Source: Refinery29
Our own health and happiness are directly correlated with the health of our world. Our environment offers valuable resources including clean air, water, nutritious food, fiber, and amenities. A healthy environment also serves to shield us against extreme weather conditions including heat waves, droughts, storms, flooding, and other natural disasters that are expected to become more frequent due to climate change.
How are people’s health impacted by climate change?
By altering the severity or frequency of the health issues currently faced by people.
By causing new and unexpected health issues in individuals or environments they have never visited before.
What factors affect people’s susceptibility to the impacts of climate change?
Exposure - Certain individuals will experience distinct climatic risks. Exposure will vary depending on where, how long, and what activities people engage in. People who spend a lot of time outside, for instance, may be more susceptible to excessive heat.
Sensitivity - Due to characteristics like age and health, some persons are more susceptible to climatic dangers than others. Children and adults who have asthma, for instance, are more susceptible to air pollution and wildfire smoke.
Adaptive capacity -.People are capable of coping with, utilizing, or reacting to the risks of climate change. The capacity for adaptation can be influenced by a person's income, age, place of residence, availability to medical treatment, and a variety of other factors.
How does climate change affect human health?
Temperature changes
Heat waves will become longer and more common as average temperatures rise. Extreme heat exposure can result in heat exhaustion, dehydration, cardiovascular, respiratory, and cerebrovascular disease. Populations in northern latitudes, where individuals are less equipped to deal with extreme heat, are more susceptible to being affected by it. Some demographics are more at risk than others; for instance, persons who work outside frequently, student athletes, and the homeless are more likely to be exposed to high heat. Elderly people and homes with low incomes may not have access to air conditioning, which increases their exposure to excessive heat. Additionally, those with certain medical disorders, young children, pregnant
women, elderly adults, and others who are less able to control their body temperature may be more susceptible to excessive heat.
Air Quality
Changes in the climate affect the air we breathe both indoors and outdoors. Warmer temperatures and shifting weather patterns can worsen air quality, which can lead to asthma attacks and other respiratory and cardiovascular health effects. Wildfires, which are expected to continue to increase in number and severity as the climate changes, create smoke and other unhealthy air
pollutants. Rising carbon dioxide levels and warmer temperatures also affect airborne allergens, such as ragweed pollen.
Ground-level ozone can irritate airways, impair lung function, and harm lung tissue. Asthma and other lung conditions may get worse as a result. Particularly at danger are children, older people, outdoor laborers, people who have asthma and other chronic lung conditions. Inhaling fine particles can lead to a broad range of adverse health effects, including lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cardiovascular disease.
Water Related Illnesses
If exposed to contaminated drinking or recreational water, people may get sick. Through rising temperatures, more frequent heavy rains and runoff, and the consequences of storms, climate change raises the risk of sickness. gastrointestinal disorders such diarrhea, effects on the neurological and respiratory systems of the body, and damage to the liver and kidneys are only a few examples of health repercussions.
Food Safety and Nutrition
Because bacteria grow more quickly in warm conditions, higher air temperatures may result in arise in cases of food poisoning caused by Salmonella and other types of bacteria. These illnesses have the potential to result in severe gastrointestinal pain and even death.Even when the climate changes, good food safety practices can help prevent these diseases.
Mental Health
Studies have shown that people who already have a mental disorder are three times more likely to die during heat waves, making them particularly susceptible to intense heat. Particularly at danger are those using drugs for mental illnesses that make it hard for them to control their body temperature. Stress reactions and mental health can be affected by even the perception of climate change as a
threat (for instance, from reading or watching news stories about climate change).
References
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health
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