ERS/World Allergy Organisation "Climate change, air pollution and respiratory diseases"
Symposium Chairs: R. Pawankar (Tokyo, Japan), L. Rosenwasser (Kansas City, United States of America)
Aims: : to detail the relationship between climate change and respiratory disease. The key climate change factors that could impact respiratory disease are as follows:
- extreme temperature events (both heat and cold);
- changes in the degree of air pollution, flooding, damp housing, thunderstorms, forest fires and dust storms; and
- short-term or long-term changes in the disposition of allergens and the consequent allergies.
The main areas of concern are asthma, rhino-sinusitis, COPD and respiratory tract infections. The extent to which these diseases will be affected by climate change will vary depending on the proportion of susceptible individuals in a given population. Poorer areas with limited access to medical services will suffer particularly from these effects of climate change. Other areas with less well developed medical services, including migrating populations and regions with high population growth, will also be highly susceptible to these effects.