Bulletin highlights the deep interlink between air quality and climate change, stressing the need for holistic action to protect health, ecosystems, and economies.
Key Highlights
- PM2.5 Pollution: Major global health risk, causing millions of premature deaths yearly.
- Levels have declined in North America, Europe, and East Asia due to regulations but remain high in South Asia and high latitudes, driven by wildfires and industrial activity
- Shipping Emission Regulations (MARPOL VI): Curbed sulfur in marine fuels, improving health but slightly increasing global warming by reducing sulfate aerosols’ cooling effect.
- Air quality and climate change: Pollutants like ground-level ozone warm atmospheres, while climate change influences pollution through altered chemical reactions, biogenic emissions, and human activity.
- Aerosols: Dark aerosols (e.g., black carbon) absorb solar radiation, leading to warming, while brighter ones (e.g., sulfates) reflect it, causing temporary cooling.
Winter Fog Issue in North India (Highlighted by Report)
- The Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) faces worsening winter fog and rising air pollution due to human activity.
- Causes:
- Fog forms as moisture condenses on PM2.5 (from vehicles, industry, crop burning) acting as 'fog condensation nuclei' (FCN).
- Temperature inversions trap these pollutants, prolonging dense fog. Urbanization, brick kilns, and ammonium emissions intensify this.
- Consequences: Major transportation delays and severe health issues like asthma, with toxic compounds in fog water being a concern.
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