A study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine reported that researchers from the School of Public Health at Emory University found that both ozone and primary pollutants from traffic substantially increase asthma-related emergency department visits in children, especially during the warm season. Asthma exacerbations are known to be triggered by air pollutants, but researchers are still trying to disentangle which specific pollutants are to blame, and the extent to which they increase pediatric emergency department visits for asthma. The researchers offered several possible explanations for why the pollution effects appeared stronger in the warm season, noting that “during the summer children are more likely to play outside” and postulating that there may be an “unidentified synergism between the pollutant and a meteorological or physical factor.”  Click here to read the full study.