Impact of Climate Change on Global Health – Climate Change Is Bad for Your Health
Extreme heat kills about half a million people worldwide every year. But if global warming continues at its current rate, it could become almost five times as deadly by 2050. Climate change doesn’t just directly harm people’s health; it also brings other risks. Chaotic weather and higher temperatures lead to dangerous natural disasters, spread diseases to new places, and make economic problems and mental health issues worse.
Governments need to do something about this, and the Lancet Countdown, a group of researchers from around the world, is giving them proof that action is necessary. Marina Romanello, who leads this group, says that when we talk about climate change, we’re not talking about something far away in the future. The cost of not doing anything is people’s lives.
But it’s not all bad news. Romanello says that much of what we need to do to fight climate change will make life better in other ways. If we act, cities can become greener, air can become cleaner, and people can have healthier and cheaper food. Before speaking at WIRED Health this month, Romanello spoke with WIRED about what we know and don’t know about the health risks of not acting and why it’s important to act now. This interview has been edited to make it shorter and clearer.
WIRED: How is climate change affecting health right now?
Marina Romanello: Every year, climate change is making things worse for people’s health. We’re seeing more extreme heat, storms, floods, and droughts that hurt people directly. They also affect food and water, and they spread diseases like dengue and malaria to new places.
Climate change also makes things harder for people in other ways. For example, when it’s too hot, people can’t work as well, which means they earn less money. This makes it harder for them to stay healthy.
That’s a lot of problems. How do you keep track of all of them?
We watch over 50 things to see how climate change is affecting health. We use different methods to see if things like extreme weather are happening more often. We also look at how things like food insecurity are changing. For example, we found that in 2022, 127 million more people had trouble getting enough food because of climate change.
Are some parts of the world not affected by climate change?
No, every part of the world is affected, but some places are hurt more than others. In Europe, for example, a lot of old people live there, and they get sick more easily when it’s too hot. So Europe has more deaths from extreme heat than anywhere else.
Other places have different problems. In Africa, there are more droughts, which make people go hungry. In South America, diseases like dengue are spreading. So climate change hurts everyone, but in different ways.
People who didn’t cause climate change are often hurt the most. These are often people who don’t have a lot of money or resources to protect themselves. And they often live in places where it’s harder to get help when things go wrong.
What do these vulnerable places need that they’re not getting?
They need better health systems that can handle disasters. When there’s a flood or a storm, hospitals can get flooded too, so people can’t get help when they need it. They also need better ways to know when bad things are going to happen and to help people when they do.
Many countries also need to do more to follow rules that help them get ready for health emergencies. This could help them not just with climate change but with other health problems too.
So being ready for climate change could help with other health problems too?
Yes, exactly. When bad things happen, they often happen all at once. We saw this with the pandemic, and we see it now with diseases like dengue. So having better health systems would help with many problems, not just climate change.
What do we still not know about how climate change affects health?
We know a lot about what’s going wrong, but there’s still a lot we don’t know. For example, we don’t know how well health systems are helping people when bad things happen. And we don’t know enough about who’s getting hurt the most. We need more information about people’s jobs, where they live, and other things like that to understand this better.
Is anyone doing a good job of getting ready for climate change?
Some countries are doing well. In South America, many countries are doing a lot to help people. For example, Colombia is doing a good job of using less fossil fuel and helping people stay healthy. But no country is perfect because everyone’s problems are different.
Does climate change make conflicts and people moving to new places more common?
Yes, more and more people are moving because of climate change. But it’s hard to know how many because countries don’t always keep good records. Moving can sometimes help people if it’s done right. For example, some islands might move people to safer places. But it can also make things worse if it’s not planned well.
What’s one thing about climate change and health that people don’t talk about enough?
I think people don’t realize how many health problems climate change can cause all at once. It makes everything worse, not just one thing. But if people do things like eat healthier food and stay out of extreme heat, they can help protect themselves. And they can also tell their leaders to do something, because leaders will listen to them.
Adopting Healthy – Impact of Climate Change on Global Health,Impact of Climate Change on Global Health update
