Climate change epidemic

Researchers at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources and the UCL Energy Institute have contributed to the latest report from The Lancet Countdown, demonstrating that, not only is climate change already affecting the health of people across the planet, but also that its impacts are disproportionately felt by the communities least responsible for climate change and by the most vulnerable in society. 

Funded by The Wellcome Trust and led by UCL, The Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change reports annually in the medical journal, The Lancet. Its goal is to support an accelerated and adequate response to climate change, by informing the work of policymakers in health and other sectors, while also engaging health professionals in responding to the challenge. 

Some of the existing health impacts include an average 5.3% fall in productivity for rural labour, estimated globally since 2000, as a result of rising temperatures. In 2016, this took more than 920,000 people out of the global workforce, 418,000 of them in India alone.  

Undernutrition is identified as the largest health impact of climate change in the 21st century. Related impacts of climate change on crop production, referenced in the report, include a 6% decline in global wheat yields and a 10% fall in rice yields for each additional 1°C rise in global temperature. More than 803,000 premature and avoidable deaths in 2015 across 21 Asian countries were attributed to air pollution from coal-burning power stations, transport and the use of fossil fuels in the home. 

Despite this, the authors are also clear that responding to climate change can still realise substantial gains in public health. 

Image: The Lancet Countdown

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The Bartlett Review 2017