"UN Issues Stark Warning: Climate Change Poses a Growing Health Threat"
The United Nations (UN) has raised a concerning alarm regarding the health risks associated with climate change. According to the UN's World Meteorological Organization, climate change is posing a significant threat through increasing occurrences of weather-related disasters and extreme heat, urging the need for improved warning systems that can be integrated into public health policies.
The report states that "climate change threatens to reverse decades of progress towards better health and well-being, particularly in the most vulnerable communities." It emphasizes that climate information is not adequately integrated into health service planning and calls for a more concerted effort to bridge this gap.
The UN highlights that while scientific expertise and resources can potentially help mitigate the impact of climate change on health, they are often not readily accessible or effectively utilized. To address this, tailored climate information is deemed essential to assist the health sector in tackling the challenges posed by extreme weather events, deteriorating air quality, shifting patterns of infectious diseases, and increasing food and water insecurity.
This report arrives just weeks ahead of the upcoming COP28 climate summit scheduled from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai, emphasizing the pressing need for coordinated global action.
The World Meteorological Organization draws attention to the fact that abnormally high temperatures are responsible for the most significant mortality among all extreme weather events. Shockingly, health decision makers in only half of the affected countries have access to warning services. Between 2000 and 2019, an estimated 489,000 deaths occurred annually due to heat-related causes, although the report suggests that this figure may significantly underestimate the true impact, which could be up to 30 times higher.
Petteri Taalas, the head of WMO, highlighted the widespread occurrence of heatwaves across the planet this year and expressed concerns about the potential further exacerbation of temperature records due to the impending El Niño in 2023.
The report underscores the importance of increased collaboration between climate science and health services to provide vital support to the health sector, especially as the world grapples with the escalating consequences of climate change.
It is revealed that less than a quarter of health ministries have health surveillance systems utilizing weather information to monitor climate-related health risks. Moreover, countries with limited early warning coverage experience disaster mortality rates that are eight times higher compared to countries with substantial to comprehensive coverage, as stated in the WMO report.
The report also predicts a surge in the number of medium- or large-scale disaster events, with an anticipated 560 such events each year by 2030.
The lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic underscore the importance of preparing the health sector to withstand future shocks and challenges arising from climate variability and the adverse impacts of climate change. The report emphasizes the need for increased hydrometeorological investments that are designed to support health outcomes, serving as a critical measure in safeguarding public health.
The World Health Organization's chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, emphasizes that the climate crisis is fundamentally a health crisis. He calls for collaborative efforts to make high-quality climate services more accessible to the health sector, underscoring the imperative role of such measures in protecting people's health and well-being amid the growing perils of climate change.
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