Climate Change Weakens Respiratory Health Benefits of Clean Air and Greenspaces

27.01.2025

A study by Swiss TPH, in collaboration with European research partners, provides critical insights into the interplay of air pollution, greenspace, and temperature on respiratory health. Using data from long-term cohort studies, the findings, published recently in Environment International, reveal that while improved air quality and increased greenspace benefit lung health, climate change significantly diminishes these positive effects.

Climate change can create conditions that reduce the effectiveness of interventions like improving air quality or increasing green spaces. (Photo: AdobeStock / Swiss TPH)

The research of Swiss TPH and partners explored the associations of long-term exposure to air pollution, greenspaces, and temperature with lung function in children and adults. Drawing on data from more than 10,000 participants from population-based cohorts from five European countries, the study utilised spirometry measurements, including those in the SAPALDIA cohort, which has been tracking lung function for over 30 years.

Conducted as part of the Horizon 2020 EXPANSE project, the research examined a variety of environmental scenarios, such as improved air quality, increased greenspace, rising temperature and combinations thereof. The researchers found that climate change not only harms lung function directly but also reduces the beneficial effects of improved air quality and greenspace. The findings published in the peer-reviewed journal Environment International underline that climate change is not just an environmental issue but a growing health crisis.

“Efforts to improve air quality and increase greenspace must be strengthened in parallel with efforts to fight climate change to protect the respiratory health of children and adults,” said Ayoung Jeong, Senior Scientist at Swiss TPH and first author of the publication, underscoring the need for integrated strategies to address environmental health.

“At Swiss TPH, we have strong expertise in cohort studies. Together with our partners across Europe, we are able to conduct long-term research studies to provide policy-makers with the evidence needed in the era of climate change,” said Nicole Probst-Hensch, Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Swiss TPH and senior author of the study. “The findings offer valuable evidence to guide urban planning, healthcare strategies, and climate policies across Europe and beyond.”

About the study

EXPANSE is a five-year European research project that focuses on the urban exposome and the question on how to maximise peoples’ health in a modern urban environment. Swiss TPH is one of 20 academic and non-academic partners located in 14 European countries and the USA. The EXPANSE project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and is coordinated by Utrecht University.

Nicole Probst-Hensch

Nicole Probst-Hensch

Professor, PhD (Pharmacy and Epidemiology), MPH

Head of Department, Group Leader, Head of Unit
+41612848378
nicole.probst@swisstph.ch

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