poor air quality on EMS call characteristics and volume.MethodsUsing a time-stratified case-crossover design, the effect of exposure to periods of poor air quality on number and type of EMS calls in California, USA from 2014-2019 was observed. Poor air quality periods greater than three days were identified at the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Air Quality Index (AQI) levels of Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (AQI 100) and Unhealthy (AQI 150). Periods less than three days apart were combined. Each poor air quality period was matched with two one-week controls, the first being the closest preceding week that did not intersect a different case. The second control was the closest week at least three days after the case and not intersecting with a different case. Due to seasonal variation in EMS usage, from the initial cases, cases were used only if it was possible to identify controls within 28 days of the case. A conditional Poisson regression calculated risk ratios for EMS call volume.ResultsComparing the case periods to the controls, significant increases were found at AQI >100 for total number of calls, and the primary impressions categories of emotional state or behavior, level of consciousness, no patient complaint, other, respiratory, and abdominal. At an AQI >150, significance was found for the primary impressions categories of other, pain, respiratory, and digestive.ConclusionThese data demonstrate increased EMS calls during sustained poor air quality, and that several EMS primary impression categories are disproportionately affected. This study is limited by the imprecision of the primary impression's classification provided by the EMS clinician responding to the EMS call. More research is needed to understand the effects of periods of poor air quality on the EMS system for more efficient deployment of resources.

Numerous studies have highlighted the health benefits associated with reducing aerosol particles and other pollutants. Recent studies have shown a positive correlation between exposure to aerosol particles and COVID-19 cases. In this study, we investigate the relationship between aerosol particle concentration and COVID-19 variants' infection and mortality rates. Remote-sensing data on aerosol optical depth (AOD), a surrogate for atmospheric aerosol levels, were collected and analyzed in three regions within the states of California, Illinois, and North and South Carolina. These regions were selected to reflect the variability in aerosol concentration and anomalies during the COVID-19 period (2020–2022) compared to a reference period (2010–2019). We found consistent positive linear correlations across most regions between COVID-19 mortality rates and AOD levels below 0.2. These correlations were found to be independent of the change in aerosol levels relative to the reference period. In North and South Carolina, the Delta variant was associated with not only a high mortality rate but also a steeper increase in mortality rate per AOD of 39.6 ± 1.5 (R2 = 0.87) compared to Alpha at 10.5 ± 0.3 (R2 = 0.85). However, due to the lower mortality rate of the Delta variant compared to the Alpha variant in Illinois, the Delta variant has a lower correlation slope of 28.3 ± 1 (R2 = 0.94) compared to the Alpha variant at 52.1 ± 1.8 (R2 = 0.78). No correlation between mortality rate and AOD was observed for the Omicron variants in any of the investigated regions except in California where a weak positive correlation was evident. Our findings establish a compelling link between aerosol concentrations and SARS-CoV-2 infection and mortality. Our results underscore the urgent need for further research to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and broader implications, leading to more sustainable solutions to curb the airborne transmission of COVID-19 viruses and other viral infections in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficiency opportunities in the industrial sector can reduce air emissions and benefit human health. One national-level energy efficiency program, the Department of Energy (DOE)-funded Industrial Assessment Center (IAC), provides US manufacturing facilities with cost-effective energy efficiency recommendations. However, the effect of the IAC on air quality and human health has not been explored. While several studies have evaluated the health impacts of air emissions reduction associated with energy efficiency, most of them did not consider regional differences in electricity grid profiles. These differences can change both emissions and health outcomes. This study focuses on air quality and health impacts of electricity and natural gas-related recommendations from the IAC program in 2022. It estimates 248 GWh of electricity, and 1.1E6 MMBtu of natural gas savings will result from the recommendations. Using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Avoided Emissions and GeneRation Tool (AVERT) to estimate regional electricity emissions, published natural gas emission rates, and EPA’s co-benefit risk assessment (COBRA) tool, the total annual health outcomes associated with these savings range from 4.85 to 16.9 million USD (2023). This range includes different NOx emission rates and high and low COBRA estimates. Additionally, we introduce an energy savings health estimator (ESHE) tool that calculates air emissions and associated health outcomes of energy savings measures. We also apply it to the 2022 IAC recommendations and compare the health outcomes to those calculated using AVERT and COBRA separately. This tool can quickly estimate the health impacts of various energy efficiency projects or programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

apidly changing wildfire regimes across the Western United States have driven more frequent and severe wildfires, resulting in wide-ranging societal threats from wildfires and wildfire-generated smoke. However, common measures of fire severity focus on what is burned, disregarding the societal impacts of smoke generated from each fire. We combine satellite-derived fire scars, air parcel trajectories from individual fires, and predicted smoke PM2.5 to link source fires to resulting smoke PM2.5 and health impacts experienced by populations in the contiguous United States from April 2006 to 2020. We quantify fire-specific accumulated smoke exposure based on the cumulative population exposed to smoke PM2.5 over the duration of a fire and estimate excess asthma-related emergency department (ED) visits as a result of this exposure. We find that excess asthma visits attributable to each fire are only moderately correlated with common measures of wildfire severity, including burned area, structures destroyed, and suppression cost. Additionally, while recent California fires contributed nearly half of the country’s smoke-related excess asthma ED visits during our study period, the most severe individual fire was the 2007 Bugaboo fire in the Southeast. We estimate that a majority of smoke PM2.5 comes from sources outside the local jurisdictions where the smoke is experienced, with 87% coming from fires in other counties and 60% from fires in other states. Our approach could enable broad-scale assessment of whether specific fire characteristics affect smoke toxicity or impact, inform cost-effectiveness assessments for allocation of suppression resources, and help clarify the growing transboundary nature of local air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastic (MP) pollution has aroused a tremendous amount of public and scientific interest worldwide. MPs are found widely ranging from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems primarily due to the over-exploitation of plastic products and unscientific disposal of plastic waste. There is a large availability of scientific literature on MP pollution in the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, especially the marine environments; however, only recently has greater scientific attention been focused on the presence of MPs in the air and its retrospective health implications. Besides, atmospheric transport has been reported to be an important pathway of transport of MPs to the pristine regions of the world. From a health perspective, existing studies suggest that airborne MPs are priority pollutant vectors, that may penetrate deep into the body through inhalation leading to adverse health impacts such as neurotoxicity, cancer, respiratory problems, cytotoxicity, and many more. However, their effects on indoor and outdoor air quality, and on human health are not yet clearly understood due to the lack of enough research studies on that and the non-availability of established scientific protocols for their characterization. This scientific review entails important information concerning the abundance of atmospheric MPs worldwide within the existing literature. A thorough comparison of existing sampling and analytical protocols has been presented. Besides, this review has unveiled the areas of scientific concern especially air quality monitoring which requires immediate attention, with the information gaps to be filled have been addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) caused an estimated 4.2 million deaths worldwide in 2015. However, PM emission standards for power plants vary widely. To explore if the current levels of these standards are sufficiently stringent in a simple cost-benefit framework, we compared the health benefits (avoided monetized health costs) with the control costs of tightening PM emission standards for coal-fired power plants in Northeast (NE) Brazil, where ambient PM concentrations are below World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. We considered three Brazilian PM10 (PMx refers to PM with a diameter under x micrometers) emission standards and a stricter U.S. EPA standard for recent power plants. Our integrated methodology simulates hourly electricity grid dispatch from utility-scale power plants, disperses the resulting PM2.5, and estimates selected human health impacts from PM2.5 exposure using the latest integrated exposure-response model. Since the emissions inventories required to model secondary PM are not available in our study area, we modeled only primary PM so our benefit estimates are conservative. We found that tightening existing PM10 emission standards yields health benefits that are over 60 times greater than emissions control costs in all the scenarios we considered. The monetary value of avoided hospital admissions alone is at least four times as large as the corresponding control costs. These results provide strong arguments for considering tightening PM emission standards for coal-fired power plants worldwide, including in regions that meet WHO guidelines and in developing countries.

