Although it seems logical that increased air conditioning usage would mean higher levels of air pollution, that has not been the focus of most air pollution studies. Thanks to a new study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, researchers have now actually detailed the connection.

According to the study, electricity production associated with air conditioning use causes emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide to increase by 3 to 4 percent per degree Celsius (or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

"The hottest days of the summer typically coincide with the days of highest air pollution," said study lead author David Abel, a graduate student in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "We quantified the relationship between daily temperature and power plant emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide on a state-by-state basis in a comprehensive manner that hasn't been done before."

These gas emissions can affect both the environment and people's health with sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides causing respiratory problems in children, people with asthma and the elderly, and with carbon dioxide being a primary greenhouse gas.

"Most of the research on climate and air pollution has focused on other emission sources, chemical reactions in the air, and how weather patterns can trap pollution," said Tracey Holloway, who led the study. Holloway is a professor of environmental studies at the Nelson Institute and in the UW-Madison Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. She says the study carries the discussion a step further: "We showed that hot summer days also have higher emissions from power plants."

The researchers determined that power plants released 3.35 percent more sulfur dioxide on average per degree Celsius increase in temperature, and that nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide rose by 3.60 percent and 3.32 percent, respectively.

The goal of the research team is to continue studying the impacts of increased emissions on hot summer days with other processes that affect concentrations of ozone, particulates and other forms of air pollution.

For more information on the study, click here.