Wisconsin researchers are exploring how climate change may be affecting asthma risk among children in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS)—a population that already experiences disproportionately high asthma rates.
Amy Kalkbrenner, Professor of Environmental health sciences at the UW-Milwaukee Zilber College of Public Health, and Tracey Holloway, Professor of Environmental Studies and Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at UW-Madison, are working together to understand the link between air pollution and asthma-related visits to school nurses in Milwaukee Public Schools.
Kalkbrenner will use that information to simulate which climate change solutions would have the greatest positive impact on children’s asthma attacks.
Their work is especially significant in Wisconsin’s largest city. Milwaukee had the nation’s highest rate of asthma-related emergency department visits in the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s 2025 Asthma Capitals report. Public school children are about twice as likely to have asthma as their school-aged peers across the U.S.
“This work helps us better understand how large-scale environmental changes translate into real, local health impacts for children,” Kalkbrenner said in the article.
The study, which was featured in a recent article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, underscores the importance of addressing climate change as a public health issue—particularly for urban communities and young populations most vulnerable to environmental exposures.
Key points for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article:
- Researchers from UW-Milwaukee and UW-Madison are studying the link between air pollution and asthma-related school nurse visits at MPS.
- They’ll use satellite data to estimate nitrogen dioxide levels across Milwaukee, and simulate how climate solutions like electric buses and bike lanes could reduce asthma complications.
- Asthma is a big problem in Milwaukee. Twice as many public school children have asthma than their peers across the U.S., on average.
- This research is meant to illustrate the multiple benefits of climate change solutions.