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Effects of climate change on human health

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The Effects of Global Warming include effects on human health. This article describes some of those effects on individuals and groups.

Health

Access to health care

Access to health care has a major impact on human health and quality of life. The report of the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health points out that disadvantaged communities are likely to shoulder a large share of the burden of climate change because of their increased exposure and vulnerability to health threats. Over 90 percent of malaria and diarrhea deaths are borne by children aged 5 years or younger, mostly in developing countries.[1] Other severely affected population groups include women, the elderly and people living in small island developing states and other coastal regions, mega-cities or mountainous areas.[2]

Infectious diseases

Climate change can lead to dramatic increases in prevalence of a variety of infectious diseases. Beginning in the mid-70s, there has been an “emergence, resurgence and redistribution of infectious diseases”.[3] Reasons for this are likely multicausal, dependent on a variety of social, environmental and climatic factors, however, many argue that the “volatility of infectious disease may be one of the earliest biological expressions of climate instability”.[3] Though many infectious diseases are affected by changes in climate, vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, dengue fever and leishmaniasis, present the strongest causal relationship. Malaria in particular, which kills approximately 300,000 children annually, poses the most imminent threat.[4]

Climate Change and Infectious Disease

The earth's climate is changing causing the oceans and the climate to warm; resulting in extreme weather patterns which have brought about an increase of infectious diseases--both new and re-emerging. [5] [6] These extreme weather patterns are creating extended rainy seasons in some areas [7] , and extended periods of drought in others, [8] as well and introducing new climates to different regions [8]. These extended seasons are creating climates that are able to sustain vectors for longer periods of time, allowing them to multiply rapidly, and also creating climates that are allowing the introduction and survival of new vectors. [5] .

Extreme Weather = New Diseases

“The rise of extreme weather is itself a symptom of an unstable climate. Moreover, the variance around the long-term warming trend has begun to influence biological systems, Indeed, two main effects of climate change—warming and greater weather variability-mean that millions of people worldwide face a higher risk of infectious disease”. [7] El Nino is an extreme weather pattern that is often responsible for increased precipitation, resulting in increased flooding, creating a more promising breeding ground for a plethora of vectors that both carry and cause infectious diseases [9].

Another result of the warming oceans are stronger hurricanes, which will wreck more havoc on land, and in the oceans, [9] and create more opportunities for vectors to breed and infectious diseases to flourish. [5] [7] Extreme weather also means stronger winds. These winds can carry vectors tens of thousands of kilometers, resulting in an introduction of new infectious disease to regions that have never seen them before, making the humans in these regions even more susceptible. [5]

Warmer and Wetter Climates = More Diseases

Mosquito-borne diseases are probably the greatest threat to humans as they carry malaria, elephantiasis, Rift Valley Fever, Yellow Fever, and Dengue Fever.[10] [11] [12] Studies are showing higher prevalence of these diseases in areas that have experienced extreme flooding and drought. [10] [11] Flooding creates more standing water for mosquitoes to breed; as well, shown that these vectors are able to feed more and grow faster in warmer climates [5] . As the climate warms over the oceans and coastal regions, warmer temperatures are also creeping up to higher elevations allowing mosquitoes to survive in areas they had never been able to before. [5] As the climate continues to warm there is a risk that malaria will make a return to the developed world. [5]

Ticks are also thriving in the warmer temperatures allowing them to feed and grow at a faster rate.[13] The black legged tick, a carrier of Lyme disease, when not feeding, spends its time burrowed in soil absorbing moisture. [7] [14] Ticks die when the climate either becomes too cold or when the climate becomes too dry, causing the ticks to dry out. [7] [14] The natural environmental controls that used to keep the tick populations in check are disappearing, and warmer and wetter climates are allowing the ticks to breed and grow at an alarming rate, resulting in an increase in Lyme disease, both in existing areas and in areas where it has not been seen before. [7] [13]

Other diseases on the rise due to extreme weather include: hantavirus,[15] schistosomiasis,[11] [12] onchocerciasis (river blindness),[12] and tuberculosis. [6]


Warmer Oceans = New Diseases

The warming oceans are becoming a breeding ground for toxic algae blooms (also known as red tides) and cholera. [5] [12] [16] As the nitrogen and phosphorus levels in the oceans increase, the cholera bacteria that lives within zooplankton emerge from their dormant state.[16] The changing winds and changing ocean currents push the zooplankton toward the coastline, carrying the cholera bacteria, which then contaminate drinking water, causing cholera outbreaks. [16] As flooding increases there is also in increase in cholera epidemics as the flood waters that are carrying the bacteria are infiltrating the drinking water supply.[17] El Nino has also been linked with cholera outbreaks because this weather patter warms the shoreline waters, causing the cholera bacteria to multiply rapidly. [16] [17]

