Image courtesy of Pixabay
By Meryl Phair ’21
Environmental Editor
As the world contends with over a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the stability of environmental systems on health, well-being and quality of life have been brought to global attention. The pandemic has shown that public health hinges on the effectiveness of numerous medical, biological and ecological systems. These systems will change further as our planet continues to warm in response to environmental degradation and increasing carbon dioxide levels.
There is currently an array of national public health topics that are influenced by our changing climate. Climate change both exacerbates existing health threats and produces new areas of concern. The spread of COVID-19 is just the most recent example.
Climate change affects the air we breathe. The warming planet has led to an increase in ground-level ozone and particulate matter air pollution, according to the National Climate Assessment. This has produced health complications such as deteriorating lung function, increasing asthmatic emergencies and premature deaths. The increase in harmful air pollution results from heat, chemical concentrations and methane emissions, all of which will worsen as climate change progresses. If no regulatory measures are taken, ozone and particle health effects have been estimated to cause 1,000 to 4,300 additional premature deaths in the U.S. per year by 2050, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated.
Other airborne impacts to public health include the spread of allergens and pollen. Due to changes in precipitation patterns, the number of frost-free days, warmer air temperatures and the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, climate change may heighten pollen concentrations and lengthen pollen seasons. This would cause more severe and frequent allergic reactions such as allergic rhinitis, which currently affects about 60 million people annually in the U.S., according to the CDC.
Climate change has also been found to increase the risk of vector-borne infections, infections caused by blood-feeding arthropods such as fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. Currently, North Americans are at risk of vector-borne diseases such as Lyme, dengue fever, the West Nile virus, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, plague and tularemia. Climate change increases the risk of zoonotic diseases, diseases transmitted from animals to humans, as COVID-19 has shown.
The food we eat and the water we drink is projected to be greatly affected by climate change, and in many cases, they already are. Contamination of food and water sources leads to the risk of diarrheal disease, which is currently a major concern in many developing countries. Environmental factors, such as changes in air and water temperatures, precipitation patterns, extreme rainfall events and variations in seasons, can lead to disease transmission through food and water.
Along with the risk of contamination, climate change has major implications on nutrition by affecting food access and food security. Climate change is predicted to affect crop yields, food production, quality of food, prices and distribution systems. This will impact the health of the American public in four key areas: Americans who have specific dietary patterns will experience shortages of essential foods; rising food prices will increase food insecurity, leading to malnutrition and obesity; the nutritional value of foods will decline as a result of the increase in atmospheric CO2 and the decrease of adequate nitrogen levels in soil; and the use of herbicides and pesticides by farmers will lead to toxins in food produce, which can have serious health implications.
Climate change has been found to produce numerous stress-related disorders. Living through natural disasters can be physically damaging and traumatic, which affects the well-being of survivors. For example, research has found high levels of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder among those affected by Hurricane Katrina. Additionally, people who experience mental illnesses are more affected by higher temperatures. Suicide rates have been found to increase in warmer weather. During heat waves, people with dementia are at a greater risk for hospitalization and death, and hot weather can affect medications required for those who experience severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia.
Climate change has been linked to what medical professionals are calling “climate anxiety.” A report by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the first federally mandated assessment focused exclusively on the connections between climate change and health, found that anxiety and distress over climate change affects mental health. The report also found that the media’s representation of climate change is also a major factor in inducing people’s stress responses.
Risks to public health and safety also come from climate change-induced floods, droughts, wildfires, dust storms, extreme temperatures and other natural disasters. Along with the inherent danger of the events themselves, they often produce long-lasting environments which pose significant threats to human life. For example, heavy rainfall and flooding limit access to essential resources and create damp living environments that can help spread diseases and respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia. Many cities in the U.S. have experienced significant increases in death rates due to heat waves from heat-related conditions such as heat stroke along with cardiovascular, respiratory and cerebrovascular diseases. Out of all natural disasters, heat is currently the leading cause of death to Americans.
This summer’s heat wave brought record high temperatures to many cities across the U.S. Las Vegas was cooked by 100 degrees Fahrenheit and temperatures in Phoenix reached over 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Public health officials raised concern about the compounding impacts of the heat wave and the coronavirus pandemic. As a result of the pandemic’s economic consequences, many were left without access to air conditioning, and lockdown measures inhibited access to public spaces like libraries where residents usually find respite from the heat. Cooling centers, buildings that provide cold water and other resources, were open for the public in many cities like Las Vegas while adhering to COVID-19 regulations, according to an article from The Guardian.
Similar to the establishment of cooling centers, other innovative responses to these public health crises are taking place. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency created an air quality index at AirNow.gov, which helps the public access information about air quality. When air quality reaches unhealthy levels, individuals can reduce their exposure by limiting their physical activity in outdoor areas. The world’s response to the pandemic also produced scientific breakthroughs in how to respond to public health threats, such as through the accelerated development of vaccines. Mass-scale lockdowns and quarantines, along with mask-wearing and social distancing mandates, have shown that orchestrated global action is possible.
The challenge with many climate change-related public health concerns is the lack of information and resources available to the public about the environmental impact on their health. This summer’s heat wave, along with the effects of the pandemic, showed the disproportionate consequences of extreme climate events on low-income, BIPOC, elderly and other minority populations who lacked access to the resources necessary for maintaining their health and safety. As the impacts of climate change continue to worsen, so will threats to public health.