Climate change has been identified as a serious hazard to human health by the World Health Organization (WHO). Climate justice is inextricably linked to social, mental, and physical health and accessibility to healthcare facilities and favorable climates.

In a recent review published in Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, researchers explore the contribution of climate change to health disparities amongst susceptible individuals.

Study: Climate Change: The Ultimate Determinant of Health. Image Credit: Peter Gudella / Shutterstock.com

Vulnerability to climatic injustice

Climate change has significantly impacted health globally, with the commercial revolution’s increase in fossil fuel consumption resulting in the present climate crisis. Globally, the South is disproportionately affected, while low-income individuals of color and people with regional susceptibility are also severely affected by climate injustice. In reality, individuals with the bottom carbon footprints are most probably to suffer severe consequences, including economic insecurity and community instability.

Climatic susceptibility may result from personality traits comparable to gender and age, mental- and physical-health-associated comorbidities, nearness to climatic influences, as demonstrated by areas at a high risk of hurricanes, heat waves, fires, floods, droughts, and tornadoes, or secondary- and tertiary-level impacts including financial status, occupation, and social variables.

Children and older adults, individuals with chronic diseases and movement limitations, individuals exposed to harsh climatic conditions as a result of occupational exposures or high-risk residential locations, women, especially those that are pregnant and lactating, and people with comorbidities are most liable to the antagonistic consequences of climatic change.

Occupational exposures pose significant risks, especially for employees exposed to extreme weather, heat, and contaminated air, including athletes, outdoor employees, children and employees in outdoor-type camps, groundskeepers, utility employees, and farmworkers. Homelessness and unsafe housing also increase vulnerability to climatic change-associated health implications. Climate change disproportionately burdens individuals heavily burdened by social health determinants and high allostatic loads.

Impacts of climatic injustice on health

Burning fossil fuels increases atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, causing extreme weather, high temperatures, and rising sea levels. The ecological consequences of climatic change significantly impact human and population health and well-being. The disproportionate burdens amongst communities that profit least from GHG-emitting activities reveal the exploitive associations between Sustainable Development Goals and business determinants of health (CDoH).

Climate change can adversely impact mental, social, and physical health and increase mortality and economic burdens. Death from heat waves and other extreme environmental conditions is obvious amongst low- and middle-income nations, with most deaths as a result of renal, cardiovascular, psychiatric, and pulmonary diseases.

Psychiatric disorders related to climate change include anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorders, sleep disorders, phobias, substance abuse disorders, and attachment disorders. Extreme weather conditions and natural disasters comparable to storms, floods, and droughts may increase civil strife and conflict, thus negatively impacting the mental health of people.

Fossil fuel, ozone, and particulate matter emissions also increase mortality risks from pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases. Rising sea levels increase drowning, injuries, and soil- and water-salinization issues.

Extreme heat can lead to conditions comparable to heat stroke and warmth stress. If left untreated, heat stroke can result in death in consequence of kidney, heart, and brain damage. Heat exhaustion or stress may result in acute cerebrovascular injury, dehydration, thrombosis, blood clot formation, headaches, irritability, and lethargy.

Extreme weather events comparable to tornadoes, hurricanes, and flooding can destroy built environments, disrupt educational access and community context, and displace families.

Conclusions

Climate change is an infinite threat to human wellness; due to this fact, transitioning to sustainable energy sources may enhance mental, physical, and social well-being while promoting climate justice.

Climate-related health risks that primary care physicians must concentrate on and ready to handle include heat exposure, respiratory disorders attributable to poor air quality, allergen- and vector-borne infections, injuries from severe weather, and mental health implications.

Healthcare professionals must assess patients’ particular climatic dangers, encourage plant-based diets, advocate strategies for co-benefits comparable to lowering the chance of heart problems, and promote using energy-efficient home retrofitting support programs to scale back the burden resulting from climate change.

Environmental education and sustainability should be integrated into all medical fields of study and be required for continuing licensure certification. The achievement of net zero emissions should be prioritized within the healthcare industry.