Toxic algae blooms (red tides) are the result of a changing and warming climate.[18] El Nino events precipitation resulting in flooding, which causes the coastal seawater to be infiltrated with runoff from the flooding land resulting in increased nitrogen and phosphorus which feed the algae and spur their growth. [19] These toxic blooms in turn infect shellfish, which threatens the health of the millions of people who depend on shellfish for protein. [19] Paralytic shellfish poisoning is the most common result of red tides, as was seen in the 1987 outbreak in Prince Edward Island. [19] Ciguatera fish poisoning is also a result of red tides.[20] Humans that ingest these infected reef dwelling fish become ill.[20] Further, red tides are so powerful that they also cause respiratory illness simply by breathing the air near them. [19]

Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne parasitic disease that infects humans and other animals caused by microorganisms in the Plasmodium family. It begins with a bite from an infected female mosquito, which introduces the parasite through its saliva and into the infected host’s circulatory system. It then travels through the bloodstream into the liver where it can mature and reproduce. The disease causes symptoms that typically include fever, headache, shaking chills, anemia, and in severe cases can progress to coma or death. Climate is the most influential driving force of vector-borne diseases such as malaria. Changes in climate factors substantially affect reproduction, development, distribution and seasonal transmissions of malaria. [21]

Malaria is especially susceptible to changes in the environment as both the pathogen (Plasmodium) and its vector (mosquitoes) lack the mechanisms necessary to regulate internal temperature and fluid levels. This implies that there is a limited range of climatic conditions within which the pathogen and vector can survive, reproduce and infect hosts.[21] Vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, have distinctive characteristics that determine pathogenicity. These include: the survival and reproduction rate of the vector, the level of vector activity (i.e. the biting or feeding rate), and the development and reproduction rate of the pathogen within the vector or host.[21] These depend on climatic conditions such as temperature, precipitation and humidity.

The ideal temperature range for malaria-carrying mosquitoes is 15–30 °C. Mosquitoes are also highly sensitive to changes in precipitation and humidity. Increased precipitation can increase mosquito population indirectly by expanding larval habitat and food supply. Mosquitoes are, however, highly dependent on humidity, surviving only within a limited humidity range of 55-80%.[citation needed]

Modelling malaria is particularly complex given the two common pathogen variants (Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax) and many regionally dominant mosquito species.[22] These models must therefore incorporate a variety of factors including: human-induced changes in climate (e.g. temperature, precipitation, and humidity), environmental factors (e.g. drought and deforestation), disease factors (e.g. parasite development rate, vector population, and drug resistance) and other factors (e.g. changes in immune status of hosts and spread of disease into new areas).[23] Various models suggest, conservatively, that people living in developing countries’ risk of malaria will increase 5-15% by 2100 due to climate change.[23] In Africa alone, according to the MARA Project (Mapping Malaria Risk in Africa).[24], there is a projected increase of 16-28% in person-month exposures to malaria by 2100.[25]

One of the factors involved in an increase of infectious disease during times of drought is a decrease in personal hygiene. Individuals may respond to a real or perceived need to save water by reducing or eliminating hand-washing, showering, and the washing of clothing and eating utensils. This increases the risks of them contracting, as well as transmitting, infectious diseases, especially acute respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases that are spread by direct contact.[26]

For rural populations in dry countries like Sudan, drought can sometimes lead to devastating cholera outbreaks. When the wet season finally arrives, torrential downpours become common. However, with the ground so dry from drought season, the water cannot be absorbed into the soil. Instead, it lays on top of the dirt and areas are quickly flooded. This alone can be dangerous. In refugee camps and heavily-populated areas such as slums, the vehicles that deliver safe drinking water to different parts of the community can become unable to drive through the floods, forcing people in the camps to resort to drinking the unsafe floodwaters that easily carry disease such as cholera. Even before the floodwaters of the rainy season arrive, as drought dries up rivers that flow to and from lakes, pools of water become stagnant. In this state, both algae and parasites multiply, poisoning the water supply.[27][28]

