Health and the Climate

From cooling rooms in France to England's heatwave plan, addressing the health impacts of climate change is a rapidly developing sector.

The UK's heatwave plan has been published annually since 2004, following the devastating pan-European heatwave in 2003.

The health impact of climate change has already led to a 53.7 per cent global increase in heat-related mortality between 2010 and 2018, mainly affecting Japan, China, central Europe and northern India.

In Australia, in the same timeframe we've seen a 22 per cent increase in the annual average number of days of population exposure to bushfires, which killed 41 people last summer and exposed "much of Australia's population to hazardous air quality for a prolonged period of time".

Exposure to mosquito-born diseases including malaria and dengue fever has also increased along with the threat from zoonotic disease, graphically demonstrated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Food security took a hit, too, implying associated malnutrition.

How has it affected your health?

Are we doing enough to mitigate the effects of a rapidly warming planet?

Re: Health and the Climate

There are just too many people Bruce. The world has become like a goldfish bowl with too much pooing.

Re: Health and the Climate

No we are not doing enough. Nowhere near it. Look at us (Australia) Bruce. We have the fourth highest standard of living and quality of life in the world - at the moment. We are the 13th largest economy and per capita one of the richest nations on Earth. These statistics are easily verified by a quick search on line at OECD or other sites for anybody who may have any kind of "sez you!" response. Also we have an abundant source of power from the sun and wind and other sources. And yet we are still hanging on to our gas guzzling muscle cars, big SUVs and not taking up electric power for vehicles anywhere near quickly enough. and coal. So no we are not doing enough. We could do a lot better and we better start doing better soon. We export our renewables technology to the world but we don't use it here enough. I would love an electric car. If not made here then a good quality, well made one from Japan or Korea. Just not China.

Re: Health and the Climate

It just makes me smile when I see millions of people frantically panicking and feeling guilty over the changing climate and weather patterns, and been conned by the people who make the money into naively believing they could possibly do anything about it....

Nothing comes without a price. And changing from one heat source to another, producing energy by other means, or one type of transport to another, just creates different problems with pollution, damage to nature, and a dependence on the earth's ever diminishing resources.

Not to mention the waste produced by all the changes to what are thought to be 'Green Products' when so much of our worlds transport, energy production, and heating appliances' will be made redundant.