COVID‐19 lockdowns caused significant improvements in air quality in US states where traffic emissions are the main pollution source. In this study, we investigate the socioeconomic impacts of the COVID‐19‐related lockdowns in states which experienced the greatest changes in air quality, especially among different demographic populations and those with contraindications to health. We administered a 47‐question survey and collected 1,000 valid responses in these cities. Our results show that 74% of respondents within our survey sample had some level of concern regarding air quality. In agreement with previous literature, perceptions of air quality were not significantly correlated with measured air quality criteria but rather seemed to be influenced by other factors. Respondents in Los Angeles were the most concerned about air quality followed by Miami, San Francisco, and New York City. However, those from Chicago and Tampa Bay expressed the least amount of concern about air quality. Age, education, and ethnicity were all factors affecting peoples' concerns about air quality. Respiratory conditions, living in proximity to industrial areas, and financial impacts from the COVID‐19 lockdowns influenced concerns about air quality. About 40% of the survey sample reported greater concern for air quality during the pandemic, while approximately 50% stated that the lockdown didn't affect their perception. Furthermore, respondents seemed concerned about air quality in general, not a specific pollutant, and are willing to adopt additional measures and more stringent policies to improve air quality in all investigated cities. Plain Language Summary: COVID‐19 lockdowns caused significant improvements in air quality in US states where traffic emissions are the main pollution source. In this study, we investigated the socioeconomic impacts of the COVID‐19‐related lockdowns in states which experienced the greatest changes in air quality, especially among different demographic populations and those with contraindications to health. We administered a 47‐question survey and collected 1,000 valid responses in these cities. Our results show that 74% of respondents within our survey sample had some level of concern regarding air quality. In agreement with previous literature, perceptions of air quality were not significantly correlated with measured air quality criteria but rather seemed to be influenced by other factors. Respondents in Los Angeles were the most concerned about air quality followed by Miami, San Francisco, and New York City. Those from Chicago and Tampa Bay expressed the least amount of concerns. Age, education, and ethnicity were all factors affecting peoples' concerns about air quality. Respiratory conditions, living in proximity to industrial areas, and financial impacts from the COVID‐19 lockdowns influenced concerns about air quality. Respondents seemed concerned about air quality in general, not a specific pollutant, and are willing to adopt additional measures to improve air quality. Key Points: Most survey respondents (74%) were concerned about air qualityAge, education, and ethnicity were factors that affected peoples' concerns about air qualityRespiratory conditions, living near industrial areas, and financial status impacted perceptions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract COVID‐19 lockdowns caused significant improvements in air quality in US states where traffic emissions are the main pollution source. In this study, we investigate the socioeconomic impacts of the COVID‐19‐related lockdowns in states which experienced the greatest changes in air quality, especially among different demographic populations and those with contraindications to health. We administered a 47‐question survey and collected 1,000 valid responses in these cities. Our results show that 74% of respondents within our survey sample had some level of concern regarding air quality. In agreement with previous literature, perceptions of air quality were not significantly correlated with measured air quality criteria but rather seemed to be influenced by other factors. Respondents in Los Angeles were the most concerned about air quality followed by Miami, San Francisco, and New York City. However, those from Chicago and Tampa Bay expressed the least amount of concern about air quality. Age, education, and ethnicity were all factors affecting peoples' concerns about air quality. Respiratory conditions, living in proximity to industrial areas, and financial impacts from the COVID‐19 lockdowns influenced concerns about air quality. About 40% of the survey sample reported greater concern for air quality during the pandemic, while approximately 50% stated that the lockdown didn’t affect their perception. Furthermore, respondents seemed concerned about air quality in general, not a specific pollutant, and are willing to adopt additional measures and more stringent policies to improve air quality in all investigated cities.

China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter in 2022, aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. The power sector will play a major role in this decarbonization process due to its current reliance on coal. Prior studies have quantified air quality co-benefits from decarbonization or investigated pathways to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector. However, few have jointly assessed the potential impacts of accelerating decarbonization on electric power systems and public health. Additionally, most analyses have treated air quality improvements as co-benefits of decarbonization, rather than a target during decarbonization. Here, we explore future energy technology pathways in China under accelerated decarbonization scenarios with a power system planning model that integrates carbon, pollutant, and health impacts. We integrate the health effects of power plant emissions into the power system decision-making process, quantifying the public health impacts of decarbonization under each scenario. We find that compared with a reference decarbonization pathway, a stricter cap (20% lower emissions than the reference pathway in each period) on carbon emissions would yield significant co-benefits to public health, leading to a 22% reduction in power sector health impacts. Although extra capital investment is required to achieve this low emission target, the value of climate and health benefits would exceed the additional costs, leading to $824 billion net benefits from 2021 to 2050. Another accelerated decarbonization pathway that achieves zero emissions five years earlier than the reference case would result in lower net benefits due to higher capital costs during earlier decarbonization periods. Treating air pollution impacts as a target in decarbonization can further mitigate both CO _2 emissions and negative health effects. Alternative low-cost solutions also show that small variations in system costs can result in significantly different future energy portfolios, suggesting that diverse decarbonization pathways are viable.

