3 Air pollution (ozone)

Climate change can interact with other environmental problems with potential consequences for humans as well as animals. Air pollution is one factor that could interact with climate change. This could be both in the levels of pollutant and the effect it has on humans and the environment. Ground-level ozone is a form of air pollution. Although in the upper atmosphere ozone is important to protect us from UV radiation, at ground level it can be a harmful pollutant.

Because sunlight is involved in ozone formation and because high temperatures are needed for high ozone concentrations at ground level, global warming has the potential to increase the formation of ground-level ozone. As ozone is potentially threatening to human health, this could have very serious consequences. In the UK this is less of a concern than, say, in the USA, where warmer summer temperatures mean ozone is already a serious problem. It is estimated that a 4°C rise in temperature could result in a 20 per cent increase in maximum ozone concentration in San Francisco Bay, breaching US air quality standards. This would increase the health risk for sensitive individuals in the population.