Science. Climate change already has measurable effects on health, ranging from heat stroke to heart problems. But mental health also hit the radar screens in the latest edition of The Lancet Countdown to Health and Climate Change.
Published annually Since 2015This document has quickly established itself in the scene of annual climate reviews, due to its focus on health. He notes, for example, this year that “heat-related deaths” increased 68% between 2000-2004 and 2017-2021.
This is in addition to the fact that the changing climate helps the spread of infectious diseases to new places. Many coastal areas, for example, find themselves with warmer waters, which leads to the spread of the bacteria responsible for cholera. The number of days favorable for malaria transmission has apparently increased in Africa, where it originated, but also in the Americas, since 1950. So has the potential for dengue transmission.
But Mental health is also under surveillance. Heat waves cause sleep problems. They reduce opportunities for social interaction and increase isolation, which is a major cause of depression. Drought has devastating effects on farming families. and studies Established in recent years Correlation between rising temperatures and Increase in violent behavioruntil Increase in suicides.
The pandemic has reminded us of how unprepared many countries are for the crisis, hundreds of the report’s authors recalled. The Lancet Countdown to Health and Climate Change. A finding that also applies to the climate crisis we see on the horizon: According to their analyses, only half of the countries studied (48 out of 95) produced an assessment of their health system needs in the context of adaptation. To climate change (more respiratory and heart problems, more deaths, etc.). Canada is not among them.
It may get worse before it gets better. We read in the reportConsidering that the gas and oil companies “record record profits, while their production strategies continue to harm the lives and welfare of the population.” And this, with the support of governments, the authors go on: The direct or indirect subsidies that 60 governments provide to these companies represent amounts “equal to or greater than their total health budgets.” The projected impact of climate change on their economies, with the added possibility of a recession, makes us fear the worst for new investments in health.
Link to the original article
https://www.sciencepresse.qc.ca/actualite/2022/11/02/changements-climatiques-sante-mentale
