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Climate change and health are often addressed in silos by governments, policymakers, academics, and practitioners, despite being deeply interconnected thematic areas. Climate change impacts such as rising temperatures, extreme weather events and food insecurity are causing direct and significant harm to human health. Research suggests that between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approx. 250,000 additional deaths per year from instances such as undernutrition, malaria, diarrhoea, and heat stress (WHO,2023).
Key health impacts of climate change
Heat-related illness
Temperature exceeding comfortable limits and increasing heat waves contribute to stroke, cramps, rashes, and other heat-related conditions. Statistics show that heat-related deaths have increased dramatically across the world over the past few decades. In Europe, heat waves in 2003 caused more than 70,000 excess deaths. An extreme heatwave in Moscow and Western Russia during mid-2010 also led to over 55,000 additional deaths (Yang et al., 2021). Such increasing temperatures and prolonged heat waves are especially fatal to vulnerable populations, including the elderly, infants, pregnant women, outdoor workers, and those with existing cardiorespiratory diseases.
Food security
Changing precipitation patterns, extreme weather events, and increasing temperatures affect food security in many regions worldwide. Some models predict 1-183 million additional people at risk of hunger in the current climate change scenario compared to a no climate change scenario (IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land, 2019). Low-income consumers are particularly at risk due to this food insecurity. Research suggests that approximately 80% of the global population most susceptible to crop failures and hunger caused by climate change lives in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, where farming families are impoverished and vulnerable. Additionally, increased CO2 is projected to lower the nutritional quality of crops such as wheat, and the distribution of pests and diseases is predicted to affect production negatively in many regions (World Bank Group, 2022).
Air pollution
Climate change impacts often contribute to the degradation of air quality, including intense heat waves leading to an increase in emissions of harmful greenhouse gases and particulate matter. A 2022 World Bank report estimates that health damage from air pollution costs $8.1 trillion annually, equivalent to 6.1% of global GDP. Elderly and young children and people from underprivileged backgrounds are the most affected by air pollution’s impacts and also least likely to cope with its challenges.
Mental health impacts
Going through extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and wildfires can induce anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a wide range of mental health conditions. Loss of lives, livelihoods, and economic activity due to these events can further exacerbate those conditions. Those with limited resources and finances are often unable to bounce back from the destruction and loss and are forced to remain in constant stress and anxiety. It is reported that even those not experiencing first-hand impacts of climate disasters also tend to face mental health impacts. In the U.S, more than two-thirds of U.S adults (68%) have reported having at least some level of anxiety about climate change (Hough, E & Counts, N, 2023)
Way forward
Moving forward, an integrated and collaborative approach to tackle the health impacts of climate change is essential. There is an increased need for a greater awareness of the interconnectedness of climate and health. Governments and policymakers must prioritize health within the climate strategies. Additionally, investing in climate-resilient health systems is crucial. Addressing the needs of women, children, the elderly, and other vulnerable populations should be at the core of policies on health and climate.
References
WHO.(2023) Climate Change.https://shorturl.at/mC5fm
Yang, J., Zhou, M., Ren, Z. et al. (2021). Projecting heat-related excess mortality under climate change scenarios in China. Nature Communications. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21305-1
Hough,E & Counts, N. (2023). How Climate Change Affects Our Mental Health, and What We Can Do About It.The commonwealth Fund.
The World Bank Group.(2022). What you need to know about food security and Climate Change.
IPCC. (2019). Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems.
