Soot (also known as particulate matter) is made up of tiny particles of chemicals, soil, smoke, dust, or allergens-in the form of either gas or solids-that are carried in the air. Smog (sometimes referred to as ground-level ozone) occurs when emissions from combusting fossil fuels react with sunlight. These are the two most prevalent types of air pollution. The effects of air pollution on the human body vary depending on the type of pollutant and the length and level of exposure-as well as other factors, including a person’s individual health risks and the cumulative impacts of multiple pollutants or stressors.

“But climate change will make it harder in the future to meet pollution standards, which are designed to protect health.” “We’ve made progress over the last 50 years improving air quality in the United States thanks to the Clean Air Act,” says Kim Knowlton, senior scientist and deputy director of the NRDC Science Center. “Another type of air pollution, smog, is then worsened by that increased heat, forming when the weather is warmer and there’s more ultraviolet radiation.” Climate change also increases the production of allergenic air pollutants, including mold (thanks to damp conditions caused by extreme weather and increased flooding) and pollen (due to a longer pollen season). “Air pollution in the form of carbon dioxide and methane raises the earth’s temperature,” Walke says. “Burning fossil fuels releases gases and chemicals into the air.” And in an especially destructive feedback loop, air pollution not only contributes to climate change but is also exacerbated by it. “Most air pollution comes from energy use and production,” says John Walke, director of the Clean Air Project, part of the Climate and Clean Energy program at NRDC. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to safeguard public health by regulating the emissions of these harmful air pollutants. In the United States, the Clean Air Act, established in 1970, authorizes the U.S. Nine out of ten human beings currently breathe air that exceeds the WHO’s guideline limits for pollutants, with those living in low- and middle-income countries suffering the most. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), each year air pollution is responsible for nearly seven million deaths around the globe. Air pollution refers to the release of pollutants into the air-pollutants which are detrimental to human health and the planet as a whole.

Something in the air guide