On the causal link between carbon dioxide and air pollution mortality

[1] Greenhouse gases and particle soot have been linked to enhanced sea-level, snowmelt, disease, heat stress, severe weather, and ocean acidification, but the effect of carbon dioxide (CO₂) on air pollution mortality has not been examined or quantified. Here, it is shown that increased water vapor and temperatures from higher CO₂ separately increase ozone more with higher ozone; thus, global warming may exacerbate ozone the most in already-polluted areas. A high-resolution global-regional model then found that CO₂ may increase U.S. annual air pollution deaths by about 1000 (350–1800) and cancers by 20–30 per 1 K rise in CO₂-induced temperature. About 40% of the additional deaths may be due to ozone and the rest, to particles, which increase due to CO₂-enhanced stability, humidity, and biogenic particle mass. An extrapolation by population could render 21,600 (7400–39,000) excess CO₂-caused annual pollution deaths worldwide, more than those from CO₂-enhanced storminess.