Smoke from wildfires has become a growing public health issue around the world but especially in western North America and California. At the same time, managers and scientists recommend thinning and intentional use of wildland fires to restore forest health and reduce smoke from poorly controlled wildfires. Because of the changing climate and management paradigms, the evaluation of smoke impacts needs to shift evaluations from the scale of individual fire events to long-term fire regimes and regional impacts under different management strategies. To confront this challenge, we integrated three widely used modeling tools to analyze smoke impacts across different management scenarios within a future of changing climate. We applied this multi-stage framework to a case study analysis in the Lake Tahoe basin, in which managers proposed scenarios that involved varying levels of hand- and mechanical-thinning treatments and prescribed fires. We began by using the LANDIS-II model to project daily emissions of fine particulate matter from wildland fires under various climate and management scenarios over a century. We also modeled dispersion and health impacts based upon individual wildfire events selected to be representative of different management scenarios. For those events, we modeled smoke conveyance to downwind communities from representative future fires using the BlueSky smoke dispersion model. Lastly, we estimated human health impacts resulting from the modeled smoke using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's BenMAP model. Our results suggest that emissions from wildfires will substantially increase in future decades; however, increased levels of forest thinning could substantially reduce those emissions and harmful health impacts from large wildfires. We also found that increased use of prescribed burning could reduce the health impacts associated with large wildfires but would also increase the frequency of low levels of emissions. Furthermore, the modeling results suggested that individual prescribed fires could have substantial health impacts if dispersion conditions are unfavorable. Our results suggest that increased management is likely to yield important benefits given expected increases in wildfire activity associated with climate change. However, there remain many challenges to projecting the effects of alternative management regimes, especially ones that involve substantial increases in intentional burning.

Societal benefits from climate change mitigation accrue via multiple pathways. We examine the US impacts of emission changes on several factors that are affected by both climate and air quality responses. Nationwide benefits through midcentury stem primarily from air quality improvements, which are realized rapidly, and include human health, labor productivity, and crop yield benefits. Benefits from reduced heat exposure become large around 2060, thereafter often dominating over those from improved air quality. Monetized benefits are in the tens of trillions of dollars for avoided deaths and tens of billions for labor productivity and crop yield increases and reduced hospital expenditures. Total monetized benefits this century are dominated by health and are much larger than in previous analyses due to improved understanding of the human health impacts of exposure to both heat and air pollution. Benefit-cost ratios are therefore much larger than in prior studies, especially those that neglected clean air benefits. Specifically, benefits from clean air exceed costs in the first decade, whereas benefits from climate alone exceed costs in the latter half of the century. Furthermore, monetized US benefits largely stem from US emissions reductions. Increased emphasis on the localized, near-term air quality-related impacts would better align policies with societal benefits and, by reducing the mismatch between perception of climate as a risk distant in space and time and the need for rapid action to mitigate long-term climate change, might help increase acceptance of mitigation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Annoyance caused by air pollution is a matter of public health as it can cause stress and ill-health and affect quality of life, among other burdens. The aim of this study is to apply the multiple correspondence analyses (MCA) technique as a differential tooling to explore relationships between variables that can influence peoples' behaviour concerning annoyance caused by air pollution. Data were collected through a survey on air pollution, environmental issues and quality of life. Face-to-face survey studies were conducted in two industrialized urban areas (Vitoria in Brazil and Dunkirk in France). These two regions were chosen as their inhabitants often report feeling annoyed by air pollution, and both regions have similar industrial characteristics. The results showed a progressive correspondence between levels of annoyance and other active variables in the "air pollution" factor group: as the levels of annoyance increased, the levels of the other qualitative variables (importance of air quality, perceived exposure to industrial risk, assessment of air quality, perceived air pollution) also increased. Respondents who reported feeling annoyed by air pollution also thought that air quality was very important and were very concerned about exposure to industrial risks. Furthermore, they often assessed air quality as horrible, and they could frequently perceive air pollution by dust, odours and decreased visibility. The results also showed a statistically significant association between occurrence of allergies and high levels of annoyance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Air pollution is a leading environmental risk factor on health and it is the major cause of death and disease at global level. Air pollution has been shown to have a significant share in the non-communicable diseases (NCDs) burden. After smoking, it is the second cause of deaths due to NCDs, associated with an increased risk of developing acute and chronic diseases and mortality. Materials and Methods: In this study, a review was initially conducted on the basis of indices conducted in the world, the status of ambient air pollution and its effects on health in Iran and other countries, and then the status of ambient air quality and its effects on health in Tehran metropolitan between 2006 and 2017 were shown, based on the results of the studies conducted by the Environmental Research Institute of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Results: The results showed that the annual mean of ambient air population-weighted PM2.5 exposure concentration in Iran was about 48 μg/m3, which is relatively lower than its global mean concentration (51 μg/m3). Based on the most recent study (in 2018) about 8.9 (7.5-10.3) million deaths in those aged above 25 years were attributed to exposure to outdoor air PM2.5 in the world. Although there are substantial differences between the results of studies have been done regarding the number of air pollution attributed deaths, numerous studies showed that air pollution is a major cause of death. Results regarding temporal variations of air quality in Tehran that is performed by the Institute for Environmental Research (IER) of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), indicated that PM concentration had an increasing trend from 2006 to 2011. The maximum mean concentration of PM2.5 over the past 12 years has occurred in 2011, which was 38 μg/m3. The PM concentration had a decreasing trend from 2012 to 2015, reaching about 30 μg/m3. However, in the years 2016 and 2017, the annual mean PM2.5 concentration in Tehran was increased compared to its corresponding value in 2015. Furthermore, results of this study demonstrated that, in Tehran, not even one day was classified as "good” (AQI=0-50) from 2011 to 2017 based on the air quality index (AQI), but the number of days in which AQI was “moderate” (AQI=51-100) was increased from 2011 to 2015, and the number of days with the AQI of “moderate” reached 80 in 2015, while the rest of the days having an unhealthy air quality. In 2017, AQI was “moderate” in 20 days, “unhealthy for sensitive groups” in 237 days, “unhealthy” in 107 days, and "very unhealthy” in 1 day. The obtained results indicated that about 4878 (3238, 6359( of deaths due to all (natural) causes were attributable to long-term exposure to PM2.5 in Tehran in 2017. Conclusion: Studies showed that air pollution has a considerable share in the number of attributed deaths. Moreover, there were substantial differences between the results of national and international studies in the burden of disease attributed to air pollution. Therefore, there is a crucial need for accessing to reliable data on air pollution as well as baseline mortality and morbidity in order to study the status of air quality and its effects on health over the country.

