How much harm is climate change doing to health?

Climate change and our state of health are two phenomena which travel side by side: this was the conclusion of the Lance Countdown Report 2017, compiled by 24 academic institutions and various intergovernmental bodies, which illustrates how human actions are causing progressive negative effects both on the planet and on human beings themselves.

According to recent analyses, in the last 16 years the total number of adults forced to endure the effects of heat waves was around 125 million.  By heat waves we mean a period of 3 or more days during which the minimum temperature recorded is found to be higher than the ninety-ninth percentile of minimum temperatures recorded in the past.  This leads to a reduction in performance of 5.3 percent for those who work outside.

In 2016, the result of all this was a reduction in performance equating to 129 billion dollars, but the real problem is the number of lives lost due to these phenomena: the 2,843 extreme weather events recorded between the beginning of the nineties and last year caused over 500,000 fatalities.  The situation has been made worse by other related consequences involving:

Psychological effects;

The development of illnesses;

And water supply/food issues.

However, it is the under-developed countries which are most affected by the worst repercussions of the climate change and health combination.  In those countries poverty and a very basic healthcare system are the norm.  In such areas, the level of malnutrition among the population continues to increase year by year, as well as the likelihood of a deadly epidemic.

Another problem caused by changes in the climate is of course forced migration:  according to the report mentioned above, individuals forced to re-locate have totalled 4400 and the reasons range from coastal erosion to increases in sea levels, as well as variations in rainfall and other issues.

As for the future, we know that, despite some progress being made, there is still plenty of room for improvement and our collective efforts must increase both in terms of individuals and governments.  The delays witnessed so far seem to indicate that during the current century, temperatures will increase further, but by taking action now we might be able to slow this increase.

So these are the main consequences of climate change: a phenomenon which needs to be tackled sooner rather than later, in order to guarantee the wellbeing of the entire planet.

Translated by Joanne Beckwith