The health of hundreds of millions of people may be put at risk by the effects of global climate change, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.
"Global warming has already impacted lives and health, and this problem will pose an even greater threat to mankind in coming decades if we fail to act now," said Dr. Shigeru Omi, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, in a press release.
Omi made the statement on this year's World Health Day 2008, on7 April, aiming to raise awareness and public understanding of the consequences of climate change. This year's theme, "Protecting health from climate change", is designed to put health at the canter of government policies on global warming, while encouraging individuals to take action to limit greenhouse gases.
Climate change and variability may already be the cause of an increase in the number of deaths, now at more than 150,000 annually, from malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition and injury from floods, with half of those deaths occurring in Asia and the Pacific, according to the WHO.
Climate change will be difficult to reverse over the short term, Omi said.
The threats range from increased risks of extreme weather events to an expansion in the areas where disease-carrying mosquitoes are active, spreading from the tropics to cooler climates in both the northern and southern hemispheres, the doctor added.
Millions of people could face disease, poverty and hunger if Asia's arable lands become unworkable through changes in temperature, rainfall, river flows or pest abundance.
At the same time, the health of tens of millions of residents of some of Asia's delta mega cities, such as Calcutta and Manila, could be threatened by river and coastal flooding. Other populations considered at risk from rising sea levels and extreme weather are those living in low-lying Pacific islands.
Rising temperatures and increased rainfall will result in mosquitoes being found in abundance in cooler climates, where there is little knowledge of and resistance to the diseases they carry.
No countries would be spared the health consequences of global warming, Omi said. But the first and hardest hit would be those where health systems are already overburdened by disease, and where under nutrition is widespread and education poor, he added.
Many of the projected impacts on health are avoidable or controllable through well-known and tested public health interventions such as immunization, disease surveillance, mosquito control and disaster preparedness, Omi said.
At the same time, there has to be urgent action through changes in lifestyles and attitudes to limit greenhouse gases. If this does not happen, the effects on the global climate system could be abrupt or irreversible, he added.
Source: Xinhua
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