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Is Climate Change Making Asthma Worse?
September 22, 2025 at 10:04 AM EDT
By WeatherBug's Ali Husain
The science is already clear — human activities are affecting Earth’s climate. We know that there is a clear warming trend from our actions, but what impact is climate change having on people suffering from asthma?
Anthropogenic activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, increase the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. You have probably heard about our biggest concern (carbon dioxide), but other harmful gases released by human activities such as methane and nitrous oxide are potent greenhouse gases that have similarly serious consequences on global climate change.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), climate change will impact human health in a whole host of ways, including infectious diseases, water and food supply, heat-related illnesses and deaths, environmental deterioration/destruction and allergens. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), expected warmer temperatures because of climate change could increase the concentrations of unhealthy air and reduce water quality as well.
Currently, it is suggested that air pollution can cause asthma. Climate change is increasing both water and air pollution, which can aggravate chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma.
Additionally, increased surface temperatures will lead to elevated levels of tropospheric ozone. Stratospheric ozone (also known as “good” ozone) is helpful for our health because it protects us from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Tropospheric ozone (also known as “ground-level ozone” or “bad ozone”) forms from chemical reactions between nitrous oxide and organic compounds when exposed to sunlight. These can include emissions from industrial plants, vehicle exhaust and gasoline fumes.
“Bad ozone” is most likely to reach unhealthy levels on hot, sunny days in major population centers, and is a major part of urban smog, another type of air pollution. Groups at highest risk from ground-level ozone include the elderly, people with lung disease or are actively outdoors, and children. Children are the group with the greatest risk from ground-level ozone, and on top of that, are more likely to have asthma than adults. Spikes in tropospheric ozone also correspond with increases in emergency room visits and hospitalizations for those suffering from asthma, painting a very clear picture.
With climate change becoming increasingly urgent, more and more scientific research is being conducted on future warming scenarios. One thing that is clear, however, is that climate change will do much more than just make the world hotter.
Sources: AAFA, EPA, CDC
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Image: A woman coughing having dry cough (24 August 2020, unsplash)
Anthropogenic activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, increase the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. You have probably heard about our biggest concern (carbon dioxide), but other harmful gases released by human activities such as methane and nitrous oxide are potent greenhouse gases that have similarly serious consequences on global climate change.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), climate change will impact human health in a whole host of ways, including infectious diseases, water and food supply, heat-related illnesses and deaths, environmental deterioration/destruction and allergens. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), expected warmer temperatures because of climate change could increase the concentrations of unhealthy air and reduce water quality as well.
Currently, it is suggested that air pollution can cause asthma. Climate change is increasing both water and air pollution, which can aggravate chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma.
Additionally, increased surface temperatures will lead to elevated levels of tropospheric ozone. Stratospheric ozone (also known as “good” ozone) is helpful for our health because it protects us from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Tropospheric ozone (also known as “ground-level ozone” or “bad ozone”) forms from chemical reactions between nitrous oxide and organic compounds when exposed to sunlight. These can include emissions from industrial plants, vehicle exhaust and gasoline fumes.
“Bad ozone” is most likely to reach unhealthy levels on hot, sunny days in major population centers, and is a major part of urban smog, another type of air pollution. Groups at highest risk from ground-level ozone include the elderly, people with lung disease or are actively outdoors, and children. Children are the group with the greatest risk from ground-level ozone, and on top of that, are more likely to have asthma than adults. Spikes in tropospheric ozone also correspond with increases in emergency room visits and hospitalizations for those suffering from asthma, painting a very clear picture.
With climate change becoming increasingly urgent, more and more scientific research is being conducted on future warming scenarios. One thing that is clear, however, is that climate change will do much more than just make the world hotter.
Sources: AAFA, EPA, CDC
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Image: A woman coughing having dry cough (24 August 2020, unsplash)