These effects, which hit those most vulnerable like minorities, children and poorer communities hardest, are just the beginning.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
SEP 06, 2021 11:40:22 IST
Global warming is already affecting people's health so much that emergency action on climate change cannot be put on hold while the world deals with the Covid-19 pandemic, medical journals across the globe warned on Monday.
"Health is already being harmed by global temperature increases and the destruction of the natural world," read an editorial published in more than 220 leading journals ahead of the Cop26 climate summit in November.
Global warming is already affecting people's health so much that emergency action on climate change cannot be put on hold while the world deals with the Covid-19 pandemic, medical journals across the globe warned on Monday.
"Health is already being harmed by global temperature increases and the destruction of the natural world," read an editorial published in more than 220 leading journals ahead of the Cop26 climate summit in November.
Researchers said there was "mounting evidence that we are nearing or have already crossed" a number of climate tipping points.
Since the pre-industrial era, temperatures have risen around 1.1 degrees Celsius (34 degrees Fahrenheit).
The editorial, written by the editors-in-chief of over a dozen journals including the Lancet, the East African Medical Journal, Brazil's Revista de Saude Publica and the International Nursing Review, said this had caused a plethora of health problems.
"In the past 20 years, heat-related mortality among people older than 65 years has increased by more than 50 percent," it read.
"Higher temperatures have brought increased dehydration and renal function loss, dermatological malignancies, tropical infections, adverse mental health outcomes, pregnancy complications, allergies, and cardiovascular and pulmonary morbidity and mortality."
It also pointed to the decline in agricultural production, "hampering efforts to reduce undernutrition."
These effects, which hit those most vulnerable like minorities, children and poorer communities hardest, are just the beginning, it warned.
As things stand, global warming could reach +1.5C on pre-industrial levels around 2030, according to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
And that, along with the continued loss of biodiversity, "risk catastrophic harm to health that will be impossible to reverse," the editorial warned.
"Despite the world's necessary preoccupation with Covid-19, we cannot wait for the pandemic to pass to rapidly reduce emissions."
In a statement ahead of the publication of the editorial, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "The risks posed by climate change could dwarf those of any single 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 pointed out that many governments met the threat of Covid-19 with "unprecedented funding" and called for "a similar emergency response" to the environmental crisis, highlighting the benefits.
"Better air quality alone would realise health benefits that easily offset the global costs of emissions reductions," it read.
The authors also said "governments must make fundamental changes to how our societies and economies are organised and how we live."
Climate crisis: Over 200 health journals urge world leaders to tackle “catastrophic harm”
Linked Editorial
Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increases, restore biodiversity, and protect health
Jacqui Wise Author affiliations
More than 200 health journals have called on governments to take emergency action to tackle the “catastrophic harm to health” from climate change.
A joint editorial says that while recent targets to reduce emissions and conserve biodiversity are welcome, they are not enough and need to be matched with credible short and longer term plans.1
The editorial was published simultaneously on 6 September in 233 international titles including The BMJ, the Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine, the East African Medical Journal, the Chinese Science Bulletin, the National Medical Journal of India, and the Medical Journal of Australia. A full list of authors and signatories can be found here: https://bit.ly/3n1qzXB.
“As health professionals, we must do all we can to aid the transition to a sustainable, fairer, resilient, and healthier world,” the editorial says. “We, as editors of health journals, call for governments and other leaders to act, marking 2021 as the year that the world finally changes course.”
The editorial is being published ahead of next week’s UN General Assembly, one of the last international meetings taking place before the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in November. It has been coordinated by the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, a coalition of leading UK health bodies.
Fiona Godlee, editor in chief of The BMJ and one of the editorial’s coauthors, said, “Health professionals have been on the front line of the covid-19 crisis, and they are united in warning that going above 1.5°C and allowing the continued destruction of nature will bring the next, far deadlier crisis.
“Wealthier nations must act faster and do more to support those countries already suffering under higher temperatures. 2021 has to be the year the world changes course—our health depends on it.”
Transforming economies
Health professionals and health journals have been warning for decades about the severe and growing effects from climate change, including extreme temperatures, destructive weather events, and the degradation of essential ecosystems.
