Climate Change Becomes a Threat to Human Health

Natural disasters

Don’t get me wrong, natural disasters have existed since forever and will continue to exist. It’s just that due to climate change, the number of natural disasters has more than tripled in the last 50 years. Additionally, more than 60,000 people lose their lives due to these disasters, particularly in developing countries.

“Just in the last month, we’ve seen the profound impact of hurricanes fueled by warm water temperatures and wildfires fueled by warm temperatures says Linda Rudolph, MD, MPH, director of the Public Health Institute’s Center for Climate Change and Health in Oakland, CA. during a press briefing about our increasing number of heatwaves.

“If we keep pouring climate pollutants into the atmosphere, we will face a level of global warming in which our best efforts will be inadequate to prevent the adverse impacts of heat on our health.”

Moreover, natural disasters leave people without their homes, destroy hospitals, and other essential facilities and infrastructure. Floods and extreme precipitation are becoming more and more frequent and intense. It can contaminate drinking water supplies and increase the risk of water-borne diseases. Also, water temperatures can lead to higher levels of microbial infection.

“We certainly need to prepare for the impacts of climate change,” says Rudolph. “But it’s critical that we act to reduce emissions of climate pollutants so that we prevent even more devastating climate change impacts on our health and the wellbeing of our communities and our children.”