The human-caused climate crisis is taking a toll on human health in just about every measurable way, a new report has revealed.
Droughts will wreak havoc on food production, rising temperatures will aid the spread of harmful infections like malaria and cholera, and present climate patterns signal a "code red" for human health, according to a new report published in The Lancet medical journal.
Trillions of dollars are being spent around the world to assist economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, but only about a fifth of that money will go toward reducing climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
According to Marina Romanello, the lead author of the yearly study, the overall impact of such recovery efforts is likely to be negative for the world's climate.
"We are recovering from a health crisis in a way that's putting our health at risk," Romanello said.
The Lancet Countdown study, issued annually, examines 44 metrics of climate change's health implications, including the influence on infectious disease transmission and food production, as researched by specialists affiliated with more than 40 Un entities and educational institutions.
The paper mentioned 51.6 million people were affected by 84 disasters caused by floods, droughts, and storms in nations already dealing with the coronavirus pandemic over a six-month period in 2020.
Flooding is becoming more severe; previous storms trapped people in their houses, cars, and subways. Wildfires are becoming more intense and often. In the U.S. alone, 22 climate-related disasters cost more than a billion dollars last year.
Hundreds of people were killed earlier this summer in the Pacific Northwest during a record-breaking heat wave that scientists say would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change.
In comparison to a baseline established just 16 years ago, persons over the age of 65 had almost 3 billion extra total days of harmful heat exposure globally, according to the Lancet's Countdown report.
The report, which was released ahead of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change's 26th Conference of the Parties, emphasizes the relevance of global climate action, such as the Paris Agreement, on global health.
Later this month, world leaders, climate activists, and financiers will gather in Glasgow, Scotland, to try to reach an agreement on a route toward a more sustainable future.
The Biden administration's climate envoy, John Kerry, has called the summit "the last best hope for the world to get its act together," despite the fact that U.S. attempts to combat climate change are stalled in a divided Congress.
