Poorva Chavan
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Written By: Poorva Chavan | Updated : October 28, 2015 10:34 AM IST
Climate change can take a toll on your health. © Shutterstock
Climate change is not the change in the season every three months, it is the change in the weather patterns that last for an extended period. It is a subject that is often neglected and we fail to realise that it has far reaching implications one our life and health. A senior official from World Health Organisation on Tuesday announced the release of a new global agreement that is essential to everyone's health. The agreement is due to be published in December in Paris. According to the WHO, 7 million people die every year due to air pollution, that is made worse by rising temperatures, especially in the cities. Maria Neira, the head of public health at WHO said that apart from the direct impact, disasters like heat waves and floods increase the risk of infectious diseases, while air pollution in cities causes diseases such as lung cancer and strokes.
Neira further said that people might not understand how climate change affects one's health. If the countries agree to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, all the interventions to tackle the causes of climate change will result in benefits for our health. Climate change, if successfully addressed can offer a path to a healthier life by reducing the spread of diseases and limiting the risk of disasters informed Neira. (Read: Solution to global warming and climate change must be universal not country specific)
Climate change is one of the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century and no one is spared from it. Health experts had previous warned that the threat to human health from climate change is so significant that it could undo all the last 50 years spent in development and global health.
Survival of the fittest
The need for a deal on climate change is high because countries that do not have efficient health care systems or cannot adapt to climate change are likely to suffer the most. The most vulnerable and the poorest of the poorest are likely to suffer because they do not have the infrastructure to cope with these increased risks. (Read: Climate change probable reason for rise in malaria, dengue cases)
For example, The Sub-Saharan Africa is already finding it difficult to tackle diseases like diarrhoea, malaria and dengue fever. If, in a condition like this, the number of infections increases due to climate change, the situation will worsen. The worst part of this is that sub-Saharan and other poor countries are contributing the least to global warming. But they are most likely to be affected because they do have the technology and resource and also their heath care systems are not well equipped. The WHO has also launched a website and hopes to gather 5000 signatures in support of a climate change agreement that promotes health. (Read: Climate change has negative impact on human health)
Image source: Shutterstock
