People with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other lung conditions face even greater risks from climate change, according to a scientific report published in the European Respiratory Journal. The report gathers evidence on how the effects of climate change, such as heat waves, fires, droughts and floods, will worsen breathing difficulties for millions of people around the world, especially infants, young children and the elderly.

“Air pollution is already damaging our lungs. Now the effects of climate change are becoming a significant threat to patients with respiratory problems,” points out Professor of the University of Copenhagen and President of the Environment and Health Committee of the European Pulmonology Society, Zorana Jovanović Andersen, one of the authors of the study.

The current limits in the European Union for air quality are much higher than those set out in the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines: 25 micrograms per cubic meter for small diameter suspended fine particles PM 2.5 and 40 micrograms per cubic meter for nitrogen dioxide in the EU, while WHO guidelines set 5 micrograms per cubic meter for PM 2.5 and 10 micrograms per cubic meter for nitrogen dioxide. However, the EU is currently revising the Air Quality Directive.

The authors call on behalf of the European Pulmonology Society, which represents more than 30,000 pulmonologists from 160 countries, the European Parliament and governments around the world, to urgently reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change.