Droughts affect mosquito activity worldwide. In the beginning of drought season in sub-Saharan Africa, mosquito activity is initially increased as small rivers, ponds and lakes shrink, resulting in shallow, warm, stagnant pools of water. As drought continues, mosquito activity decreases- seemingly a welcome break from the infectious insects, but in actuality a serious hazard. Once a person contracts malaria, they are less likely to become infected again due to antibodies. As mosquito activity decreases, the population of non-infected and therefore non-immune people increases (including babies and children, the group most likely to die from malaria). Eventually, when the drought breaks, there is a large number of susceptible hosts now vulnerable to infection. In the long term, the number of cases of malaria decreases with drought, as the mosquitoes lack the necessary water for breeding, but there are typically pockets in the beginning and at the break in drought where cases increase quite substantially. A similar pattern is true, too, for West Nile Disease-carrying mosquitoes in North America.[29]

For North Americans, lack of rain can actually spread diseases caused by virus or parasites that prefer dry climates. Deer ticks, which spread Lyme Disease, live on deer and mice, animals that, in times of low water supply, wander closer to human territory and homes in search of a drink. This may mean bringing ticks out of the forests and closer, more often, to human homes.[30]

Respiratory disease

Heat waves that accompany droughts have a tendency to incite wildfires, which heavily pollutes the air for hundreds, or even thousands, of miles in every direction. The particulate matter floating in the air has the serious potential to aggravate the lining of the respiratory tract, especially in people who already suffer from respiratory diseases like asthma and bronchitis. Dust storms that blow from parched land, much more likely to occur in times of severe drought, do the same. Though much of the particulate matter in the air during dust storms is too course to reach much of the respiratory tract, some is fine enough to make its way through the bronchioles that attach to the lungs, irritating the lining and causing inflammation. (Changing Planet, Changing Health)[citation needed]

Mental health

While the physical health impacts of climate change are well known, the impact on mental health has only begun to be recognized in the last decade.[31] According to Clayton & Doherty (2011), global climate change is bound to have substantial negative impacts on mental health and well-being, effects which will primarily be felt by vulnerable populations and those with pre-existing serious mental illness.[32] In order to appreciate the impacts on psychological well-being an understanding and recognition of the multiple meanings and cultural narratives associated with climate change and the interrelatedness of climate change and other global phenomena, like increased population, is required.[32] The psychological impacts of climate change can be divided into three classes; direct, indirect, and psychosocial. Direct impacts refer to the immediate or localized consequences of an environmental change or disaster, such as stress or injury. Indirect impacts are more gradual and cumulative and are experienced through the media and social interaction and communication. Psychosocial impacts are large-scale community and social effects, like conflicts related to migration and subsequent shortages or adjustment after a disaster. Climate change does not impact everyone equally; those of lower economic and social status are at greater risk and experience more devastating impacts. [32]

Direct impacts on mental health, such as landscape changes, impaired place attachment, and psychological trauma are all immediate and localized problems resulting from extreme weather events and environmental changes.[32] Research has shown that extreme weather events lead to a variety of mental health disorders from the impacts of loss, social disruption, and displacement (Portier & Tart, 2009). Further reinforced by Clayton & Dohert1y (2011), “[a]cute and direct impacts include mental health injuries associated with more frequent and powerful weather events, natural disasters, and adjustment to degraded or disrupted physical environments”.[32]: 265 . For example, events such as wildfires and hurricanes can lead to anxiety and emotional stress, further exacerbated in already vulnerable populations with current mental health issues (Portier & Tart, 2009).

On the other hand, indirect impacts pertaining to mental health are more gradual and cumulative and are experienced through the media and social interaction and communication.[32] For example, extreme weather events can pose indirect impacts through the migration of large communities due to stressors upon already limited resources (Portier & Tart, 2009). Some examples of common mental health conditions associated indirectly from these extreme weather events include: acute traumatic stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, complicated grief, anxiety disorders, sleep difficulties, sexual dysfunction, and drug or alcohol abuse (Portier & Tart, 2009). Similarly, the devastating effects of the extreme weather event of Hurricane Katrina lead to a variety of mental health problems due to the destruction of resources (Epstein & Ferber, 2011). Many people impacted by Hurricane Katrina were left homeless, disenfranchised, stressed, and suffering physical illness (Epstein & Ferber, 2011). This strain on the public health system decreased access and availability of medical resources (Epstein & Ferber, 2011). Some climate change adaptation measures may prevent the need for displacement; however, some communities may be unable to implement adaptation strategies, and this will create added stress, further exacerbating already existing mental health issues (Portier & Tart, 2009). Extreme weather events and population displacement lead to limited availability of medications, one of the primary resources required to meet psychological and physical needs of those affected by such events (Portier & Tart, 2009).

