The Health Effects of Climate Change

The Health Effects of Climate Change

Most of us consider climate change as a threat to future generations. We make changes now, to benefit the people who have to inhabit the earth in years to come. However, what you don’t realize is the impact that climate change is having now on your health. It’s fueling allergies, COPD, and a variety of cancers.

Consider the carbon pollution that has been coming from burning coal and gas for electricity, the diesel and gasoline which power vehicles, and the other carbons heating and cooling our homes. According to the EPA, even the modern practices used in farming are contributing to greenhouse gases.

How can this be possible? Just look at the sky, how can something that seems so infinite be causing us such problems? Pollution reaches the earth’s atmosphere in minutes, and manmade products are creating dramatic issues. In fact, according to Think Progress, the effects of manmade pollution are so traumatic that it is equal to exploding 400,000 atomic bombs every day of the year.

Record-breaking temperatures are impacting our health in both obvious and subtle ways, from extensive droughts to severe storms. Additionally, diseases like malaria and zika virus, are expanding, multiplying, and flourishing. Warmer weather is allowing ticks and mosquitos to expand their range, and enjoy a longer breeding cycle.

Unfortunately, there’s more. Here are just some of the ways that climate change is impacting human health.
COPD

Researchers from Johns Hopkins found that those with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease are more likely to struggle with lung function in higher temperatures. This is concerning for anyone who doesn’t have access to air conditioning in a heatwave.

Wheezing and Heart Attacks

Part of the issue with climate change is that it fuels droughts, and with increased temperatures, we are at an increased risk for wildfires. Wildfires release particles into the air which trigger asthma problems, coughing, and even heart disease. Especially for anyone who has existing heart problems or lung diseases.
It isn’t just a risk for people who live in areas which are prone to wildfire. Wildfire smoke can blow hundreds of miles. Global Change points to a forest fire in Quebec back in 2002. 1,000 miles away in Baltimore there was a 30-fold spike in particle pollution.

Lung Infections

Tuberculosis has remained an issue across various parts of the world, but not in the US. Unfortunately, Yale University has found that for the first time in two decades, tuberculosis is rising in the US. These types of infections expand with rising temperatures and often require treatments over the course of months.
Rising temperatures are also fostering the growth of Legionella bacteria, which causes Legionnaires disease. The US saw a spike in Legionnaire outbreaks between 2000 and 2009, especially in the east coast.

Asthma And Allergies

If you’re convinced that your allergies were never this bad, you might just be right. In the year 2000, the pollen count per cubic meter was just 8,455. However, it’s expected to exceed 21,000 by 2040. Now, the allergy season is longer as well as more dramatic. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health, some areas of the US can expect allergy season to last almost a month longer than normal.
Extreme heat during the summer is also fueling an increase in asthma attacks, with a 23% spike in hospitalizations.

Additional Health Effects

Not only is poison ivy out of control, the rash it gives is almost quadruple the potency that it was in the 1950s. It’s set to double again by the year 2060. Atmospheric carbon dioxide fuels urushiol, which is the allergenic oil that is found in poison ivy.
In addition to this, we’re seeing rising cases of depression, lung infections, heart disease, COPD, West Nile Virus, the Zika virus, and Lyme disease. Climate change isn’t just about the future inhabitants of the earth, but about what it’s doing to our health in the here and now.