The bad news related to our planet never ceases to end. It has already been reported earlier this month that we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction era, which poses a threat to many vertebrates, including the human race. Among the factors responsible for this, there is climate change, whose effects seem to be extremely harmful.
A new report that was published this week reveals that climate change, along with all its consequences, such as air pollution and greater risk of disease might have very serious effects on human health and affect the last five decades of development regarding global health.
The study, carried out by researchers at University College London, shows that the climate shifts and extreme weather conditions are about to accelerate. This means that the number of people exposed to these changes – extreme droughts or heavy rain will also grow considerably.
This will most likely expose them to various diseases, which will also be associated with food insecurity, as the flora and fauna will be heavily affected in the future as well.
“In essence, whether we respond to the biggest global health threat of the 21st century is no longer a technical or economic question, it is political,” said the authors of the study published in The Lancet, which is a British medical journal.
Obviously, it is the poorest people that will suffer first. Underdeveloped countries are already facing extremely serious problems, such as lethal diseases, severe hunger and the lack of clean water to drink.
In time, the number of infectious diseases will most likely grow, as well as the number of people suffering from malnutrition. This will, in turn, lead to mass migration and to various conflicts that will result in many human deaths.
This idea is supported by Pope Francis, who is a prominent public figure that has been talking about the devastating effects of climate change and its consequences for a long time now.
The most worrying aspect is that not enough is being done to prevent these effects from occurring. Politicians fail to take matters into their own hands and people act as if they were fully unaware that there is any danger related to climate change, or they are simply underestimating it.
The director of UCL, Professor Hugh Montgomery said that climate change should be viewed as a “medical emergency” and that authorities and people in general should respond to it as soon as possible, “using the technologies available right now.”
He also said that annual discussions on the matter are not helping much, but immediate action should be taken to diminish pollution by burning less fossil fuel, use fewer means of transportation to avoid polluting the air so much, hunt less and cut down fewer trees.
However, in order to reach these aims, we should chose not to ignore the unpleasant facts and instead, join our efforts to create a better environment for all of us.
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