Climate change is a huge problem
When we talk about the effects of climate change, many think only of the consequences on the environment. And, on the other hand, global warming has a strong impact, direct and indirect, even on human beings and their daily lives. think that, if the conditions of a habitat are changed, its inhabitants are not affected.
How climate change affects human health
Climate change is affecting some of the factors that play a vital role in human health, including: air quality, safety and supply of drinking water, food availability, nutrition levels in food. Extreme weather and temperatures, increased "pollution and environmental toxins, changes in food safety are all elements that can cause physical and mental health problems.
Some diseases will become more and more common
- Heat stress
- Malnutrition
- Diarrhea
- Malaria
Those listed are just some of the diseases that will increase dramatically in the coming years due to climate change. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some effects of climate change will contribute to an increase of about 250,000 deaths per year between 2030 and 2050 due to these four diseases.
Climate change can also contribute to migration, as factors such as drought and collapsing fish stocks can lead rural populations to move to urban centers.
Increases the risk of malaria and dengue
Climate change and the consequent increase in temperatures favor the spread of even serious diseases, which need heat to spread, such as malaria or dengue. Several outbreaks have already been recorded in southern Europe and the situation is destined to worsen. Moreover, the tropics area is progressively moving: the Mediterano, therefore, could soon become a place at risk from this point of view. Waterborne diseases will also become increasingly common.
Climate warming also increases the likelihood of heat exhaustion, alterations in the electrolyte balance of the body, dehydration, muscle cramps, worsening of existing conditions, such as respiratory and heart conditions, especially in weak subjects, such as the elderly, children and the sick.
Air pollution is also dangerous
The increase in the atmosphere of CO2 and other greenhouse gases is not the only danger. There is also an increase in pollutants, which expose the body to a series of harmful consequences. Many pollutants released by burning fossil fuels are extremely toxic to all living species (such as mercury) and / or overt carcinogens. (arsenic, chromium and cadmium, for example). Furthermore, the elements that make up smog are highly irritating to the respiratory tract and can trigger diseases such as tumors, asthma, rhinitis, bronchitis, allergies. And that's not all: they make the blood more dense and viscous, hindering circulation.
Air pollution also accelerates the aging of the skin and the whole organism. In fact, it damages cells and tissues. On the skin it creates dryness, fragility, opacity. Finally, don't forget that smog can cause redness, burning and dry eyes.
Climate change creates stress
Extreme weather and natural disasters can be very traumatic and stressful for the people who suffer them, which therefore risk having long-term mental consequences.
Extreme heat is particularly dangerous. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide rates rise with higher temperatures, and climate change and higher temperatures have a negative effect on depression and other mental health conditions. Extreme temperatures can also change the way some medications, such as schizophrenia treatments, work in the body. In addition, they can affect people's ability to properly regulate their body temperature.
The meteorological instability resulting from climate change puts the organism under stress. It is necessary to know, in fact, that both in correspondence with atmospheric perturbations, especially a cold or hot front, and when there is a stay for several days of adverse weather conditions, such as heat waves or invasions of cold air, meteoropathy can appear. It is a syndrome that can cause hyper-stress, in fact, but also psychophysical fatigue, mood swings, flu, aggravation of diseases already present. In the past, vulnerable people were mainly predisposed, the most sensitive and the most Today, however, the increasingly "dancer" climate is becoming a "pitfall for everyone, even for the fittest."
Concerns about the effects of climate change can also be a source of greater anxiety or despair for some people. Finally, it is now established that environmental conditions affect a person's performance. In particular, in the presence of high temperatures and high humidity, working performance, and more, tend to decrease. Climate change, therefore, also implies a lower performance at work, in society, in sport, in the family.
Nutrition at risk
Many agricultural crops do not tolerate extreme heat and drought, so under these conditions they do not develop as they should or even die. Not only. High temperatures and high concentrations of carbon dioxide promote the spread of weeds and plant diseases. The result? Agricultural plantations are threatened and harvests risk becoming scarce or non-existent. This, combined with the scarcity of fish species, risks impoverishing the diet.
The danger is greatest in developing countries. Migration from these countries could therefore increase.
