How does climate change interact with air pollution to affect public health?

• A. It can increase heat waves and wildfires, intensifying atmospheric reactions that raise pollutant concentrations and worsen respiratory and cardiovascular health.
• B. It reduces ozone formation.
• C. It has no impact on air quality.
• D. It only affects water resources.

Answer: (C)

Climate change changes the conditions that control how pollutants form and stay in the air, leading to worse health outcomes. Warmer temperatures and more sunlight boost the chemical reactions that create ground-level ozone, a pollutant that irritates lungs and stresses the cardiovascular system. Heat waves heighten stress on the body and increase vulnerability to pollution, while stagnant, sunlit air can trap pollutants near the surface, raising exposure.

In addition, climate-driven increases in wildfires add large amounts of fine particulate matter to the air, which penetrates deep into the lungs and is linked to heart and lung problems. All these factors together mean that climate change tends to worsen air quality and health impacts, not reduce them.

The other options don’t fit because ozone formation does not generally decrease with climate change; exposure and health impacts do not vanish under climate change; and while climate affects water resources, it also strongly affects air quality and related health risks.