Climate Crisis damaging human health

As Europe braces itself for a peak in the sweltering heatwave that has seen temperatures already soaring above 40 degrees there is concern that this current heatwave will further damage Alpine glaciers that feed European rivers including the Rhine.

A new report, The Imperative of Climate Action to Protect Human Health in Europe,  from 27 national science academies found that the global Climate Crisis is having a detrimental impact on human health across Europe.  The scientists report how unpredictable weather extremes including scorching heatwaves and deluges resulting in more frequent floods have an immediate direct effect to humans along with serious indirect future long term effects such as the spread of infectious diseases including mosquitoes spreading dengue fever and ticks spreading Lyme disease.  The loss of crops to extreme weather conditions and food poisoning increasing in hot humid conditions such as Salmonella and antibiotic resistant bugs.

The report also expressed a concern about food production in Europe suggesting a 5-25% decline in staple crop yields in coming decades.  The report also suggested that even a small cut in meat consumption could lead to significant cuts in carbon emissions. 

The World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned, “We cannot delay action on climate change, we cannot sleepwalk through this health emergency any longer.”