The estimated increase in the risk of premature death among people with respiratory problems that would result from a 1°C rise in global temperature is more than double that in the rest of the population, the European Respiratory Society says.

As pressure mounts on governments to agree tougher measures to tackle climate change at negotiations in Copenhagen shortly before Christmas, the society is urging policy makers and health professionals to pay greater attention to the effects of global warming on people with asthma, rhinosinusitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and respiratory tract …