Climate Change May Trigger Disease Outbreaks

Climate Change Could Trigger Pandemics A report from The Lancet, one of the world's leading peer-reviewed medical journals, highlights the risk of dengue, chikungunya and zika outbreaks emerging due to climate change. ISTANBUL (AA) - As the health impacts of the climate crisis intensify, there is a need to integrate climate change mitigation plans into post-COVID-19 development programmes to address health inequalities. The sixth edition of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change report, representing the consensus of researchers from 38 academic institutions and United Nations organisations, has been published this year. According to the report, urgent global action is needed to reduce the effects of climate change and build a fair and sustainable future. The long-term impacts of rising global temperatures on the planet are expected to be borne by human health, with communities in low-income countries—where emissions contributing to climate change are relatively rare—facing the most severe consequences. According to the report, similar inequalities are being observed in the global fight against climate change at a time when access to COVID-19 vaccines has not been sufficiently equitable. In this context, countries at the bottom of the human development index and bearing the least responsibility for emissions are benefiting least from the health effects of climate change adaptation plans. Political leaders and policymakers are therefore urged to ensure that post-COVID-19 recovery plans are aligned with the Paris Agreement, to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees and to make the necessary zero-carbon investments to reduce health and social inequalities. Many countries are unprepared for climate change's health impacts, and insufficient funding prevents countries from implementing health and climate action plans. Globally, funds allocated to health in climate change adaptation packages represent only 0.3 per cent of total climate adaptation funds. According to 44 indicators tracked in the report, climate change's health impacts are increasing "relentlessly". The likelihood of dengue, chikungunya and zika outbreaks occurring—including in countries with high human development indices such as European nations—is rising fastest. In countries with low human development indices, environments conducive to malaria are increasing in higher and cooler regions compared to other areas. Coastal regions of Northern Europe and the United States are becoming more susceptible to the development of bacteria causing gastroenteritis, severe wound infections and sepsis. An estimated 569.6 million people living at elevations up to five metres above current sea level face risks from flooding, severe storms, soil and water salinisation, and many of these people may permanently abandon these areas. Frequency of drought periods, food insecurity and fire risk increasing Although 19 per cent of the world's surface experienced extreme drought last year, climate change is causing increases in the frequency, intensity and duration of drought events. Climate change threatens water security, sanitation and food productivity, increasing risks of forest fires and pollution. One of the regions most severely affected by extreme drought and food insecurity is the Horn of Africa. Rising sea surface temperatures threaten food security at sea in 95 of the 136 coastal countries examined. These developments pose a growing threat to 3.3 billion people who meet daily food needs from the oceans worldwide. Due to climate change, adults aged 65 and over are increasingly exposed to heat waves, with elderly populations in China, India, the United States, Japan and Indonesia being the most affected by heat waves. Lancet Countdown Executive Director Anthony Costello, in his assessment of the report, stated that climate change is already harming human health, saying: "Every country is fighting both the COVID-19 crisis and various aspects of the climate crisis. This year's report shows an increase in forest fires in 134 countries. Millions of farmers and construction workers are losing income due to days that are too hot to work. Drought is more widespread than ever. There are over 40 indicators in the report and most of them are sending red alerts." Emphasising that climate change mitigation must be integrated into countries' pandemic recovery plans, Costello said: "We have a choice ahead. Recovery from COVID-19 could be a green recovery that puts us on the path to improving human health and reducing inequalities, or it could be a process in which the current situation continues and puts all of us at risk." Maria Romanello, lead author of the report, said they have been tracking developments in health and climate change over the past five years but have not yet seen the necessary changes. Noting that very little progress has been made in reducing emissions and renewable energy, Romanello stated: "This year, intense heat waves, deadly floods and forest fires have affected many people. All of this sends frightening warnings that with every day we do not fight climate change, the situation becomes even more critical. Trillions of dollars are being spent on post-COVID-19 recovery, but only one of every five dollars spent goes towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and overall negative impacts are likely to emerge. We are emerging from a health crisis but at the cost of our health. We still have time to create a healthier future for all of us as we emerge from the pandemic."