Measures to reduce air pollution could make heatwaves worse, according to a new study.
The study examined how man-made particles in the atmosphere – such as those produced by car exhausts and power plants - could affect the severity of future heatwaves.
Scientists from the University of Edinburgh created a powerful computer model to help them understand how these tiny particles behave.
They found that cutting air pollution could inadvertently make heatwaves worse in some parts of the world, by disrupting the formation of clouds that reflect heat from the sun back into space.
Deadly air pollution kills more people per year than SMOKING, scientists claim
This would cause peak day-time temperatures to increase, the team says.
Heatwaves in the northern hemisphere are more likely to be affected, because of widespread efforts to improve poor air quality in countries there, the scientists add.
"We desperately need to improve air quality. However, our results suggest that in doing so, we may inadvertently worsen heatwaves," said Professor David Stevenson from the School of GeoSciences.
"Air pollution and climate change are inextricably linked, and we need to develop smart pollution control policies that take these links into account."
The team said more research on how man-made particles affect clouds is needed, to better understand how air pollution can be reduced while simultaneously limiting the damaging impacts of heatwaves.
The study, led by PhD researcher Alcide Zhao and funded by a studentship from the China Scholarships Council, is published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