The current nationally determined contributions, pledged by the countries under the Paris Agreement, are far from limiting climate change to below 2 ∘C temperature increase by the end of the century. The necessary ratcheting up of climate policy is projected to come with a wide array of additional benefits, in particular a reduction of today's 4.5 million annual premature deaths due to poor air quality. This paper therefore addresses the question how climate policy and air pollution–related health impacts interplay until 2050 by developing a comprehensive global modeling framework along the cause and effect chain of air pollution–induced social costs. We find that ratcheting up climate policy to a 2 ∘ compliant pathway results in welfare benefits through reduced air pollution that are larger than mitigation costs, even with avoided climate change damages neglected. The regional analysis demonstrates that the 2 ∘C pathway is therefore, from a social cost perspective, a "no-regret option" in the global aggregate, but in particular for China and India due to high air quality benefits, and also for developed regions due to net negative mitigation costs. Energy and resource exporting regions, on the other hand, face higher mitigation cost than benefits. Our analysis further shows that the result of higher health benefits than mitigation costs is robust across various air pollution control scenarios. However, although climate mitigation results in substantial air pollution emission reductions overall, we find significant remaining emissions in the transport and industry sectors even in a 2 ∘C world. We therefore call for further research in how to optimally exploit climate policy and air pollution control, deriving climate change mitigation pathways that maximize co-benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beijing has suffered a series of poor air quality ("haze") episodes which have damaged human health and economic growth. Beijing's haze is generally driven by pollutant‐trapping meteorological conditions, but climate model projections differ on how these conditions will evolve under forcing. Such differences are driven in part by (1) disagreements over which meteorological conditions matter most and (2) an undersampling of internal variability in projections. To resolve these differences, we show that Beijing haze is associated with anticyclonic circulation, thereby linking multiple meteorological ingredients to a single process well simulated by models. We use this to inform our assessment of future haze risks in both a multimodel ensemble and a single‐model large ensemble, partitioning model uncertainty and internal variability. We estimate that forcing increases haze‐favorable conditions, but internal variability significantly affects these projections, emphasizing the importance of fully sampling sources of uncertainty to ensure accurate projections of haze risks. Plain Language Summary: Episodes of poor air quality ("haze") in Beijing, China have been linked to cardiovascular and respiratory disease, damage to crops, and decreases in economic growth. These episodes tend to occur when moist, still air lets pollutants accumulate. Human‐caused climate change may affect the weather conditions that cause haze, but that effect is uncertain due to how scientists characterize haze‐favorable weather, how such weather links to actual haze occurrence, and how those features change in climate model experiments that neither simulate pollutants explicitly nor represent the full distribution of climate variability ("internal variability"). Here we show that different weather conditions that promote haze in Beijing are linked to the same large‐scale wind patterns, putting those conditions in the context of a single physical process simulated by climate models. When evaluated against this observed benchmark, we can confidently use multiple climate model ensembles to estimate how climate change affects haze‐favorable conditions while also addressing uncertainties due to model choices and internal variability. We show that climate change will make haze‐favorable conditions over Beijing more frequent, but that internal variability can generate large uncertainties in these projections, demonstrating the importance of fully sampling climate variability to constrain the risks of climate‐induced health impacts. Key Points: Poor air quality in Beijing is linked to stagnant meteorology at the surface and anticyclonic circulation that promotes such conditionsClimate models project increases in atmospheric conditions favorable to pollutant accumulation throughout the 21st centuryInternal variability strongly affects such projections, implying that previous projections have undersampled initial‐condition uncertainty [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significant health impacts and costs for poor indoor air quality (IAQ) are likely to be comparable if not worse than those already demonstrated for outdoor air quality. Recent assessments have placed household air pollution as the 8th largest Global Burden of Disease risk (HEI 2018) and WHO reported that "in 2012 around 7 million people died - one in eight of total global deaths - as a result of air pollution exposure. In this paper we show that these assessments while well accepted, are based a relatively small number of IAQ studies and small sample numbers. In general, there is a lack of knowledge on the sources and personal exposures to indoor air pollutants compared to outdoors. We conclude that that exposure and health risk from poor IAQ needs to be addressed similar to that of outdoor air quality. NZ and Australia need an organisation or group of organisations to take a larger responsibility or lead on IAQ. ■ To implement or coordinate monitoring programs for homes, workplaces and public buildings to determine what other issues there are and how widespread they extend. ■ To develop policies, best practice guides, indoor air quality standards and an education program for how we live in our homes/work places and public buildings to improve our collective nation's indoor air quality and our health/productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Significant emissions from transportation contribute to the formation of O 3 and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), causing poor air quality and health. In this study, four scenarios were developed to understand how future fleet electrification and turnover of both gasoline and diesel vehicles affect air quality and health in the Houston Metropolitan area. These scenarios considered increased vehicle activity and various configurations of emissions controls. Comparing to a base year of 2013, model predictions for 2040 indicated a ∼50% emissions increase in the Business As Usual (BAU) case, and ∼50%, ∼75%, and ∼95% reductions in the three distinct emissions control cases, the Moderate Electrification (ME), Aggressive Electrification (AE), and Complete Turnover (CT) cases, respectively. Each modeling scenario was conducted using a high-resolution (1 km) WRF-SMOKE-CMAQ-BenMAP air quality and health modeling framework, which helped capture urban features in higher detail. The emissions control cases resulted in 1–4 ppb maximum 8 h O 3 increase along highways and reductions both in the regions enclosed by the highways and those downwind. Simulated PM 2.5 concentrations decreased between 0.5 and 2 μg m−3. Health impact results suggest that increased O 3 and PM 2.5 concentrations from the BAU case will lead to 122 additional premature deaths with respect to 2013. However, reduced emissions for the control cases (ME, AE, CT) will prevent 114–246 premature deaths. Additionally, about 7,500 asthma exacerbation and 5,500 school loss days will be prevented in the ME case, benefiting younger individuals. The economic benefits generally followed the same trends as health impacts. The analysis framework developed in this study can be applied to other metropolitan areas. The effects of motor vehicle electrification on power plant emissions were estimated using the Argonne National Laboratory's Autonomie data, and indicated the electrification load to be negligible as opposed to projected electricity generation. Highlights • Developed emissions scenarios that correspond to varying degrees of fleet electrification and turnover in Houston. • Emission controls lead to 1–4 ppb change of ozone and 0.5–2 μg m−3 decrease of PM 2.5. • Calculated the change in premature deaths and other health outcomes using BenMAP. • Ozone concentrations typically rose along