IMPAC2T is a Young Investigators Group funded by the FONA intiative of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research [external] (BMBF) in Germany. It is a joint project between DLR (German Aerospace Center) and Helmholtz Munich [external], conducted in close collaboration with local authorities and further associated partners. The overachieving mission of IMPAC²T is to advance scientific understanding of future trends and drivers of ambient air pollution and its impacts on human health and vegetation under a changing climate. This knowledge will enable policymakers to evaluate and discuss potential mitigation options for air pollution under climate change conditions. In addition, specific mitigation options will be invested scientifically.
To address this challenge holistically, an interdisciplinary team will collaborate throughout the project combining expertise in chemistry-climate interactions and epidemiology.
A key research focus of IMPAC²T is emissions from the transport sector (cars, trucks, ships, etc.), which affect air pollution and thereby human health, vegetation, and the climate.
Technological advances and the energy transition in the transport sector (e.g., electrification) are likely to reduce anthropogenic emissions in the future; however, the effects of climate change (rising temperatures, shifting wind and precipitation patterns) may simultaneously increase air pollution. Critically, interactions between altered air pollution levels and elevated temperatures can significantly affect human health. A deeper understanding of these interactions will support the development of more effective air pollution and climate policies.
Geographically, the project focuses on West Africa and Europe, with particular emphasis on Germany. These regions present very different conditions with respect to current and projected emissions, climate change impacts, and the types of crops and vegetation susceptible to pollution. The project therefore aims to identify differences in the drivers of ambient air pollution between these regions in order to inform effective mitigation policies.
In IMPAC²T the global-regional chemistry-climate model MECO(n) [extern] will be employed to perform consistent air quality and climate projections at high resolution for Europe, Germany, and West Africa. These simulation results will be used to study future trends of ambient air pollution, atmospheric temperature and their impacts on human health and vegetation.
For Germany we will perform a detailed epidemiological assessment based on the MECO(n) results and the NAKO cohort study [extern] with a focus on cardiovascular diseases.
We will work in close collaboration with local authorities to discuss and define potential mitigation options for the transport sector to reduce air pollution effects on human health and vegetation.
