Asthma and climate change: unveiling hidden vulnerabilities

Climate change is now firmly established as a determinant of respiratory health, with asthma among the conditions most sensitive to its shifting contours [1]. Rising temperatures and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide drive longer, more intense pollen seasons [2], while extreme events such as wildfires, droughts, and storms degrade air quality. importantly, air quality and, consequently, respiratory health are also compromised by anthropogenic combustion processes (e.g., fossil fuel burning, vehicular traffic, industrial emissions), which generate pollutants directly responsible or both climate change and respiratory morbidity [3]. The result is a discernible rise in asthma exacerbations, articularly among children and women, whose vulnerability reflects both biological and social factors.