NOx-saturated highways but decreased significantly outside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Old vehicles are responsible for 95% of vehicular PM emissions in SPMA. • Old vehicles substitution would improve 33% PM 10 and 17% PM 2.5 air quality. • Air quality improvement would have avoided 65,568 years of life lost on 2014–2015. • US$ 4 bi could be saved if vehicles attended to the emissions control guidelines. Although there are vehicular emissions control programs, vehicles that violate ongoing standards of these programs threaten both environment and health on developing countries urban centers. This study aimed to evaluate air quality and public health impacts due to emissions from vehicles that violate Brazilian emissions standards in Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area. We analyzed particulate matter emissions on 2014–2015 biennium. We projected scenarios in which all circulating vehicles were according to Brazilian vehicular emission control standards and estimated the emissions' reduction using the bottom-up method. We considered a proportional reduction in pollutant concentration equivalent to the percentage reduction in emissions. The years of life lost avoided due to cardiopulmonary problems were estimated considering the impacted population fraction by air quality improvement. Results indicated that the substitution of vehicles which violate Brazilian standards by more modern models would improve 33% PM 10 and 17% PM 2.5 air quality and avoid 65,568 years of life lost, which, considering the life year value, is US$ 4bi equivalent. This study reinforces the need of an Accelerated Vehicle Retirement Program implementation and mostly cleaner transportation investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Air pollution is a leading environmental risk factor on health and it is the major cause of death and disease at global level. Air pollution has been shown to have a significant share in the non-communicable diseases (NCDs) burden. After smoking, it is the second cause of deaths due to NCDs, associated with an increased risk of developing acute and chronic diseases and mortality. Materials and Methods: In this study, a review was initially conducted on the basis of indices conducted in the world, the status of ambient air pollution and its effects on health in Iran and other countries, and then the status of ambient air quality and its effects on health in Tehran metropolitan between 2006 and 2017 were shown, based on the results of the studies conducted by the Environmental Research Institute of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Results: The results showed that the annual mean of ambient air population-weighted PM2.5 exposure concentration in Iran was about 48 μg/m3, which is relatively lower than its global mean concentration (51 μg/m3). Based on the most recent study (in 2018) about 8.9 (7.5-10.3) million deaths in those aged above 25 years were attributed to exposure to outdoor air PM2.5 in the world. Although there are substantial differences between the results of studies have been done regarding the number of air pollution attributed deaths, numerous studies showed that air pollution is a major cause of death. Results regarding temporal variations of air quality in Tehran that is performed by the Institute for Environmental Research (IER) of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), indicated that PM concentration had an increasing trend from 2006 to 2011. The maximum mean concentration of PM2.5 over the past 12 years has occurred in 2011, which was 38 μg/m3. The PM concentration had a decreasing trend from 2012 to 2015, reaching about 30 μg/m3. However, in the years 2016 and 2017, the annual mean PM2.5 concentration in Tehran was increased compared to its corresponding value in 2015. Furthermore, results of this study demonstrated that, in Tehran, not even one day was classified as “good” (AQI=0-50) from 2011 to 2017 based on the air quality index (AQI), but the number of days in which AQI was “moderate” (AQI=51-100) was increased from 2011 to 2015, and the number of days with the AQI of “moderate” reached 80 in 2015, while the rest of the days having an unhealthy air quality. In 2017, AQI was “moderate” in 20 days, “unhealthy for sensitive groups” in 237 days, “unhealthy” in 107 days, and “very unhealthy” in 1 day. The obtained results indicated that about 4878 (3238, 6359( of deaths due to all (natural) causes were attributable to long-term exposure to PM2.5 in Tehran in 2017. Conclusion: Studies showed that air pollution has a considerable share in the number of attributed deaths. Moreover, there were substantial differences between the results of national and international studies in the burden of disease attributed to air pollution. Therefore, there is a crucial need for accessing to reliable data on air pollution as well as baseline mortality and morbidity in order to study the status of air quality and its effects on health over the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) caused an estimated 4.2 million deaths worldwide in 2015. However, PM emission standards for power plants vary widely. To explore if the current levels of these standards are sufficiently stringent in a simple cost-benefit framework, we compared the health benefits (avoided monetized health costs) with the control costs of tightening PM emission standards for coal-fired power plants in Northeast (NE) Brazil, where ambient PM concentrations are below World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. We considered three Brazilian PM 10 (PM x refers to PM with a diameter under x micrometers) emission standards and a stricter U.S. EPA standard for recent power plants. Our integrated methodology simulates hourly electricity grid dispatch from utility-scale power plants, disperses the resulting PM 2.5 , and estimates selected human health impacts from PM 2.5 exposure using the latest integrated exposure-response model. Since the emissions inventories required to model secondary PM are not available in our study area, we modeled only primary PM so our benefit estimates are conservative. We found that tightening existing PM 10 emission standards yields health benefits that are over 60 times greater than emissions control costs in all the scenarios we considered. The monetary value of avoided hospital admissions alone is at least four times as large as the corresponding control costs. These results provide strong arguments for considering tightening PM emission standards for coal-fired power plants worldwide, including in regions that meet WHO guidelines and in developing countries. Graphical abstract Health benefits and control costs of tightening PM 10 standards for coal power plants in NE Brazil. Unlabelled Image Highlights • We compare health benefits and control costs of tightening PM 10 emissions standards. • We model electricity generation in NE Brazil and focus on coal power plants. • In our study area, PM concentrations are below WHO guidelines. • We combine an hourly dispatch model with dispersion and health assessment models. • Benefits of tighter PM 10 emission standards exceed control costs by a factor > 60. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The UK’s Climate Change Act 2008 (CCA; Great Britain. Climate Change Act 2008. Chapter 27. London: The Stationery Office; 2008) requires a reduction of 80% in carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by 2050 on a 1990 base. This project quantified the impact of air pollution on health from four scenarios involving particulate matter of ≤ 2.5 µm (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3). Two scenarios met the CCA target: one with limited nuclear power build (nuclear replacement option; NRPO) and one with no policy constraint on nuclear (low greenhouse gas). Another scenario envisaged no further climate actions beyond those already agreed (‘baseline’) and the fourth kept 2011 concentrations constant to 2050 (‘2011’). Methods: The UK Integrated MARKAL–EFOM System (UKTM) energy system model was used to develop the scenarios and produce projections of fuel use; these were used to produce air pollutant emission inventories for Great Britain (GB) for each scenario. The inventories were then used to run the Community Multiscale Air Quality model ‘air pollution model’ to generate air pollutant concentration maps across GB, which then, combined with relationships between concentrations and health outcomes, were used to calculate the impact on health from the air pollution emitted in each