2 minutes agoOur health is most threatened by climate change
Periskopi(8 years ago)
(8 years ago)The rise in heat and fierce weather from climate change are “the century's largest health threat 21”, medical officials say. In a report published in the international medical journal The Lancet, scientists and health experts say the effects of climate change ranging from heat waves to storms and floods to [...]
The rise in heat and fierce weather from climate change are “the century's largest health threat 21”, medical officials say.
In a report published in the international medical journal The Lancet, scientists and health experts say that the impacts of climate change ranging from heat waves to storms and floods to fires have increased and threaten to hit health systems.
“storms and floods not only cause direct injuries but can shut down hospitals, trigger outbreaks of disease and produce continuing mental health problems”, said Nick Watts, executive director of Lancet Countova, an annual programme that conveys links between public health and climate change.
Fires likewise wound people, but they also significantly increase air pollution in vast areas.
Recent fires in California, driven by droughts, have cost more than 80 people lives, but also polluted air until east Massachusetts, said Gina McCarty, former head of the US Environmental Protection Agency, now at Harvard University's public health school.
The report in Lancet, drafted by doctors, academics and policy experts from 27 organisations worldwide, calls for quick action, stem climate change, and prepare global health systems for growing challenges.
