Existing conditions regarding California's air quality during the stay-at-home order should stay to benefit the quality of life of the residents, even after coronavirus has been resolved, researchers say.

Researchers from the University of California in Los Angeles published a study that could serve as a guideline for the state's officials to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution by 2050 significantly. If the state follows the instructions from the research, about 14,000 lives would be saved yearly, experts say.

Yifang Zhu, a professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and one of the authors of the study, says that attaining cleaner air and healthier lives should not necessitate a pandemic before people start showing action.

Zhu adds that measures to protect the environment, such as creating cleaner air benefits people at a local and regional scale. The public health benefits are both instantaneous and long-term and can save the economy billions each year, she says.

Researchers conducted the study with the use of a model to study how circulating air quality would change in a carbon-neutral state. They combined the model with data and information to approximate how it would affect public health.

The UCLA Sustainable LA Grand Challenge partially financed the study. According to a university official, the study aims to apply UCLA expertise and research to transform Los Angeles into the most sustainable megacity by 2050.

The study was published in the journal Nature Sustainability on May 4.

Cleaner Air Equals Healthier Californians

California isn't just known for its tall palm trees, fair weather, and Hollywood. It's also known as one of the nation's most polluted states. This distinction takes a new implication this year as the coronavirus is proving to be more dangerous for people living with dirty air.

The American Lung Association's "State of the Air " report announces that the top metro areas for year-round particle pollution in the U.S. are all in California. These areas include the Central Valley hubs of Bakersfield, Visalia and Fresno, the Los Angeles region, and the Bay Area. The report shows that most residents have recently been exposed to unhealthy levels of particles statewide.

According to UCLA researchers, the most susceptible residents would benefit the most from the improved air quality, with 35% of avoided deaths deriving from the top 25% most-polluted areas.

The study's findings also reveal that a carbon-neutral California is possible and would significantly reduce diseases. The results specifically point out that acute respiratory symptoms in over 8 million adults would be prevented, asthma exacerbation in one million children would be reduced, as well as cardiovascular hospital admissions by 4,500.

The research also reveals that carbon neutrality would benefit the economy as the number of lost workdays would decrease by over 1 million a year. Additionally, the monetary savings of greenhouse gas reductions will surpass the cost by $109 billion a year, researchers say.

The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that emissions caused by humans need to be reduced to almost zero. The authority claims this should be done to limit the rise in global temperature to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit and avoid the harsh effects of global warming.

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