Furthermore, one of the more devastating indirect impacts of climate change on mental health is the increased risk in suicide. Studies show that suicide rates increase after extreme weather events (Epstein & Ferber, 2011). This has been demonstrated in Australia, where drought has resulted in crop failures and despair to the Australian countryside (Epstein & Ferber, 2011). Farmer were left with nothing , forced to sell everything, reduce their stock, and borrow large sums to plant crops at the start of the season (Epstein & Ferber, 2011). The indirect consequences have caused a growing increase in depression, domestic violence, and most alarmingly suicide (Epstein & Ferber, 2011). More than one hundred farmers in the countryside had committed suicide by 2007 (Epstein & Ferber, 2011).

Psychosocial impacts are indirect impacts on social and community relationships. While some impacts result directly from an event caused by climate change, most are indirect results of changes in how people use and occupy territory.[32] Extreme weather events can lead to the migration of large communities due to stressors upon already limited resources (Portier & Tart, 2009). Climate change affects the suitability of territory for agriculture, aquaculture, and habitation, which means that the experiences of people in particular geographical locations, as well as the geographical distribution of populations, will be altered. [32]

Consequences of psychosocial impacts caused by climate change include: increase in violence, intergroup conflict, displacement and relocation and socioeconomic disparities. Based on research done by Anderson (2001) there is a causal relationship between heat and violence and that any increase in average global temperature is likely to be accompanied by an increase in violent aggression. Diminished resources leads to conflict between two groups over remaining natural resources or the migration of one group to another group’s territory leading to conflict over rights and ownership of space.[32] Furthermore, this can lead to civil unrest when governments fail to adequately protect against natural disasters or respond to their effects, causing people to lose confidence and trust in their government leading to backlash (Abbott, 2008). Forced relocations and displacement, result in disruptions of geographic and social connections which can lead to grief, anxiety, and a sense of loss (Nelson, West, & Finan, 2009). Another consequence of psychosocial impacts is an increase in the disparity between those countries and people with adequate economic resources and those with fewer or in need of. Those nations and people with fewer resources will feel the impacts more strongly, as they have less ability to afford the technologies that would mitigate the financial and medical effects of climate change.[32] Within nations, these individuals of lower socioeconomic status are more likely to become ethnic minorities, increasing ethnic tensions and inter group hostility. An example of such tension and hostility occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina where African Americans interpreted the government’s response to the disaster as indicating racism.[32]

Security

Conflicts are typically extremely complex with multiple inter-dependent causalities, often referred to as ‘complex emergencies.’ Climate change has the potential to exacerbate existing tensions or create new ones — serving as a threat multiplier. It can be a catalyst for violent conflict and a threat to international security.[33][34]

The United Nations Security Council held its first-ever debate on the impact of climate change in 2007. The links between climate change and security have been the subject of numerous high-profile reports since 2007 by leading security figures in the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union. The G77 group of developing nations also considers climate change to be a major security threat which is expected to hit developing nations particularly hard. The links between the human impact of climate change and the threat of violence and armed conflict are particularly important because multiple destabilizing conditions are affected simultaneously.

Social impacts

The consequences of climate change and poverty are not distributed uniformly within communities. Individual and social factors such as gender, age, education, ethnicity, geography and language lead to differential vulnerability and capacity to adapt to the effects of climate change. Climate change effects such as hunger, poverty and diseases like diarrhea and malaria, disproportionately impact children, i.e. about 90 percent of malaria and diarrhea deaths are among young children.[1]

Resources

Drinking Water

In rural Africa and the Middle East, when droughts dry up the regular water supply, rural and impoverished families are forced to resort to drinking the dirty, sediment-and-parasite-laden water that sits in puddles and small pools on the surface of the earth. Many are aware of the presence of contamination, but will drink from these sources nonetheless in order to avoid dying of dehydration. It has been estimated that up to 80% of human illness in the world can be attributed to contaminated water.[35]

When there is an adequate amount of drinking water, humans drink from different sources than their livestock. However, when drought occurs and drinking water slowly disappears, catchment areas such as streams and depressions in the ground where water gathers are often shared between people and the livestock they depend on for financial and nutritional support, and this is when humans can fall seriously ill. Although some diseases that are transferred to humans can be prevented by boiling the water, many people, living on just a litre or two of water per day, refuse to boil, as it loses a certain percentage of the water to steam.[36]

