Thread by @radwaewaisha

#climatechange🌍🌡 is the greatest threat to human #health👩⚕️. 
Here are 5 ways climate change is impacting our health and how the future could look like if no action is taken. 
A 🧵. 1/11
#climatechange #globalwarming #savetheplanet #climate #climatecrisis #climatechangeisreal

1. Extreme Heat🌡: Heat waves are deadly⚰. One study attributed more than 1/3 of heat-related deaths to climate change. Future warming could result in an additional 2K - 10K deaths/year in each of 209 U.S. cities. 2/11

Heart attacks & strokes can result from prolonged exposure to heat. The heart has to work harder to pump blood and minerals are lost through sweat. Extreme heat can also worsen pre-existing conditions such as kidney damage, especially for vulnerable populations such as 👴👵. 3/11

2. #InfectiousDiseases🦠: Diseases carried by ticks and mosquitoes 🦟 are now seen in geographical regions that used to be too cold for these vectors. Shorter winters & earlier springs also mean a wider range of activity. Examples include Zika, Dengue, malaria, Lyme disease. 4/11

An increase in water-borne disease outbreaks is seen as a result of rising sea levels🌊 impairing the quality of drinking water and waste water treatment. Severe storms lead to an increase in the transport of pathogens🦠 that contaminate food (e.g. Salmonella, noroviruses). 5/11

3. Food Insecurity: Crop yields 🌾are beginning to decline because of extreme heat waves and rising temperatures 🌡. An increase in atmospheric CO2 could make plants leech Zn, iron, and protein and become less nutritious. 6/11

Fish 🐟 stocks are impacted because of fish migration to the poles in search of cooler water. Food insecurity will be most striking in low-income communities. Malnutrition is associated with impaired growth in children 🧒, as well as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. 7/11

4. Drought and Fires🔥: Desertification🏜 can have huge implications for food availability. Drought leads to an increase in the intensity and duration of wildfires, which lead to lasting air pollution😷 and exacerbate climate change through increased carbon emission. 8/11

5. #MentalHealth🧘‍♂️: Many people impacted lose their homes, jobs, & loved ones. This increases the incidence of #PTSD & #suicide. This can be seen with climate migrants in #Bangladesh who had to leave their homes because of #flooding & in Californians impacted by #wildfires. 9/11

More than one of these health impacts can happen at the same time and they disproportionately affect poorer communities. These individuals could suffer the most severe climate change consequences because they cannot afford 💸 to avert them. 10/11

This 🧵 is summarized in this video 👇.

#climatechange #globalwarming #savetheplanet #climate #climatecrisis #climatechangeisreal #Earth #environment #health #humanhealth #wildfires #drought #mentalhealth 

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