scenario. This is a significant improvement on previous health impact studies of climate policies, which have relied on emissions changes. Inequalities in exposure in different socioeconomic groups were also calculated, as was the economic impact of the pollution emissions. Results: Concentrations of NO2 declined significantly because of a high degree of electrification of the GB road transport fleet, although the NRPO scenario shows large increases in oxides of nitrogen emissions from combined heat and power (CHP) sources. Concentrations of PM2.5 show a modest decrease by 2050, which would have been larger if it had not been for a significant increase in biomass (wood burning) use in the two CCA scenarios peaking in 2035. The metric quantifying long-term exposure to O3 is projected to decrease, while the important short-term O3 exposure metric increases. Large projected increases in future GB vehicle kilometres lead to increased non-exhaust PM2.5 and particulate matter of ≤ 10 µm emissions. The two scenarios which achieve the CCA target resulted in more life-years lost from long-term exposures to PM2.5 than in the baseline scenario. This is an opportunity lost and arises largely from the increase in biomass use, which is projected to peak in 2035. Reduced long-term exposures to NO2 lead to many more life-years saved in the ‘CCA-compliant’ scenarios, but the association used may overestimate the effects of NO2 itself. The more deprived populations are estimated currently to be exposed to higher concentrations than those less deprived, the contrast being largest for NO2. Despite reductions in concentrations in 2050, the most socioeconomically deprived are still exposed to higher concentrations than the less deprived. Limitations: Modelling of the atmosphere is always uncertain; we have shown the model to be acceptable through comparison with observations. The necessary complexity of the modelling system has meant that only a small number of scenarios were run. Conclusions: We have established a system which can be used to explore a wider range of climate policy scenarios, including more European and global scenarios as well as local measures. Future work could explore wood burning in more detail, in terms of the sectors in which it might be burned and the spatial distribution of this across the UK. Further analyses of options for CHP could also be explored. Non-exhaust emissions from road transport are an important source of particles and emission factors are uncertain. Further research on this area coupled with our modelling would be a valuable area of research. Funding: The National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme.

Graphical abstract Change in concentrations of PM 2.5 in China by scenario. Highlights • Under current policies the air pollution related SDGs will likely not be met. • Integrated policies to achieve energy access, climate and air quality goals are examined. • Multiple SDGs can be attained simultaneously with substantial co-benefits. • Additional cost are modest against major societal gains. Abstract Air pollution is linked with many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Strategies aiming at the improved air quality interact directly with climate mitigation targets, access to clean energy services, waste management, and other aspects of socio-economic development. Continuation of current policies in the key emitting sectors implies that a number of sustainability goals will likely not be met within the next two decades: emissions of air pollutants would cause 40% more premature deaths from outdoor air pollution than today, carbon emissions would rise globally by 0.4% per year, while nearly two billion people would not have access to clean cooking. This paper examines integrated policies to put the world on track towards three interlinked goals of achieving universal energy access, limiting climate change and reducing air pollution. Scenario analysis suggests that these goals can be attained simultaneously with substantial benefits. By 2040, emissions of main pollutants are projected to drop by 60–80% relative to today, and associated health impacts are quantified at two million avoided deaths from ambient and household air pollution combined. In comparison to costs needed for the decarbonization of global economy, additional investments in air pollution control and access to clean fuels are very modest against major societal gains. However, holistic and systemic policy assessment is required to avoid potential trade-offs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study reports short-term impact of poor air quality on cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity rate in Delhi. The data on monthly count of patients visiting Out Patient Department (OPD) and hospital admission due to respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses from hospitals along with daily air quality data from air quality monitoring stations of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Government of India, across Delhi were collected for the period 2008 to 2012. A semi-parametric Quasi-Poisson regression model was used to examine the association of high pollution episodes with relative risk of hospital OPD visit and hospital admission due to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. This study has confirmed the substantial adverse health effects due to air pollution across criterion air pollutants. The study reports the short-term effects of air pollution on morbidity from a time-series study first time in India. The study findings illustrate the evidence of adverse health impact of air pollution from India to the global pool and can influence the policy makers to implement better air quality management system for Indian cities. Abbreviations: OPD: Out Patient Department; IPD: Inpatient Department; RD: Respiratory Disease; CVD: Cardiovascular Disease; COPD: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; CPCB: Central Pollution Control Board; NAAQMP: National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme; NAAQS: National Ambient Air Quality Standards; RR; Relative Risk; IMD: Indian Meteorological Department; PM10: Particulate Matter less than 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter; SO2: Sulphur dioxide; NO2: Nitrogen dioxide; CO: Carbon Monoxide; O3: Ozone; DCE: Delhi College of Engineering; GTB Hospital: Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital; VPCH: Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Hospital; RMLH: Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital; SJH: Safdarjung Hospital; LNJPH: Lok Narayan Jai Prakash Hospital; GTBH: Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital; AH: Ambedkar Hospital; HRH: Hindu Rao Hospital; ESIH: ESI Hospital; SGRH: Sir Ganga Ram Hospital [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased environmental heat levels as a result of climate change present a major challenge to the health, wellbeing and sustainability of human communities in already hot parts of this planet. This challenge has many facets from direct clinical health effects of daily heat exposure to indirect effects related to poor air quality, poor access to safe drinking water, poor access to nutritious and safe food and inadequate protection from disease vectors and environmental toxic chemicals. The increasing environmental heat is a threat to environmental sustainability. In addition, social conditions can be undermined by the negative effects of increased heat on daily work and life activities and on local cultural practices. The methodology we describe can be used to produce quantitative estimates of the impacts of climate change on work activities in countries and local communities. We show in maps the increasing heat exposures in the shade expressed as the occupational heat stress index Wet Bulb Globe Temperature. Some tropical and sub-tropical areas already experience serious heat stress, and the continuing heating will substantially reduce work capacity and labour productivity in widening parts of the world. Southern parts of Europe and the USA will also be affected. Even the lowest target for climate change (average global temperature change = 1.5 °C at representative concentration pathway (RCP2.6) will increase the loss of daylight work hour output due to heat in many tropical areas from less than 2% now up to more than 6% at the end of the century. A global temperature change of 2.7 °C (at RCP6.0) will double this annual heat impact on work in such areas. Calculations of this type of heat impact at