It has long been proven that climate change does not have a particularly positive effect on our health. While the impacts of drought and extreme weather increase the risk of food insecurity and infectious diseases, there are also some impacts that many have not yet considered.
For example, the number of hours of sleep lost due to high temperatures increased by five percent between 1986 and 2005 and between 2019 and 2023, a research team reports in the journal The Lancet. A lack of sleep can lead to concentration and memory problems in the short term and increase the risk of diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease, among other things.
According to the report, droughts and heat waves meant that 151 million more people in 124 countries surveyed would suffer from moderate or severe food insecurity by 2022 than in the period from 1981 to 2010.
Extreme weather is becoming more common
Nearly half of the global land area (48 percent) experienced at least one month of extreme drought last year. Since around 1950, this is only two percent less than the previous record value of 2020. Increased extreme rainfall and hurricanes led to floods, infectious diseases and water pollution, according to the ‘Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change’.
Deadly infectious diseases are increasing
Another danger promoted by climate change is the transmission of potentially fatal infectious diseases such as dengue fever, malaria, West Nile fever and vibrio infections. Higher temperatures in temperate latitudes are putting more and more people in previously unaffected areas at risk of transmission.
The team led by Marina Romanello from the Institute for Global Health at University College London, consisting of more than 120 experts, collected numerous research findings and climate data for the report ahead of the 29th World Climate Conference (COP29) in November in Baku (Azerbaijan) .
“This year’s report not only exposes the inadequacy of previous adaptation efforts, but also shows a world moving away from the goal of limiting temperature increase to 1.5 degrees,” the group wrote. “No person or economy on this planet is immune to the health threats of climate change,” Romanello warned.
Climate change is becoming an important cost factor
According to researchers’ calculations, 512 billion working hours could not be worked in 2023 due to the heat, which also meant a loss of income for many employees. This particularly affected people in poor countries: there, hours not worked accounted for 7.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) – in rich countries it was only 0.5 percent.
According to the report, average annual economic losses due to extreme weather events increased by almost a quarter (23 percent) to $227 billion (about €211 billion) between 2014 and 2023.
The health and survival of millions are at stake
Currently, the options for climate protection measures are often severely limited by the lack of financing, while in 2023 almost 37 percent of global energy investments would still have flowed into fossil fuels. In many countries, subsidies far exceeded national health care expenditures.
“Oil and gas companies – supported by many governments and the global financial system – continue to increase the world’s dependence on fossil fuels,” said co-author Stella Hartinger of Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia. The health and survival of millions of people would be at risk.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