The sharing of water between livestock and humans is one of the most common factors in the transmission of non-tuberulosis mycobacteria (NTM). NTM is carried in cattle and pig feces, and if this contaminates the drinking water supply, it can result in pulmonary disease, disseminated disease or localized lesions in humans with both compromised and competent immune systems.[37] During drought, water supplies are even more susceptible to harmful algal blooms and microorganisms.[38] Algal blooms increase water turbidity, suffocating aquatic plants, and can deplete oxygen, killing fish. Some kinds of blue-green algae create neurotoxins, hepatoxins, cytotoxins or endotoxins that can cause serious and sometimes fatal neurological, liver and digestive diseases in humans. Cyanobacteria grow best in warmer temperatures (especially above 25 degrees Celcius), and so areas of the world that are experiencing general warming as a result of climate change are also experiencing harmful algal blooms more frequently and for longer periods of time. During times of intense precipitation (such as during the “wet season” in much of the tropical and sub-tropical world, including Australia and Panama, nutrients that cyanobacteria depend on are carried from groundwater and the earth’s surface into bodies of water. As drought begins and these bodies gradually dry up, the nutrients are concentrated, providing the perfect opportunity for algal blooms. [39][40][41]

Fresh water

As the climate warms, it changes the nature of global rainfall, evaporation, snow, stream flow and other factors that affect water supply and quality. Freshwater resources are highly sensitive to variations in weather and climate. Climate change is projected to affect water availability. In areas where the amount of water in rivers and streams depends on snow melting, warmer temperatures increase the fraction of precipitation falling as rain rather than as snow, causing the annual spring peak in water runoff to occur earlier in the year. This can lead to an increased likelihood of winter flooding and reduced late summer river flows. Rising sea levels cause saltwater to enter into fresh underground water and freshwater streams. This reduces the amount of freshwater available for drinking and farming. Warmer water temperatures also affect water quality and accelerate water pollution.[42]

Food Depletion

Livestock

Climate change is beginning to lead the global population into a food shortage, greatly affecting our livestock supply. Although the change in our climate is causing us to lose food, these sources are also contributing to climate change, essentially, creating a feedback loop. Greenhouse gases, specifically from livestock, are one of the leading sources furthering global warming; these emissions, which drastically effect climatic change, are also beginning to harm our livestock in ways we could never imagine.

Greenhouse Gas Effects

Our agricultural food system is responsible for a significant amount of the greenhouse-gas emissions that are produced. [43][44]

According to the IPCC, it makes up between, at least, 10-12% of the emissions, and when there are changes in land due to the agriculture, it can even rise as high as 17%. More specifically, emissions from farms, such as nitrous oxide, methane and carbon dioxide, are the main culprits, and can be held accountable for up to half of the greenhouse-gases produced by the overall food industry, or 80% of all emissions just within agriculture. [44]

The types of farm animals, as well as the food they supply can be put into two categories: monogastric and ruminant. Typically, beef and dairy, in other words, ruminant products, rank high in greenhouse-gas emissions; monogastric, or pigs and poultry-related foods, are low. The consumption of the monogastric types, therefore, yield less emissions. This is due to the fact that these types of animals have a higher feed-conversion efficiency, and also do not produce any methane. [44]

As lower-income countries begin, and continue, to develop, the necessity for a consistent meat supply will increase. [45][44] This means the cattle population will be required to grow in order to keep up with the demand, producing the highest possible rate of greenhouse-gas emissions. [44]

There are some strategies that can be used to help soften the effects, and the further production of greenhouse-gas emissions. Although there are many, some of them include: a higher efficiency in livestock farming, which includes management, as well as technology; a more effective process of managing manure; a lower dependence upon fossil-fuels and nonrenewable resources; a variation in the animals’ eating and drinking duration, time and location; and a cutback in, both, the production and consumption of animal-sourced foods. [44][45][46][47]

Heat Stress

Heat stress on livestock has a devastating effect on not only their growth and reproduction, but their food intake and production of dairy and meat. Cattle require a temperature range of 5-15 degrees Celsius, but upwards to 25 degrees Celsius, to live comfortably, and once climate change increases the temperature, the chance of these changes occurring increases [48]. Once the high temperatures hit, the livestock struggle to keep up their metabolism, resulting in decreased food intake, lowered activity rate, and a drop in weight. This causes a decline in livestock productivity and can be detrimental to the farmers and consumers. Obviously, the location and species of the livestock varies and therefore the effects of heat vary between them. This is noted in livestock at a higher elevation and in the tropics, of which have a generally increased effect from climate change. Livestock in a higher elevation are very vulnerable to high heat and are not well adapted to those changes.

