Impacts of Climate Change

1996 Words4 Pages

There is widespread agreement in the scientific community that the climate is changing and it has likely received contributions from humans in the form of increased carbon emissions. The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has stated that there is ninety percent certainty that human activity has been the primary cause of temperature rises seen since 1950; if the climate rises by more than two degrees Celsius, scientists predict dire consequences to be faced by humans and the world (McMichael and Lindgren, 2011, p. 402). Changes in climate, no matter how small, bring with it changes in other seemingly unrelated aspects of life. As current research suggests, climate change will have negative effects on human health and nutrition, increasing disease states while having a negative effect on the world food supply. Both of these effects will have negative implications on the quality of life for people living around the globe. Climate change is a global matter, so policy on climate change should consider the health impacts it brings since climate change will ultimately affect the wellbeing of everyone living on this planet. It is therefore the responsibility of every individual to take measures that will help slow down the rate of global warming that is currently going on.
Effects of climate change will impact human health in varying degrees around the world. One of the most direct impacts on human health will be the rate and incidence of both infectious and noninfectious disease. These disease states will affect humans in different ways. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) predicts that climate change will affect the incidence of vector borne and zoonotic diseases through four primary mechanisms: s...

... middle of paper ...

...h Impacts in Developed Countries. Environmental Health Perspectives. November 2012;120(11):1520-1526. Accessed November 1, 2013.
McMichael A, Lindgren E. Climate change: present and future risks to health, and necessary responses. Journal Of Internal Medicine. November 2011;270(5):401-413. Accessed October 29, 2013.
Mills J, Gage K, Khan A. Potential Influence of Climate Change on Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases: A Review and Proposed Research Plan. Environmental Health Perspectives. November 2010;118(11):1507-1517. Accessed November 17, 2013.
Nilsson M, Evengård B, Sauerborn R, Byass P. Connecting the Global Climate Change and Public Health Agendas. Plos Medicine. June 2012;9(6):1-3. Accessed October 30, 2013.
Sauerborn R, Kjellstrom T, Nilsson M. Health as a crucial driver for climate policy. Global Health Action. January 2009:5, 9. Accessed November 2, 2013.

More about Impacts of Climate Change

Open Document