country level show that in the USA, the loss of work capacity in moderate level work in the shade will increase from 0.17% now to more than 1.3% at the end of the century based on the 2.7 °C temperature change. The impact is naturally mainly occurring in the southern hotter areas. In China, the heat impact will increase from 0.3 to 2%, and in India, from 2 to 8%. Especially affected countries, such as Cambodia, may have losses going beyond 10%, while countries with most of the population at high cooler altitude, such as Ethiopia, may experience much lower losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A decision support system for evaluating UK air quality policies is presented. It combines the output from a chemistry transport model, a health impact model and other impact models within a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework. As a proof-of-concept, the MCDA framework is used to evaluate and compare idealized emission reduction policies in four sectors (combustion in energy and transformation industries, non-industrial combustion plants, road transport and agriculture) and across six outcomes or criteria (mortality, health inequality, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, crop yield and air quality legal compliance). To illustrate a realistic use of the MCDA framework, the relative importance of the criteria were elicited from a number of stakeholders acting as proxy policy makers. In the prototype decision problem, we show that reducing emissions from industrial combustion (followed very closely by road transport and agriculture) is more advantageous than equivalent reductions from the other sectors when all the criteria are taken into account. Extensions of the MCDA framework to support policy makers in practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chemical Mass Balance (CMB) receptor model was applied to estimate PM 2.5 source impacts over Georgia from 2002 to 2013 using ambient PM 2.5 species concentration data from 13 sites. Measurements of 19 PM 2.5 species were used as inputs along with measurement-based source profiles to estimate the impacts of nine sources, including both primary components (from heavy duty diesel vehicle, light duty gasoline vehicle, biomass burning, coal combustion, and suspended dust sources) and secondary pollutants (ammonium sulfate, ammonium bisulfate, ammonium nitrate, and secondary organic carbon). From 2002 to 2013, PM 2.5 total mass decreased from 13.8 μg/m 3 to 9.2 μg/m 3 averaged across all sites, a 33% decrease. Largest decreases were observed for secondary sulfate and nitrate species (58% and 44%, respectively). The amount of neutralization by ammonium did not change substantially over the time period in spite of substantial decreases in sulfate and nitrate concentrations. Total mobile source impacts decreased more at urban sites (39%) than rural sites (23%), whereas biomass burning decreased more at rural sites (34%) than urban sites (27%). The estimated central-site source impacts are found to spatially represent large areas for secondary pollutants, smaller areas for biomass burning and dust, and very local areas for mobile sources and coal combustion. Trends from the National Emissions Inventory were compared with the annual trends of mobile source impacts, coal combustion impacts, and sulfate concentrations, resulting in statistically significant positive trends with Pearson R 2 of 0.80, 0.64, and 0.79, respectively. Results presented here suggest that PM 2.5 reductions in Georgia and the Southeast have been achieved by control of both stationary and mobile sources, and that PM 2.5 is comprised of increasing fractions of biomass burning emissions and suspended dust. The temporal trends of source impacts at each site adds information about source changes beyond the every-three-year emission inventories for evaluation of emission-based model results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some cities in China are facing serious air pollution problems including high concentrations of particles, SO 2 and NO x . Exposure to PM2.5, one of the primary air pollutants in many cities in China, is highly correlated with various adverse health impacts and ultimately represents a cost for society. The aim of this study is to assess health impacts and external costs related to PM2.5 pollution in Beijing, China with different baseline concentrations and valuation methods. The idea is to provide a reasonable estimate of the total health impacts and external cost due to PM2.5 pollution, as well as a quantification of the relevant uncertainty. PM2.5 concentrations were retrieved for the entire 2012 period in 16 districts of Beijing. The various PM2.5 related health impacts were identified and classified to avoid double counting. Exposure-response coefficients were then obtained from literature. Both the value of statistical life (VSL) and the amended human capital (AHC) approach were applied for external costs estimation, which could provide the upper and lower bound of the external costs due to PM2.5. To fully understand the uncertainty levels, the external cost distribution was determined via Monte Carlo simulation based on the uncertainty of the parameters such as PM2.5 concentration, exposure-response coefficients, and economic cost per case. The results showed that the external costs were equivalent to around 0.3% (AHC, China's guideline: C 0 = 35 μg/m 3 ) to 0.9% (VSL, WHO guideline: C 0 = 10 μg/m 3 ) of regional GDP depending on the valuation method and on the assumed baseline PM2.5 concentration (C 0 ). Among all the health impacts, the economic loss due to premature deaths accounted for more than 80% of the overall external costs. The results of this study could help policymakers prioritizing the PM2.5 pollution control interventions and internalize the external costs through the application of economic policy instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to sound policies at the national level, the successful implementation of zero-emission vehicle goals requires commitments and actions at the regional level. This study quantified what the potential impact would be by 2050 of large-scale use of passenger electric vehicles (EVs) on air pollution (concentrations of fine particulate matter), public health, and associated economic gains across various metropolitan areas in the United States. Results were estimated and reported for 30 metropolitan areas. The study employed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency CMAQ air quality model and the BenMAP health impact assessment tool. Results indicated that a large-scale uptake in EV passenger travel can improve air quality and reduce mortality. The top five metropolitan areas that would benefit the most from such transportation electrification are Los Angeles (1163 prevented premature deaths annually, corresponding to $12.61 billion health benefits), New York (576, $6.24 billion), Chicago (276, $3.00 billion), the San Joaquin Valley (260, $2.82 billion), and Dallas (186, $2.02 billion). These results provide important scientific input to national and regional policymakers in support of decision-making towards clean transportation. This study examined the status quo and latest updates on EV transition policies across different regions given that California and several northeast states have already expressed explicit clean transportation goals. Interrelated policy, technology, and behavioral measures toward bringing down barriers to EV adoption were also examined. The wide differences that exist in the electricity mix across various regions suggests that varying strategies are needed down the road to achieve clean electric mobility. • Large-scale use of electric vehicles in passenger travel can reduce mortality. • EV-induced health benefits for 30 U S. metropolitan areas are quantified. • Presents updates on transition to EVs in different regions. • Discusses various pathways toward lowering adoption barriers to EVs. • Shows how varying regional strategies are needed to reach an electric future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air quality in cities of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries has deteriorated with the situation driven by rapid population growth and its attendant increased vehicle ownership, increased use of solid fuels for cooking and heating, and poor waste management practices. Industrial expansion in these cities is also a major contributor to the worsening air pollution. Exposure to ambient air pollution is a major threat to human health