Climate Change and Public Health
Climate change, while first and foremost an environmental issue, also has severe affects on public health. It disproportionately affects vulnerable populations around the world with factors such as rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and shifting disease patterns. Climate change exacerbates a range of health issues, from respiratory problems due to poor air quality to increased incidence of vector-borne diseases (Disease that results from an infection transmitted to humans and other animals by blood-feeding anthropods, such as mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas (LA County Department of Public Health)) like malaria and dengue fever. Vulnerable populations, including the elderly, children, low-income communities, and those in developing countries, are particularly at risk.
Challenges faced due to climate change:
Extreme weather conditions: Hurricanes, floods, droughts, and wildfires are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change. This is as a result of the changing weather patterns that come with climate change. Extreme heat is caused mainly because of human-caused release of fossil fuels that get trapped in the atmosphere and therefore warm the Earth more. With time, if highly affective interventions aren’t put in place, extreme heat waves will become both more common and more sever. Additionally, wildfires are created by dry-bush (as a result of plants not getting enough water) and these create a lot of displacement issues because entire communities can be destroyed. Hurricanes are increasing in number and size due to warmer waters and increased moisture in the air. Hurricanes cause unfathomable amounts of damage to towns and cities, leading to injuries, deaths, displacement, and financial problems for people affected. Floods also occur in greater volume as a result of climate change because increases in water vapor in various parts of the world induce more precipitation than normal. As there is more precipitation, tactics put in place to control rain water flow and volume become less useful because they aren’t built for that amount of water. These events can lead to injuries, displacement, and health issues.
Poor air quality: Climate change contributes to worsening air quality through increased levels of pollutants and allergens. These levels result from droughts and wildfires that, as mentioned above, are induced in greater numbers because of climate change. Droughts and wildfires increase the amount of particles besides oxygen in the air that cause poor air quality. Even if wildfires are far away, they cause poorer air quality conditions in many areas outside of where they started, having the ability to create damage at very high volumes. Additionally, burning fossil fuels is a major contributed to poor air quality. These events exacerbate respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Vector-borne diseases: Changes in temperature and precipitation patterns influence the distribution of disease vectors like mosquitoes and ticks. This results in the spread of diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and Lyme disease to new regions, posing significant health risks. Rising temperatures increase pests and disease vector populations, especially in tropical areas. Because these bugs do better in warmer areas, with overall warmer temperatures, they will be able to exist in more areas than before, causing diseases to spread to places that have never endured them before. This can lead to higher deaths because areas new to these diseases haven’t built up any sort of immunity.
Food and water availability: Climate change impacts agricultural productivity and water availability, leading to food and water insecurity. Malnutrition and waterborne diseases are significant concerns, especially in developing countries. Without sufficient water or fertile soil, crops have a harder time growing and therefore can not supply food to as many people as normal. This can be detrimental primarily to farming communities or smaller towns and villages. It is detrimental to farming communities because if they have a lower crop yield, they can’t sell as many crops and therefore may not be able to sustain themselves, which leads to both financial and health problems. Smaller towns and villages, especially those with limited contact with other areas, typically rely on the food they grow in their area, and if they have less of that food, it will make it harder for the entire population to keep up their nutrition, health, and to sustain their livelihood.
