Climate change could be hazardous to public health. Extreme weather consisting of deadly heatwaves, increasing air pollution and airborne allergens is likely to cause several premature deaths and respiratory illnesses by 2030.
The study, The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment, means to bolster previous scientific studies into the impacts of climate change. The report, a collaboration between the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of Health and Human Services, takes into account some of the initiatives underway to address global warming in its assessment, including the first stages of implementation of the Paris Agreement reached last year by nearly 200 countries.
Some of the risk involved due to climate change include:
Air pollution and will likely increase, worsening allergy and asthma conditions. Future ozone-related human health impacts attributable to climate change are projected to lead to hundreds to thousands of premature deaths, hospital admissions, and cases of acute respiratory illnesses each year in the United States by 2030, including increases in asthma episodes and other adverse respiratory effects in children.
Extreme heat can be expected to cause an increase in the number of premature deaths – from thousands to tens of thousands – each summer, which will outpace projected decreases in deaths from extreme cold.
Warmer winter and spring temperatures are projected to lead to earlier annual onset of Lyme disease cases in the eastern United States and a generally northward expansion of ticks capable of carrying the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. Between 2001 and 2014, both the distribution and the number of reported cases of Lyme disease increased in the Northeast and Upper Midwest.
Increase the risks of water-related illnesses. Runoff from more frequent and intense extreme precipitation events, and increased water temperatures, will increasingly compromise recreational waters, shellfish harvesting waters, and sources of drinking water, increasing risks of waterborne illness.
Climate change will have the largest health impact on vulnerable populations including those with low incomes, some communities of color, limited English proficiency and immigrant groups, Indigenous peoples, children, pregnant women, older adults, vulnerable occupational groups, persons with disabilities, and persons with preexisting or chronic medical conditions.
Already, under President Obama’s leadership, the United States has done more to combat climate change than ever before.
The article was published in www.theguardian.com