in SSA with 176,000 deaths and 626,000 DALYs in the region attributable to ambient air pollution exposure. These estimates are however likely to be much higher than reported due to the limited data emanating from the region. Recently, the adoption of the World Health Assembly resolution on air pollution and health, and Sustainable Development Goals are a welcome boost for urban air pollution control efforts in SSA. In this article, we have outlined within the broad framework of these international policy instruments, measures for addressing urban air pollution and its associated health impacts in SSA sustainably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution is nowadays a serious public health problem worldwide, especially in urban areas, due to high population density and intense anthropogenic activity. This paper aims to present the development of a modelling tool suitable for simulating multiscale air quality and health impacts - the modair4health system, and its application to an urban case study. The modair4health system includes the online model WRF-Chem, which provides meteorological and air quality fields from regional to urban scales, and the computational fluid dynamics model VADIS, which uses the urban WRF-Chem outputs to simulate the flow and pollutant dispersion in urban built-up areas. A health module based on World Health Organization (WHO) methodologies was also integrated into the system to quantify physical and economic health impacts resulting from air quality changes. The system was applied over a local case study, which represents one of the busiest road traffic areas of the city of Coimbra in Portugal, to assess its operationality in estimating NO 2 concentrations and health impacts, by testing two traffic management scenarios. This scenario analysis considered a 4-domain nesting approach, with the finer resolution (4 m) domain focusing on the local case study and on two simulation periods, for which short-term health impacts were estimated. Spatially, the air quality and health greatest benefits were simulated around roads, where higher emission reductions were estimated, but they were also strongly influenced by the urban structure, local weather and population affected. The modair4health system has revealed to be an important multiscale modelling tool for integrated air quality and health assessment, able to support decision makers by facilitating the choice of cost-effective air quality and health management strategies and decisions. Moreover, its user-friendly interface allows to quickly test other urban air pollution control policies and the easy adaptation and application to other case studies considering regional to local atmospheric influences. The modair4health multiscale modelling system is composed of two air quality models able to simulate atmospheric concentrations from regional/urban (WRF-Chem) to local (VADIS) scales, and a health module for estimating physical and economic health impacts caused by short and long-term human exposure to air pollutants. [Display omitted] • The developed modair4health modelling system is presented. • It is able to simulate air quality and health impacts on multiple scales. • The urban structure has a key role in flow variations and pollutant dispersion. • Greater traffic scenario benefits are expected in areas and periods with higher NO 2. • Integrated assessment tool to effectively support air pollution control policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this study is to provide information about the number of people exposed to different levels of the total mean PM10 and PM2.5 concentration and to calculate population weighted concentration both as a total value (for PM10 and PM2.5) and for individual chemical species. The study area is Poland for the year 2007. The concentration of particulate matters was provided with the fine resolution atmospheric multi-pollutant exchange (FRAME) model with a 5 km × 5 km spatial resolution. The FRAME simulations included anthropogenic emissions, as well as sea salt aerosol and wind blown dust. We have found that the entire population is exposed to PM2.5 concentration above 5.0 μg m-3, which is suggested to have an adverse impact on human health. Primary particulate matter has the highest contribution in total PM10 and PM2.5 population weighted concentration and is followed by secondary inorganic aerosols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildfire activity is predicted to increase with global climate change, resulting in longer fire seasons and larger areas burned. The emissions from fires are highly variable owing to differences in fuel, burning conditions and other external environmental factors. The smoke that is generated can impact populations spread over vast geographical areas. Wildfire smoke is a complex mixture of pollutants that can undergo physical and chemical transformation processes during transport and can have major impacts on air quality and public health. This review looks at the main features of smoke that should be considered in the assessment of public health risk. It describes the current state of knowledge and discusses how smoke is produced, what factors affect emissions and smoke distribution, and what constituents of smoke are most likely to cause adverse health effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the largest rail yard facilities in the Southeastern US, the Inman and Tilford yards, is located in the northwestern section of Atlanta, Georgia alongside other industries, schools, businesses, and dwellings. It is a significant source of fine particulate (PM 2.5 ) and black carbon (BC) (Galvis, Bergin, & Russell, 2013). We calculate 2011 PM 2.5 and BC emissions from the rail yards and primary industrial and on-road mobile sources in the area and determine their impact on local air quality using Gaussian dispersion modeling. We determine the change in PM 2.5 and BC concentrations that could be accomplished by upgrading traditional switcher locomotives used in these rail yards to a lower emitting technology and evaluate the health benefits for comparison with upgrade costs. Emissions from the rail yards were estimated using reported fuel consumption data (GAEPD, 2012b) and emission factors previously measured in the rail yards (Galvis et al., 2013). Model evaluation against 2011 monitoring data found agreement between measured and simulated concentrations. Model outputs indicate that the line-haul and switcher activities are responsible for increments in annual average concentrations of approximately 0.5 ± 0.03 μg/m 3 (39%) and 0.7 ± 0.04 μg/m 3 (56%) of BC, and for 1.0 ± 0.1 μg/m 3 (7%) and 1.6 ± 0.2 μg/m 3 (14%) of PM 2.5 at two monitoring sites located north and south of the rail yards respectively. Upgrading the switcher locomotives at the yards with a lower emitting technology in this case “mother slug” units could decrease PM 2.5 and BC emissions by about 9 and 3 t/year respectively. This will lower annual average PM 2.5 concentrations between 0.3 ± 0.1 μg/m 3 and 0.6 ± 0.1 μg/m 3 and BC concentrations between 0.1 ± 0.02 μg/m 3 and 0.2 ± 0.03 μg/m 3 at monitoring sites north and south of the rail yards respectively, and would facilitate PM 2.5 NAAQS attainment in the area. We estimate that health benefits of approximately 20 million dollars per year could be gained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of the air quality index (AQI) system is to interpret air quality in a standardized indicator to enable the public to understand the likely health and environmental impacts of air pollutant concentration levels monitored on any given day. The daily averaged concentration data of air pollutants of monitoring sites under the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme of Delhi were analysed for the period 2001-2010 using the AQI system. This study was undertaken to (i) evaluate the trends of air quality for the past 10 years, (ii) ascertain the association of air quality with mortality and respiratory morbidity rate of Delhi, and (iii) examine the seasonal variation of air quality. The air quality status was found to be varying from 'moderate' to 'unhealthy for sensitive group' category from the health impact point of view. Non-trauma mortality (r = 0.877, P < 0.01) as well as respiratory morbidity were found to be significantly correlated with AQI values. The present study increases public awareness of the health implications of air pollution and helps assess pollution trends in a more meaningful way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]