Even though it is a known fact that pollution causes global warming, a new research suggests that the reverse is also possible. According to this research, global warming may hinder summer's cleansing winds over the Northeast and Midwest US over the next 50 years, significantly elevating the levels of air pollution in these areas.
Increased warming of the atmosphere, as is taking place now, will block cold fronts bringing clean and cool air from Canada and precipitate stagnant air and ozone allowing pollution to build up in the areas mentioned above, researchers said at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Loretta Mickley of Harvard University's Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences said that pollution accumulates until a cold front blows in and the winds sweep the polluted air away. A computer model Mickley and her colleagues created have predicted a 20 per cent reduction in summer cold fronts out of Canada.
If the model holds true, global warming may bring difficult days for those affected by ozone pollution, especially people afflicted with respiratory illnesses like asthma and bronchitis.
Interestingly, earlier this week, 141 nations signed the United Nations Kyoto Protocol that aims at decreasing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute towards global warming.
The United States, which is one of the most polluted countries in the world, refused to sign this protocol, under which there are caps on carbon dioxide emissions, especially from burning fossil fuels in factories, power plants, and vehicles.
Over the past century, world temperatures have increased by an average of 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.6 degree Celsius).