Extreme weather events

Infectious disease often accompanies extreme weather events, such as floods, earthquakes and drought. These local epidemics occur due to loss of infrastructure, such as hospitals and sanitation services, but also because of changes in local ecology and environment. For example, malaria outbreaks have been strongly associated with the El Nino cycles of a number of countries (India and Venezuela, for example). El Nino can lead to drastic, though temporary, changes in the environment such as temperature fluctuations and flash floods.[3] Because of global warming there has been a marked trend towards more variable and anomalous weather. This has led to an increase in the number and severity of extreme weather events. This trend towards more variability and fluctuation is perhaps more important, in terms of its impact on human health, than that of a gradual and long-term trend towards higher average temperature.[3]

Floods

Many health concerns globally can be linked to floods; they have short term and long term negative implications[49]

Drought

Arguably one of the worst effects that drought has directly on human health is the destruction of food supply. Farmers who depend on weather to water their crops lose tons of crops per year due to drought. Plant growth is severely stunted without adequate water, and plant resistance mechanisms to fungi and insects weaken like human immune systems. The expression of genes is altered by increased temperatures, which can also affect a plant’s resistance mechanisms. One example is wheat, which has the ability to express genes that make it resistant to leaf and stem rusts, and to the Hessian fly; its resistance declines with increasing temperatures. A number of other factors associated with lack of water may actually attract pestilent insects, as well- some studies have shown that many insects are attracted to yellow hues, including the yellowing leaves of drought-stressed plants. During times of mild drought is when conditions are most suitable to insect infestation in crops; once the plants become too weakened, they lack the nutrients necessary to keep the insects healthy. This means that even a relatively short, mild drought may cause enormous damage- even though the drought on its own may not be enough to kill a significant portion of the crops, once the plants become weakened, they are at higher risk of becoming infested.[50]

The results of the loss of crop yields affect everyone, but they can be felt most by the poorest people in the world. As supplies of corn, flour and vegetables decline, world food prices are driven up. Malnutrition rates in poor areas of the world skyrocket, and with this, dozens of associated diseases and health problems. Immune function decreases, so mortality rates due to infectious and other diseases climb. For those whose incomes were affected by droughts (namely agriculturalists and pastoralists), and for those who can barely afford the increased food prices, the cost to see a doctor or visit a clinic can simply be out of reach. Without treatment, some of these diseases can hinder one’s ability to work, decreasing future opportunities for income and perpetuating the vicious cycle of poverty.[51]

Glacial Melting

A glacier is a mass of ice that has originated from snow that has been compacted via pressure and have definite lateral limits and movements in definite directions. [52] They are found in areas where the temperatures do not get warm enough to melt annual snow accumulation, thus resulting in many layers of snow piling up over many years, creating the pressure needed to make a glacier. Global climate change and fluctuation is causing an increasingly exponential melting of Earth’s glaciers. These melting glaciers have many social and ecological consequences that directly or indirectly impact the health and well-being of humans.[53] The recession of glaciers change sea salt, sediment, and temperature ratios in the ocean which changes currents, weather patterns, and marine life.[54][citation needed] The melt also increases ocean levels and decreases the availability of water for human consumption, agriculture, and hydroelectricity. This aggravates and increases the likelihood of issues such as sanitation, world hunger, population shifts, and catastrophic weather such as flooding, drought, and world-wide temperature fluctuations.[54][citation needed]

“Glacier mass-balances show consistent decreases over the last century in most regions of the world and retreat may be accelerating in many locations" [55] with an average loss of ten meters per year,[53] nearly twice as fast as ten years ago.[56] Glaciers currently cover ~10% of the Earth’s surface, or ~15 million km² and holds ~75% of Earth’s fresh water supply. Glacial retreat first gained the attention of alpinists and the tourist industry shortly after 1940 – when the globe warmed ~0.5ºC. [52] Even with 62 years of awareness, climate change is just becoming an issue for some parts of society. Over this time period the cirque and steep alpine glaciers were able to acclimatize to the new temperatures posed by climate change; large valley glaciers have not yet made this adjustment. This means the large valley glaciers are rapidly retreating, as their mass is attempting to achieve equilibrium with the current climate. If regional snow lines stay constant, then the glaciers remain constant.[52] Today this is clearly not the case as global warming is causing mountain snow lines to rapidly retreat. Even the United States’ famous Glacier National Park is receding. More than two-thirds of its glaciers have disappeared and it is expected for them to be nonexistent in the park by the year 2030.[57]

