Impact of Climate Change on Indoor Air Quality: A Review

Abstract

Climate change can affect the indoor environment due to heat and mass transfers between indoor and outdoor environments. To mitigate climate change impacts and adapt buildings to the changing environment, changes in building characteristics and occupants’ behavior may occur. To characterize the effects of climate change on indoor air quality (IAQ), the present review focused on four aspects: (1) experimental and modeling studies that relate IAQ to future environmental conditions, (2) evolution of indoor and outdoor air concentrations in the coming years with regard to temperature rise, (3) climate change mitigation and adaptation actions in the building sector, and (4) evolution of human behavior in the context of climate change. In the indoor environment, experimental and modeling studies on indoor air pollutants highlighted a combined effect of temperature and relative humidity on pollutant emissions from indoor sources. Five IAQ models developed for future climate data were identified in the literature. In the outdoor environment, the increasing ambient temperature may lead directly or indirectly to changes in ozone, particle, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compound concentrations in some regions of the world depending on the assumptions made about temperature evolution, anthropogenic emissions, and regional regulation. Infiltration into buildings of outdoor air pollutants is governed by many factors, including temperature difference between indoors and outdoors, and might increase in the years to come during summer and decrease during other seasons. On the other hand, building codes in some countries require a higher airtightness for new and retrofitted buildings. The building adaptation actions include the reinforcement of insulation, implementation of new materials and smart building technologies, and a more systematic and possibly longer use of air conditioning systems in summer compared to nowadays. Moreover, warmer winters, springs, and autumns may induce an increasing duration of open windows in these seasons, while the use of air conditioning in summer may reduce the duration of open windows.

Indoor Air Sources of Outdoor Air Pollution: Health Consequences, Policy, and Recommendations: An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report

“…More AC use will increase indoor losses of PM and oxygenated (water-soluble) VOCs (e.g., formaldehyde, acetic acid, formic acid) ( 103 ). However, building emissions (e.g., acetic and formic acid and furfural from wood in non–air-conditioned spaces) will also increase with temperature ( 104 – 106 ). Increased wildfire emissions will lead to more closed windows and, therefore, more AC and filter use ( 107 , 108 ).…”

Frontiers in Biotechnology: Emerging Approaches And Strategies

“…Transportation: Combustion of fossil fuels in cars, trucks, and other vehicles releases pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (Kim KH et al, 2015;Mansouri A et al, 2022;M Adamkiewicz G et al, 2022).…”

A Review of Artificial Neural Network Models Applied to Predict Indoor Air Quality in Schools

“…Meanwhile, many studies used the concentrations of PM 2.5 , PM 10 , NO 2 , O 3 , CO, VOCs, and fungi to describe IAQ, both in schools and other buildings [21,[63][64][65][66][67]. Considering the relationship between pollutant emissions and environmental parameters such as temperature and humidity [68,69], some research added those environmental parameters to IAQ indicators [70][71][72][73][74], while others presented them as contextual factors. However, there is a lack of clear consensus on which or what combination of pollutant parameters should be used to describe IAQ [75].…”