While all the data clearly is not in yet on the seriousness of
global warming, what is known certainly leads to some rather
frightening concerns about how increased temperature might affect
the health of the world's population. The World Health
Organization and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) are both studying the problem and trying to anticipate
what new health risks warmer climates might bring so that
preparatory planning to deal with them can begin. Here is a brief
summary of what health officials are most worried about.
- Increased frequency and
intensity of heat waves leading to more heat-related
deaths
- Shifts in the distribution and
range of many vector borne microbes, such as cholera, malaria,
Dengue fever, harmful algal blooms
- Food shortages due to precipitation shifts, particularly in
developing countries
The severity of these potential health threats is difficult to
predict, since they are likely to disproportionately affect
people in countries already struggling to deliver even the most
basic of commodities to their citizens. Also, the harmfulness of
each threat will decrease or increase in direct relationship to
how much global warming actually occurs in the next 50 years. But
taken alongside the already well-known harmful effects of
overcrowding, pollution and increasing urban crime rates, these
possibilities are certainly worthy of attention by all those
concerned with providing healthcare.
