Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Global Health / 01.03.2017
Western US Smog Increasingly Due To Asian Emissions
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Meiyun Lin PhD
Research Scholar
NOAA and Princeton University’s Cooperative Institute for Climate Science
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Ground-level ozone, also known as smog, has climbed in the rural West over the past 25 years, even in such seemingly pristine places as Yellowstone National Park. We have found out why – and why cutting our own output of smog-forming chemicals such as nitrogen oxides by 50% hasn’t helped. This study found that increased pollution from Asia, which has tripled its nitrogen oxide emissions since 1990, contribute to the persistence of smog in the West.
While ozone in the eastern U.S. has decreased overall, the levels can spike during heat waves, characterized by large-scale air stagnation, warm temperatures, and plentiful radiation needed for ozone formation locally. As heat waves appears to be on the rise due to global climate change, progress in reducing smog in the eastern US is likely to be slower in the coming decades.
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