Impact of Climate Change on Human Health: 2,50,000 more deaths per year by 2030, says WHO

Climate change is likely to kill 250,000 more people each year by 2030, latest assessment by the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows. Most of these deaths will be caused from malaria, diarrhoeal disease, heat stress and malnutrition.

Climate change, also called global warming, refers to the rise in average surface temperatures on Earth. An overwhelming scientific consensus maintains that climate change is due primarily to the human use of fossil fuels, which releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the air.

The World Health Organization estimates that climate change is already causing tens of thousands of deaths every year. These deaths arise from more frequent epidemics of diseases like cholera, the vastly expanded geographical distribution of diseases like dengue, and from extreme weather events, like heat waves and floods. At the same time, nearly 7 million people each year die from diseases caused by air pollution, such as lung cancer and stroke.

Experts predict that, by 2030, climate change will cause an additional 250 000 deaths each year from malaria, diarrhoeal disease, heat stress and undernutrition alone. The heaviest burden will fall on children, women, older people and the poor, further widening existing health inequalities between and within populations.

The heaviest burden of diseases due to climate change will fall on children, women, elderly and the poor, further widening health inequalities between and within populations, WHO said. It asked countries, including India, to spend more to protect itself from health risks linked to climate, such as extreme weather events and outbreaks of infectious diseases.

The UN agency had set up an agenda and proposed key actions for its implementation during its recent Paris meet. WHO estimates that climate change is already causing tens of thousands of deaths every year.

These deaths arise from more frequent epidemics like cholera, as well as the vast geographical distribution of diseases like dengue and from extreme weather events, like heat waves and floods.