How climate change affects health
There's no doubt that weather and climate have their effects in people's health. For instance, the human body reacts differently to cold and warm weather. Changes in climate affect to certain degrees one's physical and physiological conditions - or genera
The website www.epa.gov notes that warmer average temperatures likely lead to hotter days and more frequent and longer heat waves. The result is often an increased number of heat-related illnesses - even deaths. The website continues that "increases in the frequency or severity of extreme weather events such as storms could increase the risk of dangerous flooding, high winds, and other direct threats to people and property."
On the other hand, warmer temperatures usually make for increased "concentrations of unhealthy air and water pollutants." The spread of some diseases is often facilitated by changes in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme events.
How climate change affects human health depends on many factors, including the kind of public health and safety systems employed to address or prepare the community for the risk; and the behavior, age, gender, and economic status of individuals affected. These effects vary by location, the sensitivity of population, the extent and length of exposure to climate-change effects, and the people's collective ability to adapt to change.
In countries with welldeveloped public health systems, climate change affects many populations, although supposedly lesser compared with those in many developing countries like the Philippines. Globally, according to www.epa.gov, "the impacts of climate change on public health… could have important consequences [even for developed countries like, in particular, the United States]." For example, everywhere "more frequent and intense storms may require more disaster relief and declines in agriculture may increase food shortages."
Climate change affects people on many fronts - particularly in terms of health, either directly or indirectly. Harsh ambient temperatures, unhealthy air and polluted water are not the only trouble to brace for. There is real need to think up ways to mitigate the adverse effects of climate and weather changes or devise measures to enable populations to adapt accordingly.