The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Worsening air quality through heatwaves - WMO
Climate change is having a measurable impact on air quality and therefore human health, meaning the two must be tackled together, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Wednesday.
“This record-breaking summer sets the scene for the fact that we are seeing more extreme heat, we are seeing more heatwaves. This does have an impact on human health and on air quality,” said Clare Nullis, WMO spokesperson, at a press conference at the United Nations in Geneva.
The 2023 WMO Air Quality and Climate Bulletin noted that high temperatures are not only a hazard by themselves, but they also trigger damaging pollution.
“The coincidence of high temperature and high levels of particulate matter, such as from forest fires or desert dusts, poses a dangerous health risk for large parts of the population in the world,” stressed Lorenzo Labrador, WMO scientific officer.
Echoing that message, Ms. Nullis noted that global sea surface temperatures were “unprecedented” while Antarctic sea ice was “unprecedentedly low for this time of year”.
In addition, August was the hottest on record “by a big margin. It’s the second hottest month ever and this follows July 2023 which was the hottest month on record.”
Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heatwaves. Smoke from wildfires contain chemicals that affect not only air quality and health, but also damage plants, ecosystems and crops.
“The lengthy heatwave in September of 2022 over the northwestern United States, which correlated with large wildfires and a significant degradation in air quality over the region,” said Mr. Labrador.
He added that “during July 2022, a heatwave was observed across Europe, where hundreds of air quality monitoring sites exceeded the World Health Organization ozone air quality guide lined level of a hundred milligrams per meter cube for an eight-hour exposure.”
WMO pointed out in their report that people who live and work in cities experience the most intense conditions when it comes to heat since they are surrounded by tall buildings.
“Air quality and climate change should be studied not as separate subjects but should be studied together”, according to WMO’s Mr. Labrador. “They are inseparable in the sense that many of the gases that are responsible for climate change are also emitted by the same sources that cause air pollution. Furthermore, there is an intricate link in the set of chemical reactions whereby atmospheric pollutants are produced in part from global greenhouse gases.”
WMO released its report ahead of Thursday’s International Day of Clean Air for blue skies.
-ends-
STORY: Worsening air quality through heatwaves - WMO
DURATION (TRT): 2:24"
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16/9
DATELINE: 6 September 2023, GENEVA SWITZERLAND
FORMAT: HYBRID PRESS BRIEFING
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley, UN Geneva
- Wide shot: speakers behind podium, attendees at the press conference, screens with speaker
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Clare Nullis, WMO spokesperson: “Global sea surface temperatures are unprecedented. Antarctic sea ice is unprecedentedly low for this time of year and it was the hottest August on record by a big margin. It’s the second hottest month ever and this follows July 2023 which was the hottest month on record.”
- Medium shot: attendees at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Clare Nullis, WMO spokesperson: “This record breaking summer sets the scene for the fact that we are seeing more extreme heat, we are seeing more heatwaves. This does have an impact on human health and on air quality.”
- Wide shot: speakers behind podium, attendees at the press conference, screens with speaker
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Lorenzo Labrador, WMO scientific officer: “The coincidence of high temperature and high levels of particulate matter, such as from forest fires or desert dusts, poses a dangerous health risk for large parts of the population in the world.”
- Wide shot: attendees, cameramen/women and sound engineers at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Lorenzo Labrador, WMO scientific officer: “The lengthy heatwave in September of 2022 over the northwestern United States, which correlated with large wildfires and a significant degradation in air quality over the region.”
- Close shot: attendee taking notes at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Lorenzo Labrador, WMO scientific officer: “During July 2022, a heatwave was observed across Europe, where hundreds of air quality monitoring sites exceeded the World Health Organization ozone air quality guidelined level of a hundred milligrams per meter cube for an eight hour exposure.”
- Medium shot: attendees and cameraman at the press conference, screens with speaker
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Lorenzo Labrador, WMO scientific officer: “Air quality and climate change should be studied not as separate subjects but should be studied together. They are inseparable in the sense that many of the gases that are responsible for climate change are also emitted by the same sources that cause air pollution. Furthermore, there is an intricate link in the set of chemical reactions whereby atmospheric pollutants are produced in part from global greenhouse gases.”
- Medium shot: speakers behind podium at the press conference
- Close shot: attendee taking notes at the press conference
- Close shot: camerawoman and sound engineer at the press conference
Similar Stories
1
1
Edited News | UNMAS
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNMAS
Protecting people from mines and other explosive ordnance in complex settings
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNODA
Twenty-Second Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO , UNICEF
Asia: Lives upended in cyclone disasters, ‘extreme’ rainfall on the rise - UN agencies
Across southeast Asia, record-breaking rains and flooding caused by back-to-back tropical storms have claimed hundreds of lives and brought devastation and displacement upon entire communities, UN agencies said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | ITU , UNDP , UNHCR , WMO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Development Programme, the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the International Telecommunication Union.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNIDIR
Landmine Monitor 2025 report launch
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in the Geneva on Friday the UN Human Rights Office raised grave concerns about the recent constitutional amendments adopted in Pakistan.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson made the following comment on the most recent killings in the occupied West Bank yesterday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in the Geneva on Friday the UN Human Rights Office raised concerns about the military-controlled election in Myanmar, which starts next month and will be conducted in an atmosphere rife with threats and violence putting the lives of civilians at risk.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR , ICRC , UNCTAD
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Refugee Agency.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNAIDS
World AIDS Day 2025: Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
Gaza women are ‘last line of protection’ for their families amid attacks, hunger and harsh winter – UN Women
Women in Gaza are ensuring their families’ survival “with nothing but courage and exhausted hands” while violence continues and essentials remain in short supply, the UN’s gender equality agency warned on Tuesday.