More than 200 leading medical journals from around the world released an editorial on Monday warning that global warming is already affecting people’s health . In fact, it is doing so in such a way that urgent action should no longer be postponed.
If we are currently immersed in a global fight against COVID-19, the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said before the aforementioned editorial was published: “The risks posed by change climate could outshine those of any other disease. ” ” The COVID-19 pandemic will end, but there is no vaccine for the climate crisis . Every action taken to limit emissions and warming brings us closer to a healthier and safer future.”
The editorial has been written by the editors of prestigious publications such as The Lancet , East African Medical Journal , the Brazilian Revista de Saude Publica and the International Nursing Review . It says that since the pre-industrial era temperatures have risen by around 1.1 degrees Celsius . This has led to a host of health problems.
“In the past 20 years, heat-related mortality among people over 65 has increased by more than 50%, ” the publication reads. “The rise in temperatures has brought with it an increase in dehydration and loss of kidney function, dermatological neoplasms, tropical infections, adverse mental health outcomes, complications in pregnancy, allergies and cardiovascular and pulmonary morbidity and mortality “. It also refers to the decline in agricultural production, “which hinders efforts to reduce malnutrition.” All these consequences would affect the most vulnerable: minorities, children and the poor.
According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global warming could reach + 1.5ºC compared to pre-industrial levels around 2030 . And that, along with the continued loss of biodiversity, “runs the risk of causing catastrophic damage to health that will be impossible to reverse, ” the editorial warns. “Despite the world’s necessary concern about COVID-19, we cannot wait for the pandemic to pass to quickly reduce emissions.”
The advisory release precedes major climate negotiations schedules for this fall. In November, world leaders will meet to discuss new commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the COP26 conference in Scotland. “The current strategy of encouraging markets to switch to cleaner technologies is not enough,” the editorial states. “Governments must step in to support the redesign of transportation systems, cities, food production and distribution, markets for financial investment, health systems and much more.”