Glacial melt will affect low lying coastal wetlands via sea level rise, change key drivers of fresh-water ecosystems, shift the timing of snow packs, and alter the unique character of associated fresh water streams off of snow pack.[58] It has also been stated that the sea level will rise 28-43 cm by 2100;[58] if all the ice on Earth melts,it is predicted that the ocean level will increase 75 meters, destroying many coastal cities.[54][citation needed] In addition, the freshwater swaps in northern areas are already affected by the intrusion of salt water. “Sea level rise will cause a change of state from freshwater to marine or estuarine ecosystems, radically altering the composition of biotic communities".[58]

Not only are glaciers causing a rise in sea level, they are causing an increase in El Niño Southern Oscillation (ESNO) and global temperature itself.[52] Glacier loss adds to global heat rise through a decrease in what is called ice-albedo feedback. As more ice melts, there is less solar reflectivity and less heat is reflected away from the Earth, causing more heat to be absorbed, and retained in the atmosphere and soil [54].[citation needed] In addition to the El Niño events, glacial melt is contributing to the rapid turnover of sea surface temperatures [52] and ocean salt content by diluting the ocean water and slowing the Atlantic conveyor belt's usually swift dive because of a top layer of buoyant, cold, fresh water that slows the flow of warm water to the north.[54][citation needed]

Fifty percent of the world’s fresh water consumption is dependent glacial runoff.[57] Earth's glaciers are expected to melt within the next forty years, greatly decreasing fresh water flow in the hotter times of the year, causing everyone to depend on rainwater, resulting in large shortages and fluctuations in fresh water availability which largely effects agriculture, power supply, and human health and well-being.[54][citation needed] Many power sources and a large portion of agriculture rely on glacial runoff in the late summer. “In many parts of the world, disappearing mountain glaciers and droughts will make fresh, clean water for drinking, bathing, and other necessary human (and livestock) uses scarce" and a valuable commodity.[54][citation needed]

Habitat loss

Climate change may dramatically impact habitat loss, for example, arid conditions may cause the collapse of rainforests, as has occurred in the past.[59]


Deforestation

The deforestation and cultivation of natural swamps in the African highlands has created conditions favourable for the survival of mosquito larvae, and has, in part, led to the increasing incidence of malaria.[4]

Mountain Pine Beetle, Forest Ecosystems and Forest Fires

Mountain Pine Beetle are a species native to Western North America[60] . Pine beetles play an important role in the life of forests and are able to invade most all pine tree species [61] . As the pine beetle infects and kills trees, carbon dioxide is released into the environment. Pine beetles usually affect pine trees and forested areas at lower elevations. However, climate change has led to a threatening pine beetle pandemic, causing them to spread far beyond their native habitat [60]. This leads to ecosystem changes, forest fires, floods and hazards to human health [60].

Normally, the pine beetle cannot survive in the frigid temperatures and higher elevation of the Rocky Mountains [60]. However, warmer temperatures means that the pine beetle can now survive and attack the forests of the Rockies, as it no longer is cold enough to freeze and kill the beetle at such elevations. Increased temperatures also allow the pine beetle to increase their life cycle by 100%: it only takes a single year instead of two to develop. As the Rockies have not adapted to deal with pine beetle infestations like the lower elevation forests, they lack the defences to fight the beetles [60]. Under normal seasonal weather conditions in the lower elevations, the forest ecosystems that pine beetles inhabit are kept in a balance; it is a simple relationship between a host (the forest), an agent (the beetle) and the environment (the weather & temperature) [60]. However, as climate change causes mountain areas to become warmer and drier, pine beetles have more power to infest and destroy the forest ecosystems. Warmer weather patterns and drought dries out the sap in pine trees. Sap is the main mechanism of defense that trees have against the beetle [60]. Dry environments make it easier for the beetle to release chemicals into the tree; they can more easily overcome the weakened defense system of the pine tree. The host (forest) is more vulnerable to the disease-causing agent (the beetle). In a forest ravaged by pine beetle, the dead logs and kindle can easily be ignited by lightening [60]. Forest fires present dangers to the environment, human health and the economy [60]. They are detrimental to air quality and vegetation, releasing toxic and carcinogenic compounds as they burn [60].

Due to temperature changes and wind patterns, the pine beetle has spread through the Continental Divide of the Rockies and has invaded the fragile boreal forests of Alberta, known as the “lungs of the Earth”. These forests are imperative for producing oxygen through photosynthesis and removing carbon in the atmosphere. Ecosystems and humans rely on the supply of oxygen in the environment. Threats to this boreal forest results in severe consequences on the earth and human health [60].

