• Bathmapriya Balakrishnan, Sean J Callahan, Sujith V Cherian, Abirami Subramanian, Sauradeep Sarkar, Nitin Bhatt, and Mary-Beth Scholand.
• Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV; Occupational and Environmental Health Section, Diffuse Lung Disease and Lung Transplant Network, CHEST, Glenview, IL. Electronic address: p.bala1286@gmail.com.
• Chest. 2023 Oct 1; 164 (4): 963974963-974.

AbstractClimate change adversely impacts global health. Increasingly, temperature variability, inclement weather, declining air quality, and growing food and clean water supply insecurities threaten human health. Earth's temperature is projected to increase up to 6.4 °C by the end of the 21st century, exacerbating the threat. Public and health care professionals, including pulmonologists, perceive the detrimental effects of climate change and air pollution and support efforts to mitigate its effects. In fact, evidence is strong that premature cardiopulmonary death is associated with air pollution exposure via inhalation through the respiratory system, which functions as a portal of entry. However, little guidance is available for pulmonologists in recognizing the effects of climate change and air pollution on the diverse range of pulmonary disorders. To educate and mitigate risk for patients competently, pulmonologists must be armed with evidence-based findings of the impact of climate change and air pollution on specific pulmonary diseases. Our goal is to provide pulmonologists with the background and tools to improve patients' health and to prevent adverse outcomes despite climate change-imposed threats. In this review, we detail current evidence of climate change and air pollution impact on a diverse range of pulmonary disorders. Knowledge enables a proactive and individualized approach toward prevention strategies for patients, rather than merely treating ailments reactively.Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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