By Leng Veasna
Date: 29/09/2017
Bachelor of International Relation and English Language
Country: Kingdom of Cambodia
Actually,
I can see that over the last 50 years, human activities, particularly the
burning of fossil fuels, have released sufficient quantities of carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gases to trap additional heat in the lower atmosphere and
affect the global climate. In the last 130 years, the world has warmed by
approximately 0.85oC. Each of the last 3 decades has been successively warmer
than any preceding decade since 1850[1]. Sea
levels are rising, glaciers are melting and precipitation patterns are
changing. Extreme weather events are becoming more intense and frequent.
Although
global warming may bring some localized benefits, such as fewer winter deaths
in temperate climates and increased food production in certain areas, the
overall health effects of a changing climate are likely to be overwhelmingly
negative. Climate change affects social and environmental determinants of
health clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter.
Moreover, extreme high air temperatures contribute directly to deaths from
cardiovascular and respiratory disease, particularly among elderly people. In
the heat wave of summer 2003 in Europe for example, more than 70 000 excess
deaths were recorded[2].
Noticeably, high temperatures also raise the levels of ozone and other
pollutants in the air that exacerbate cardiovascular and respiratory disease.
Globally, the number of reported
weather-related natural disasters has more than tripled since the 1960s. Every
year, these disasters result in over 60 000 deaths, mainly in developing
countries[3]. Relating to the rising sea levels and
increasingly extreme weather events particularly will destroy homes, medical
facilities and other essential services. More than half of the world's population
lives within 60 km of the sea[4]. And people may be forced to move, which in
turn heightens the risk of a range of health effects, from mental disorders to
communicable diseases. Increasingly variable rainfall patterns are likely to
affect the supply of fresh water. A lack of safe water can compromise hygiene
and increase the risk of diarrheal disease, which kills thousands children aged
less than 5 years, every year. In extreme cases, water scarcity leads to
drought and famine.
Floods
are also increasing in frequency and intensity, and the frequency and intensity
of extreme precipitation is expected to continue to increase throughout the
current century. Floods contaminate freshwater supplies, heighten the risk of
water-borne diseases, and create breeding grounds for disease-carrying insects
such as mosquitoes. They also cause drownings and physical injuries, damage
homes and disrupt the supply of medical and health services.
In
addition, climatic conditions strongly affect water-borne diseases and diseases
transmitted through insects, snails or other cold blooded animals. Changes in
climate are likely to lengthen the transmission seasons of important
vector-borne diseases and to alter their geographic range. For example, climate
change is projected to widen significantly the area of China where the
snail-borne disease schistosomiasis occurs[5]. Malaria
is strongly influenced by climate. Transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes, malaria
kills over 400 000 people every year – mainly African children under 5 years
old[6].
To
sum up, climate change normally affect all populations, but some are more
vulnerable than others. People living in small island developing states and
other coastal regions, megacities, and mountainous and polar regions are
particularly vulnerable. Children, in particular, children living in poor
countries that are among the most vulnerable to the resulting health risks and
will be exposed longer to the health consequences.
[1] Ottmar
Edenhofer, R. P.-M. (2014). Summary SPM for Policymakers.
[2]
UNEP. (2004, March). Impacts of Summer 2003 heat wave
in Europe. Environment Alert Bulletin.
[3]
Organization, W. H. (2017, July). Climate change and
health. Media centre.
[4]
Creel, L. (2003, September). Ripple Effects:
Population and Coastal Regions. Population Reference Bureau.
[5]
WHO. (2009). Climate change and health. WHO
representative office China.
[6]
WHO. (2017, April). Malaria. Media Centre.
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