Climate change may not just impact our environment. It could also be doing damage to our health. A scientific assessment outlines that climate change may increase risks to human health over time as it continues.
In this latest study, the researchers found several different components that will likely impact human health. The first of this is air pollution and airborne allergies. In this case, researchers found that both will likely increase and worsen allergy and asthma conditions. In fact, scientists predict that future ozone-related human health impacts due to climate change will lead to hundreds of thousands of premature deaths, hospital admissions and cases of acute respiratory illnesses each year in the United States by 2030.
That isn't the only issue that we face, either. Scientists discovered that extreme heat will also contribute to the number of premature deaths - from thousands to tens of thousands. This will outpace the amount of projected decreases in deaths from extreme cold.
With these warmer temperatures, spring will begin earlier. This, in turn, means an earlier annual onset of Lyme disease cases in the eastern United States. It's also likely that the ticks that carry the disease will be able to travel further north than usual, affecting areas that it hasn't before.
While warmer temperatures and the spread of disease will be issues in and of themselves, there's also the concern that there will be changes in weather extremes. In fact, increases in running, runoff events and drought may increase the occurrence and transport of pathogens in agricultural environments. This, in turn, may increase the risk of food contamination and human exposure to pathogens.
While these things will impact many people, those who are most at risk are already vulnerable populations, including those with low income, immigrant groups, children, pregnant women and older adults.
The new assessment shows that climate change is a major issue for the United States. As soon as 2030, we may be experiencing some drastic changes when it comes to what's impacting human health. It's important to take action now in order to curtail climate change and also put in policies that will help mitigate climate change impacts.
The findings were presented online as a scientific assessment by the Obama Administration.
