Pollution is one of the causes that lead to climate change
A team of scientists has conducted a recent study and found that the impact of climate change is even worse than it was previously believed. Not only does it pose a risk for the environment, it also threatens human health. According to what the researchers found, the devastating effects of climate change might threaten the last five decades of what humanity achieved in the health field.
The alarming new study suggests that climate change will increase the risk of diseases, destroy food sources and pollute the air, factors which will contribute to the catastrophic decline of human health.
The study was conducted by a team of scientists from the University College London and found that extreme weather will only intensify and such extreme events will be more frequent in the future.
Extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and massive storms will have a great impact on human health and will increase the risk of cardiovascular illnesses, allergies and malnutrition. The researchers added that extreme weather caused by climate change will also be responsible for infectious, respiratory and mental illnesses.
All these mean that climate change can affect all the progress humanity has achieved in domains such as science, medical treatment, public infrastructure and technology in the last fifty years.
The researchers fear that humanity will be affected by climate change both directly, through droughts, floods, heat waves and massive storms, and indirectly, through increased pollution, infectious diseases, malnutrition, conflicts and massive migrations.
Ian Hamilton, scientist at the University College London’s department of Energy Institute, and one of the lead authors of the study, explained that humans are very limited to how much and how long they can bear working in extreme heat. Climate change will affect first of all those who do outdoor work, like construction workers and farmers. But climate change will not affect only these two work categories. Professor Hamilton said that heat stress will also affect those with a low income, the elderly and other many others.
The study also suggests that people who are affected by droughts will triple in the next decades, while other extreme weather events, such as heavy rains, will quadruple in the future.
Image Source: epa.gov
