A13D-01 INVITED 13:45h
Bjerknes Lecture "Atmospheric Pollution and Climate Change, A Local and Global Perspective"
About half of the world's population is now living in urban areas, exposing millions of residents to harmful levels of air pollutants caused mainly by emissions from motor vehicles and industries. Slash-and-burn agricultural practices and forests fires also contribute to worsening air quality on broad regional scales. Emissions from all these fossil fuel and bio-mass burning activities have lead to increases in the amount of atmospheric particulate matter, as well as in the concentration of species such as nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide. Emissions of these relatively short-lived compounds in turn lead to the formation of tropospheric ozone, which together with particulate matter may also contribute to regional climate change. This deteriorating air quality problem is expected to reach global proportions in the coming decades, with potentially detrimental effects on ecological systems and on human health. On the other hand, improving air quality effectively anywhere in the world requires a holistic approach involving not only science and technology, but also a consideration of economic, social, and political factors.