on the horizon
By Helen Widman
Climate Change and its Consequences
The heating earth causes more health problems than you may think
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n addition to its troubling impact on our natural world, climate change has measurable consequences on our health, varying by region and severity. In fact, according to NASA’s global temperature studies, 2020 and 2016 are tied for the warmest years on record since 1880. Additionally, 19 of the warmest years have occurred since 2000, with the exception of 1998. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that not everyone is equally affected by climate change, and that some important factors to consider include age, economic resources and location.
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In an article in Yale Climate Connections, Dr. Jonathan Patz, director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin, says there’s no sugarcoating: Climate change is not good for our bodies. “It’s so important that people recognize that climate change is about our health. There are so many pathways through which climate impacts our health,” Patz says in the article. Some of these pathways are listed by the CDC, such as air pollution, allergens and pollen, diseases carried by vectors, food and waterborne diarrheal diseases, food security, mental health
and stress-related disorders, floods, temperature extremes and wildfires. From a regional perspective, the Midwest has its own set of specific climate change health concerns. Heatrelated illness, especially in rural areas where many people live and work, is prevalent. The CDC also says that the Midwest is expected to have the highest increase in extreme temperature-related premature deaths compared to other regions that are also expected to experience a rise in temperatures. From a global perspective, the Australian bushfires of 2020 were caused by an extreme rise in temperatures as www.healthynewalbanymagazine.com
