The Planet’s Crisis Is A People Crisis

The Climate Crisis Is Also a Global Health Crisis

Stewart M. Patrick, Nov. 1, 2021 (World Politics Review)

“Climate change is bad for your health…[The Lancet’s 2021 “Countdown” study reports it is] exposing humans to searing heat and extreme weather events; increasing the transmission of infectious diseases; exacerbating food, water and financial insecurity; endangering sustainable development; and worsening global inequality…[that] will last decades, even centuries…[and] world leaders have largely failed to address the health challenges…Globally, deaths among older people officially attributed to heat reached a record high of 345,000 in 2019…[D\eveloping nations] bear the heaviest brunt, with agricultural workers suffering the most…[Heat] exacerbates poverty, which in turn leads to poorer health…[and] other forms of psychological suffering…

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Since 2000, wildfire risk has risen sharply, exposing populations to immediate dangers as well as to the long-term debilitating effects of smoke inhalation. The incidence of lethal natural disasters like hurricanes has also surged since 2000…Meanwhile, 19 percent of the Earth’s surface now experiences drought in any given month, a trend that has endangered reliable access to water and food…[Y]ields of staple crops like maize, soybeans, winter wheat and rice have all declined…Rising ocean temperatures and ocean acidification also threaten the marine food sources upon which 3.3 billion people depend for nutrition and livelihoods…[D]uring 2019, some 2 billion people—more than a quarter of humanity—were food insecure…

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…[Climate change is also increasing human vulnerability to certain infectious diseases, including water-borne pathogens and arboviruses spread by mosquitos, ticks and arthropods…While a number of countries have incorporated health considerations in their national adaptation strategies, only a tiny proportion of the actual funding has been directed to improving health systems—0.3 percent—or to broader health-related initiatives—5.6 percent…[C]ountries must accelerate their efforts to mitigate climate change and make explicit mitigation’s connection to positive global health outcomes…[Achieving] health objectives will of course require a far higher level of climate ambition than political leaders have shown to date…” click here for more

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