The impact of climate change disproportionately affects the most vulnerable people in society including children and elderly people, ethnic minorities, poorer communities, and people with underlying health conditions.
The editorial urges world leaders to transform societies and economies by supporting the redesign of transport systems, cities, the production and distribution of food, and markets for financial investments and health systems. This will need substantial investment but will have enormous positive benefits, it argues, including reduced air pollution, increased physical activity, and improved housing and diet.
Wealthier countries that have disproportionately created the environmental crisis must do more to support low and middle income countries in building cleaner, healthier, and more resilient societies, say the authors.
Eric Rubin, editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, said, “The environment and health are inextricably intertwined. The changing climate is endangering us in many ways, including its critical impacts on health and healthcare delivery. As medical and public health practitioners, we have an obligation not only to anticipate new healthcare needs but also to be active participants in limiting the causes of the climate crisis.”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, said, “The risks posed by climate change could dwarf those of any single disease. The IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] report shows that every fraction of a degree hotter endangers our health and future. Similarly, every action taken to limit emissions and warming brings us closer to a healthier and safer future.”
References
↵
Atwoli L,
Baqui AH,
Benfield T,
et al. Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increases, restore biodiversity, and protect health. BMJ2021;374:n1734. doi:10.1136/bmj.n1734. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1734.
BMJ 2021; 374 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n2177
(Published 06 September 2021)Cite this as: BMJ 2021;374:n2177
Linked Editorial
Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increases, restore biodiversity, and protect health
Jacqui Wise Author affiliations
More than 200 health journals have called on governments to take emergency action to tackle the “catastrophic harm to health” from climate change.
A joint editorial says that while recent targets to reduce emissions and conserve biodiversity are welcome, they are not enough and need to be matched with credible short and longer term plans.1
The editorial was published simultaneously on 6 September in 233 international titles including The BMJ, the Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine, the East African Medical Journal, the Chinese Science Bulletin, the National Medical Journal of India, and the Medical Journal of Australia. A full list of authors and signatories can be found here: https://bit.ly/3n1qzXB.
“As health professionals, we must do all we can to aid the transition to a sustainable, fairer, resilient, and healthier world,” the editorial says. “We, as editors of health journals, call for governments and other leaders to act, marking 2021 as the year that the world finally changes course.”
The editorial is being published ahead of next week’s UN General Assembly, one of the last international meetings taking place before the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in November. It has been coordinated by the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, a coalition of leading UK health bodies.
Fiona Godlee, editor in chief of The BMJ and one of the editorial’s coauthors, said, “Health professionals have been on the front line of the covid-19 crisis, and they are united in warning that going above 1.5°C and allowing the continued destruction of nature will bring the next, far deadlier crisis.
“Wealthier nations must act faster and do more to support those countries already suffering under higher temperatures. 2021 has to be the year the world changes course—our health depends on it.”
Transforming economies
Health professionals and health journals have been warning for decades about the severe and growing effects from climate change, including extreme temperatures, destructive weather events, and the degradation of essential ecosystems.
The impact of climate change disproportionately affects the most vulnerable people in society including children and elderly people, ethnic minorities, poorer communities, and people with underlying health conditions.
The editorial urges world leaders to transform societies and economies by supporting the redesign of transport systems, cities, the production and distribution of food, and markets for financial investments and health systems. This will need substantial investment but will have enormous positive benefits, it argues, including reduced air pollution, increased physical activity, and improved housing and diet.
Wealthier countries that have disproportionately created the environmental crisis must do more to support low and middle income countries in building cleaner, healthier, and more resilient societies, say the authors.
Eric Rubin, editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, said, “The environment and health are inextricably intertwined. The changing climate is endangering us in many ways, including its critical impacts on health and healthcare delivery. As medical and public health practitioners, we have an obligation not only to anticipate new healthcare needs but also to be active participants in limiting the causes of the climate crisis.”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, said, “The risks posed by climate change could dwarf those of any single disease. The IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] report shows that every fraction of a degree hotter endangers our health and future. Similarly, every action taken to limit emissions and warming brings us closer to a healthier and safer future.”
References
↵
Atwoli L,
Baqui AH,
Benfield T,
et al. Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increases, restore biodiversity, and protect health. BMJ2021;374:n1734. doi:10.1136/bmj.n1734. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1734.
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