Will we fall into a vicious cycle of heat waves and air pollution?

Heat waves are getting worse around the world. So much so that the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), in its most recent bulletin on climate and air quality, said that they could generate a vicious circle of more health problems related to pollution.

"Heat waves worsen air quality, with knock-on effects on human health, ecosystems, agriculture, and indeed our daily lives," said WMO Secretary-General Professor Petteri Taalas. He also warned that addressing climate change and air quality together is necessary to break this vicious circle.

The report describes the scenario that unfolded in the United States and Europe in 2022, with wildfires and heat waves accompanied by desert dust, respectively.

Europe broke temperature records in 2023

In fact, during that same year, temperatures in Europe had already broken a record, as in the second half of August there was an unusually high intrusion of desert dust over that continent and the Mediterranean.

Additionally, the report contains figures for ozone-induced crop losses, which in 2022 averaged between 4.4% and 12.4%. Wheat and soybean losses reached between 15% and 30% per cent in agricultural areas of India and China.

But, although the data in the recent bulletin talks about last year, Taalas said that 2023 has been much more extreme and dangerous. “July was the hottest month on record, with intense heat in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere and this continued through August,” the WMO Secretary-General said.

In addition, it was pointed out that heat waves and fires are closely related because smoke from fires contains a mix of chemicals that affects not only air quality and health but also ecosystems. This causes more carbon emissions and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

That is why, given the new scenarios faced worldwide, the document talked about some measures that people can take in their daily lives against air pollution in the event of forest fires and other risks related to heat waves.

One example is Brazil's implementation of parks and tree-covered areas within urban areas to improve air quality and the absorption of carbon dioxide.

'More extreme'

Taalas cautioned that in terms of temperatures, "what we are witnessing in 2023 is even more extreme," despite Wednesday's report being based on 2022 data.

On Wednesday, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service announced that the Earth had just experienced its hottest three months on record, with last July being the hottest month ever recorded. It further stated that August followed as the second hottest month, and projected that 2023 was on track to become the hottest year on record.

That is bad news for air quality levels.

"WMO stated that air quality and climate have an interconnected relationship because the sources emitting substances responsible for climate change and air quality deterioration are often the same. Changes in one sphere inevitably result in changes in the other."

The combustion of fossil fuels emits carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere, which not only trap heat as greenhouse gases but also can lead to the formation of pollutants like ozone and nitrate aerosols.

Researchers meanwhile widely agree that climate change is causing more intense and more frequent heat waves, and that this in turn is leading to a growing risk of more severe wildfires, WMO said.

'Closely linked'

Lorenzo Labrador, a WMO researcher at the Global Atmosphere Watch network that compiled Wednesday's Bulletin, said, "Heat waves and wildfires are closely linked."

"In the statement, he said that smoke from wildfires contains a witch's brew of chemicals that not only affects air quality and health, but also damages plants, ecosystems, and crops, leading to increased carbon emissions and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere."

The report showed how heat waves last year triggered wildfires in the Northwestern United States, leading to unhealthy air.

"Soaring temperatures in Europe, accompanied by unusually high amounts of desert dust reaching the continent, caused increased concentrations of both particulate matter and ground-level ozone pollution."

While high-altitude, or stratospheric ozone protects humans from harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun, ozone close to the Earth's surface harms human health.

It also reduces crop yield, with ozone-induced losses averaging 4.4-12.4 percent globally for staple food crops, and wheat and soybean losses as high as 15-30 percent in parts of India and China.

Keep Reading

• Deltas Most Important Rivers Of Asia Are In Danger: Study
• Kochi Corporation And Railway Station Served Notices For Pollution Violations
• Glacier Retreat To Reduce Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra Flow: UN Chief

Follow Ground Report for Climate Change and Under-Reported issues in India. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Koo App, Instagram, Whatsapp and YouTube. Write us on [email protected].