Inaugural editorial: Leveraging scientific innovations to safeguard public health against the synergistic threats of air pollution and climate change

Journal’s scope and mission

npj Clean Air covers a broad scope of topics spanning air pollution, climate change, and human health. We welcome submissions from scientists in atmospheric chemistry and physics, climate science, environmental health, and related fields. Topics include but are not limited to: gaseous pollutants and atmospheric oxidation, health impacts of air pollution, aerosol-cloud-climate interactions, air pollution-ecosystem interactions, mitigation strategies for air pollution, and emerging atmospheric contaminants. Special emphasis is placed on the interactions between climate change and air pollution, as well as their combined effects on human health. Understanding these issues is critical for establishing rational air quality standards, continuously improving air quality, and formulating global warming countermeasures.

Significance to the field

The focus of npj Clean Air is pivotal to advancing this interdisciplinary domain. Climate change and air pollution exhibit intricate interactions, jointly exacerbating threats to human health. While these impacts attract global attentions, key scientific questions remain unresolved. The coupling between global climate change and regional air quality involves highly complex mechanisms: global warming alters meteorological processes, increasing the risk of regional pollution episodes, while anthropogenic emissions influence both climate change and extreme weather events. Through physical, chemical, and biological pathways, climate change and air pollution create “dual exposure” health risks. Synergies between extreme weather (e.g., heatwaves coupled with high ozone concentrations) and air pollution events (e.g., wildfires or dust storms releasing particulate matter with increasing frequency under climate change) further amplify health hazards. Clarifying the mechanisms linking global climate change, regional air quality, and human health—and proposing air quality improvement strategies and optimized environmental standards—is essential for safeguarding public health and supporting regional sustainable development goals. npj Clean Air serves as a vital platform for scientists addressing these challenges to share breakthroughs, perspectives, and collaborative insights.

Invitation to the community

We warmly invite researchers in atmospheric chemistry and physics, climate science, environmental health, and allied disciplines to contribute to npj Clean Air. Whether through original research, perspectives, or reviews, we welcome your submissions to share findings, ideas, and discoveries with our global readership. We also sincerely appreciate your participation as reviewers to uphold the journal’s rigor or collaborate on special issues addressing emerging topics. Current open special issues include “Air Quality under Climate Change”, “Air Pollution, Climate Change, and Their Compound Impacts on Human Health”, “Atmospheric Evolution of Light-Absorbing Carbonaceous Aerosols”, and “Interactions of Air Pollutants with Weather and Climate”. These new collections offer exceptional opportunities to showcase innovative research.

Future outlook

Looking ahead, npj Clean Air aspires to ambitious goals. We are committed to expanding our Editorial Board with global experts to reflect the journal’s international scope. Our long-term ambition is to position npj Clean Air as a leading journal in the field, recognized for its high-impact research and contributions to advancing interdisciplinary research at the climate-pollution-health interface.

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