How is Climate Change Going to Affect Health in Upcoming Years?

What exactly is Climate change?

According to NASA, climate change is a change in the usual weather found in a place. This could be a change in how much rain a place usually gets in a year. Or it could be a change in a place’s usual temperature for a month or season.

What does climate change represent?

1. inclined severity of extreme weather events
2. increase in temperature of sea surface
3. increase in greenhouse gas emissions creating rifts in natural systems
4. the decrease in air quality, etc.

All these factors ultimately conclude to Global Warming. The most important cause of global warming is the emissions of greenhouse gases. Of these, more than 90% consists of CO2 and Methane. These are likely due to the burning of fossil fuels and additional contributions from deforestation and industries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year, from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat stress. The WHO has classified human health impacts from climate change as the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century.

The US Climate and Health Assessment identified seven major categories of health impacts from climate change including:

• Increased morbidity and mortality from increasing extreme temperatures

The body relies on the mechanism of thermoregulation to maintain its homeostasis. Whatever temperature is outside, the body reacts in a certain way to keep its internal temperature intact i.e. 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

The most important mechanism is sweating. If the outside temperature is higher than normal room temperature, sweat is released which gets evaporated taking extra heat with it.   

The main problem getting in the way is humidity. If the air is too humid, more water molecules are present in the air and hence it will not allow sweat to get evaporated. Hence, the body temperature will rise. On the contrary, in regions with dry hair, due to less humidity, more perspiration occurs.

However, it is necessary to drink lots of water when sweating is more to compensate for the loss of water and electrolytes. If you don’t drink enough water, dehydration will occur causing decreased sweating and increased body temperature.

If the body temperature continues to rise without sufficient sweating, heat exhaustion can take place. It is characterized by a rapid pulse, dizziness, headaches, nausea, cold and pale skin, etc.  If the body temperature crosses 104 degrees Fahrenheit, it leads to heatstroke. Heatstroke causes severe headaches, seizures, nausea, loss of consciousness, and shutdown of vital organs like the heart, kidneys, and brain if not treated immediately.

In 2003, heat waves (extreme temperature events) killed an estimated 29,817 to 30,617 people in Europe through heatstroke and exacerbated cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and respiratory diseases. A large portion of these deaths occurred among the elderly and socially isolated; these are the segments of the population most susceptible to extreme heat. According to the most recent studies, heat waves are projected to increase in frequency and in duration.

• Declining Air Quality

Over the last 50 years, the quality of air has reduced considerably. According to the World Health Organization, six major air pollutants include particle pollution such as smoke and smog, ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and lead.

This air can enter inside our body and can directly cause:

1. Lung infections like pneumonia
2. Asthma
3. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
4. Restrictive Lung Disease
5. Lung Cancer
6. Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTIs)
7. Skin aging and other pigmented spots
8. Allergic reactions
9. Retinopathy
10. Neuropsychiatric conditions
11. Heart attacks, etc.

• Increase in extreme weather and climatic events

As the number of greenhouse gases is rising, the air near the surface becomes hotter. This hot air goes up and due to low pressure, expansion of air occurs causing them to condense and precipitate as rainfall. This increased circulation of air causes increases in the intensity of rainfall and winds leading to cyclones and hurricanes. Also, the duration between two rainfalls has increased significantly leading to droughts.

Increasing temperature causes an exponential risk of wildfires. Wildfires are causing tremendous destruction of forests and wildlife which is disturbing the natural ecosystem and biodiversity. Recent wildfires in the Amazon forest and in California are one such example. This strongly indicates that the growth of global warming is at an alarming rate.

All these intense natural calamities can:

1. destroy public properties and infrastructures
2. crops and other food items
3. interruption of communication, healthcare, and other essential services
4. increased mental problems
5. induced trauma and death, etc.

According to WHO, by the late 21st century, climate change is likely to increase the frequency and intensity of drought at a regional and global scale.

• Increasing vector-borne diseases

Vectors such as mosquitoes, ticks, and flies carry pathogens and transmit them to humans. Climate change increases the length of seasons in which they breed and also the geographical locations of these insects. This favors the activity of vectors which leads to increase spreading of vector-borne diseases.

The increased spread of mosquitoes can cause diseases such as Dengue, Malaria, West Nile Fever, Yellow Fever, etc. These diseases most commonly affect children.

Ticks commonly cause Lyme disease which is common in United States especially in northeastern side.

• Increasing water-related illness

Increased temperature can lead to extreme precipitation that leads to severe rainfall. These rainfalls build up an unnecessary reservoir which overwhelms the sewage system and water treatment plant to drain wastewater. Hence, the supply of freshwater is compromised.

This leads to increased exposure of water-borne microorganisms leading to gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, etc. Cryptosporidium, Vibrio Cholerae, Salmonella Typhi, etc. are such organisms that are spread through contaminated food and water and cause diarrheal diseases.

Algal blooms are favored in climate change due to extreme precipitation and increased CO2 in air. These blooms contain toxins that are released in water bodies and seafood and produce harmful diseases, especially in the liver.

• Decreasing food safety, nutrition, and distribution

Intense rainfall can lead to soil erosion which leads to decreased nutrients in the soil. It can also cause floods which can stop food distribution. Droughts and rising temperatures have a significant negative effect on agriculture and the food industry.

Climate change is causing a reduction in global crop yield every year. This results in an increase in demand for crops but decreases in supply. Therefore, the price of crops gets high. Moreover, there is a decrease in the nutritive values of crops. This leads to more cases of hunger and malnutrition.

The number of pests and locusts grow in warmer climates. Farmers have to use more insecticides and pesticides to keep them from destroying crops. They can be under constant exposure to certain chemicals inside these pesticides which can lead to toxicity of chemicals.

Certain microorganisms like Salmonella typhi, etc. travel through contaminated food and water and thrive in a warm climate. Hence they can lead to food poisoning.

• Mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, and substance use

Climate change can be as simple as small rainfall to a large hurricane. All these events might create an unexpected outcome that will affect your mental status. Hence, it is necessary to learn how to cope with mental illness.

A farmer waiting for the drought to end so that crops can get rainfall but the wait is too long. This can cause anxiety disorders and even depression. Flooding and prolonged droughts have been associated with elevated levels of anxiety, depression, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD).

A person can start behaving aggressively and violently due to some PTSD due to natural calamity.

A person can lose his/her loved one due to some natural calamity. This can cause depression or anxiety disorder.

A person with a mental condition is more likely to fall into depression or starts drinking alcohol to cope with stress when exposed to heat for a long time. There is also an increasing tendency to suicide.

While anyone’s health can be harmed by climate change, some people are at greatly increased risk including young children, pregnant women, older adults, people with chronic illnesses and disabilities, outdoor workers, and people with fewer resources. Some of these health impacts are just now emerging, but others have been harming the public’s health for years.