Socio-economic impacts - air quality
Bjørløw Dalsøren, S.; Jonson, J.E. (2016). Socio-economic impacts - air quality, in: Quante, M. et al. North Sea region climate change assessment. Regional Climate Studies, : pp. 431-446. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39745-0_16 In: Quante, M.; Colijn, F. (Ed.) (2016). North Sea region climate change assessment. Regional Climate Studies. Springer: Switzerland. ISBN 978-3-319-39743-6. xlv, 528 pp., more In: Regional Climate Studies. Springer: Berlin. ISSN 1862-0248; e-ISSN 1865-505X, more |   |
| Authors | | Top | - Bjørløw Dalsøren, S.
- Jonson, J.E.
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| Abstract | In the North Sea region, poor air quality has serious implications for human health and the related societal costs are considerable. The state of air pollution is often used as a proxy for air quality. This chapter focuses on the two atmospheric pollutants of most significance to human health in Europe—particulate matter and ground-level ozone. These are also important ‘climate forcers’. In the North Sea area, the effects on air quality of emission changes since preindustrial times are stronger than the effects of climate change. According to model simulations, this is also the case for future air quality in the North Sea region, but substantial variation in model results implies considerable uncertainty. Short-term events such as heat waves can have substantial impacts on air quality and some regional climate models suggest that heat waves may become more frequent in the coming decades. If the reductions in air pollutant emissions expected through increasingly stringent policy measures are not achieved, any increase in the severity or frequency of heat waves may have severe consequences for air quality. Climate and air quality interact in several ways and mitigation optimised for a climate or air quality target in isolation could have synergistic or antagonistic effects. |
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