MEV 025: Unit 04 – Climate change and human health

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 UNIT 4: CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUMAN HEALTH

4.1 Introduction

Climate change is no longer a distant environmental issue—it has become a direct threat to human health and well-being. Rising temperatures, changing weather patterns, and extreme climate events impact air and water quality, food security, and the spread of diseases. Vulnerable populations—such as children, the elderly, and the poor—are disproportionately affected. Understanding the linkage between climate and health is essential to build resilience and develop adaptive public health systems.

4.2 Objectives

  • To define and understand the relationship between climate change and health.
  • To explore various health risks associated with weather and environmental changes.
  • To analyze the impacts of extreme weather, heatwaves, and infectious diseases.
  • To identify vulnerable populations and risk exposure.
  • To discuss strategies and actions for future mitigation and adaptation.

4.3 Definitions and Concepts

4.3.1 Definitions

  • Climate Change: Long-term changes in temperature, precipitation, wind patterns, and other elements of the Earth's climate system.
  • Health Impacts: The range of physical and mental health consequences caused directly or indirectly by climate change.

4.3.2 Climate Change: Potential Health Impacts

Climate change affects human health both directly (e.g., through heatwaves and storms) and indirectly (e.g., through changes in air quality, food systems, water access, and vector-borne disease distribution).

4.4 Weather and Climate: Human Exposure

Human exposure to climatic conditions is shaped by geography, socioeconomic factors, and behavioral patterns.

4.4.1 Our Planet’s Natural Climate

Earth's climate has historically varied due to natural causes such as volcanic eruptions, solar radiation cycles, and oceanic currents.

4.4.2 Human-Induced Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Human activities like fossil fuel combustion, deforestation, and industrial processes have increased greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere, leading to global warming.

4.4.3 Environmental Impacts

These emissions have resulted in:

  • More frequent and severe weather events.
  • Ocean acidification and rising sea levels.
  • Altered precipitation patterns.
  • Loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

4.4.4 Need for Studying Climate Impacts on Health

The link between environmental change and health is critical for:

  • Early warning systems.
  • Designing adaptive healthcare infrastructure.
  • Formulating policy interventions that integrate climate resilience.

4.5 Climate Change Effects on Human Health and Well-being

Climate change affects health through multiple pathways:

  • Air pollution causes respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
  • Water scarcity leads to poor hygiene and gastrointestinal illnesses.
  • Food insecurity affects nutrition and increases hunger-related disorders.
  • Mental health issues like anxiety and PTSD emerge after disasters.
  • Displacement and migration disrupt access to healthcare and increase stress-related illnesses.

4.6 Heat Exposure and Health Impacts

Extreme heat events are increasing in frequency and intensity.

Health effects include:

  • Heatstroke and dehydration
  • Worsening of cardiovascular and respiratory conditions
  • Increased mortality, particularly among elderly, children, and outdoor workers

Urban areas with poor infrastructure experience a “heat island” effect, amplifying temperature-related health risks.

4.7 Extreme Weather Events

Floods, droughts, hurricanes, and wildfires have major health consequences:

  • Floods cause injuries, drownings, and outbreaks of water-borne diseases.
  • Droughts lead to food insecurity and malnutrition.
  • Cyclones and hurricanes result in trauma, mental stress, and collapse of health services.
  • Wildfires affect air quality and increase respiratory illnesses.

Vulnerable communities often lack resources to prepare for or recover from such events.

4.8 Infectious Diseases

Climate change alters the range and seasonality of infectious diseases by affecting the habitats of disease vectors.

4.8.1 Vector-Borne Viral Diseases

  • Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika viruses are spread by mosquitoes whose populations thrive in warmer, wetter climates.
  • Rising temperatures and changing rainfall expand mosquito breeding zones into new regions.

4.8.2 Vector-Borne Protozoan Diseases

  • Malaria is influenced by temperature and humidity that affect the lifecycle of the Anopheles mosquito and Plasmodium parasite.
  • Leishmaniasis is also spreading into new geographic areas due to changing climatic conditions.

4.8.3 Tick and Flea-Borne Illnesses

  • Diseases like Lyme disease and plague are influenced by warming temperatures that increase the range of ticks and fleas.
  • These vectors are now surviving at higher altitudes and in temperate zones, increasing risk.

4.9 Future Action

To mitigate the health risks of climate change, both mitigation (reducing emissions) and adaptation (building resilience) strategies are essential.

Recommended actions include:

  1. Integrating climate risks into public health planning.
  2. Developing heat-health early warning systems.
  3. Strengthening disease surveillance and vector control.
  4. Improving water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure.
  5. Educating healthcare professionals and communities.
  6. Promoting green and climate-resilient healthcare facilities.
  7. Investing in research on climate-health linkages.
  8. International cooperation through WHO, IPCC, and national climate-health initiatives.

4.10 Let Us Sum Up

  • Climate change affects human health through heatwaves, extreme weather, food and water insecurity, and disease spread.
  • Vulnerable groups—especially the poor, elderly, and children—are at greater risk.
  • The growing frequency of extreme events necessitates proactive public health planning.
  • Adaptation and mitigation must be integrated into health and climate policy.
  • Long-term resilience requires research, education, and cross-sector collaboration.

4.11 Keywords

  1. Heatwave – Prolonged periods of excessively hot weather with possible health risks.
  2. Vector-borne Disease – Illnesses transmitted by vectors like mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas.
  3. Greenhouse Gas (GHG) – Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere (e.g., CO₂, CH₄, N₂O).
  4. Air Quality Index (AQI) – A measure of air pollution levels affecting health.
  5. Climate Resilience – The capacity of communities and systems to adapt to climate change.
  6. Zoonotic Disease – Infections that are transmitted from animals to humans.
  7. Food Security – Access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food.
  8. Heat Island Effect – Urban areas being significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas due to human activities.
  9. Malnutrition – Health problems caused by inadequate intake of nutrients.
  10. Surveillance System – Monitoring systems to detect disease outbreaks and environmental health risks.

 

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