Experts warn that climate change is already a significant and growing threat to global human health, with rising temperatures, extreme weather events, air pollution, and the spread of infectious diseases all taking a toll.
Next week, as 2024 is predicted to be the hottest year on record and following the reelection of climate skeptic Donald Trump as U.S. president, fresh rounds of UN climate talks will begin. COP29 will be held in Azerbaijan as the world continues to increase fossil fuel emissions, despite being battered by severe floods, droughts, heatwaves, and storms.
The World Health Organization recently stated, “Climate change is making us sick, and urgent action is a matter of life and death.”
Here are some of the health impacts of global warming:
Severe Heat
According to the EU’s climate monitor, 2024 is “virtually certain” to surpass last year and become the hottest year in recorded history, also marking the first year more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average (1850-1900). The Lancet Countdown, which tracks 15 ways climate change affects health, reports that 10 of these have reached alarming new records. The number of deaths from heat among those aged 65 and above has risen by 167% since the 1990s.
Extreme heat is linked to various health risks, including kidney disorders, strokes, pregnancy complications, heart and respiratory diseases, organ failure, and death. Jeni Miller, executive director of the Global Climate and Health Alliance, emphasized that this year has underscored the growing impacts of climate change on health and wellbeing. She pointed to incidents like the 700 deaths and over 40,000 cases of heatstroke in India, the dam collapse in Nigeria caused by “climate-exacerbated” rains, and the drought affecting 48 U.S. states.
Air Pollution
Nearly the entire global population (99%) breathes air that exceeds the World Health Organization’s air pollution guidelines. This pollution is linked to a higher risk of respiratory diseases, strokes, heart disease, lung cancer, diabetes, and other health issues. Air pollution-related illnesses claim nearly seven million premature lives annually, according to the WHO. In Lahore, Pakistan, air pollution recently spiked to 40 times the level deemed acceptable by the WHO. On a positive note, the Lancet Countdown report showed a nearly 7% reduction in deaths from fossil fuel-related air pollution between 2016 and 2021, largely due to efforts to reduce coal burning.
Infectious Diseases
The changing climate is driving mosquitoes, birds, and mammals to new areas, increasing the spread of infectious diseases. Diseases like dengue, chikungunya, Zika, West Nile virus, and malaria are all expected to expand in a warmer world. The risk of transmission of one dengue-spreading mosquito has increased by 43% in the last 60 years, and a new record of over five million dengue cases was reported last year. Storms and floods create stagnant water, providing breeding grounds for mosquitoes, while also increasing the spread of water-borne diseases like cholera, typhoid, and diarrhea.