Due to human induced deforestationand climate change, along with the pine beetle pandemic, the strength of forest ecosystems decrease. The infestations and resulting diseases can indirectly, but seriously, affect human health. As droughts and temperature increases continue, so does the frequency of devastating forest fires, insect infestations and forest diebacks [60].


Smoke from Wildfires

Climate change increases wildfire potential and activity [62]. Climate change leads to a warmer ground temperature and its effects include: earlier snowmelt dates, drier than expected vegetation, increased number of potential fire days, increased occurrence of summer droughts, and a prolonged dry season [63].

Warming spring and summer temperatures increase flammability of materials that make up the forest floors [64]. Warmer temperatures cause dehydration of these materials, which prevents rain from soaking up and dampening fires . Furthermore, pollution from wildfires can exacerbate climate change by releasing atmospheric aerosols, which modify cloud and precipitation patterns .

Wood smoke from wildfires produces particulate matter that has damaging effects to human health [65]. The primary pollutants in wood smoke are carbon monoxide and nitric oxide [66]. Through the destruction of forests and human-designed infrastructure, wildfire smoke releases other toxic and carcinogenic compounds, such as formaldehyde and hydrocarbons [67] . These pollutants damage human health by evading the mucociliary clearance system and depositing in the upper respiratory tract, where they exert toxic effects [68]. Research by Naeher and colleagues [69] found that physician visits for respiratory diseases increased by 45-80% during wildfire activity in urban British Columbia.

The health effects of wildfire smoke exposure include: exacerbations and development of respiratory illness such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder; increased risk of lung cancer, mesothelioma and tuberculosis; increased airway hyper-responsiveness; changes in levels of inflammatory mediators and coafulation factors; and respiratory tract infection. It may also have intrauterine effects on fetal development, resulting in low birth weight newborns (Holistius, etc.)[70]. Because wildfire smoke travels and is often not isolated to a single geographic region, the health effects are widespread among populations [71]

Displacement/migration

Climate change causes displacement of people in several ways, the most obvious—and dramatic—being through the increased number and severity of weather-related disasters which destroy homes and habitats causing people to seek shelter or livelihoods elsewhere. Slow onset phenomena, including effects of climate change such as desertification and rising sea levels gradually erode livelihoods and force communities to abandon traditional homelands for more accommodating environments. This is currently happening in areas of Africa’s Sahel, the semi-arid belt that spans the continent just below its northern deserts. Deteriorating environments triggered by climate change can also lead to increased conflict over resources which in turn can displace people.[72]

Extreme environmental events are increasingly recognized as a key driver of migration across the world. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, more than 42 million people were displaced in Asia and the Pacific during 2010 and 2011, more than twice the population of Sri Lanka. This figure includes those displaced by storms, floods, and heat and cold waves. Still others were displaced drought and sea-level rise. Most of those compelled to leave their homes eventually returned when conditions improved, but an undetermined number became migrants, usually within their country, but also across national borders.[73]

Asia and the Pacific is the global area most prone to natural disasters, both in terms of the absolute number of disasters and of populations affected. It is highly exposed to climate impacts, and is home to highly vulnerable population groups, who are disproportionately poor and marginalized. A recent Asian Development Bank report highlights “environmental hot spots” that are particular risk of flooding, cyclones, typhoons, and water stress.[74]

To reduce migration compelled by worsening environmental conditions, and to strengthen resilience of at-risk communities, governments should adopt polices and commit financing to social protection, livelihoods development, basic urban infrastructure development, and disaster risk management. Though every effort should be made to ensure that people can stay where they live, it is also important to recognize that migration can also be a way for people to cope with environmental changes. If properly managed, and efforts made to protect the rights of migrants, migration can provide substantial benefits to both origin and destination areas, as well as to the migrants themselves. However, migrants – particularly low-skilled ones – are among the most vulnerable people in society and are often denied basic protections and access to services.[74]

The links between the gradual environmental degradation of climate change and displacement are complex: as the decision to migrate is taken at the household level, it is difficult to measure the respective influence of climate change in these decisions with regard to other influencing factors, such as poverty, population growth or employment options.[75] This situates the debate on environmental migration in a highly contested field: the use of the term 'environmental refugee', although commonly used in some contexts, is disrecommended by agencies such as the UNHCR who argue that the term 'refugee' has a strict legal definition which does not apply to environmental migrants.[76] Neither the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change nor the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement on climate change, includes any provisions concerning specific assistance or protection for those who will be directly affected by climate change.[77]


See also

References

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Further reading

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