Climate Change: A Threat to Humans Health?

Good morning everyone. Nowadays, every one of us is well aware of the

threat of climate change. It is a serious issue increasing continuously. Our climate is
rapidly changing with disruptive impacts, and that change is progressing faster than
any seen in the last 2,000 years.
Climate change is also called global warming which 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. According to
the report of Preparing for a Changing Climate, rising levels of carbon dioxide and
other heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere have warmed the Earth and are
causing wide-ranging impacts, including rising sea levels, melting snow and ice,
more extreme heat events, fires and drought, and more extreme storms, rainfall and
floods. Scientists project that these trends will continue and in some cases
accelerate, posing significant risks to human health, our forests, agriculture,
freshwater supplies, coastlines, and other natural resources that are vital to our
economy, environment, and our quality of life.
Climate change is a change in the statistical properties of the climate system
when considered over long periods of time, regardless of cause. The primary cause
of climate change is the burning of fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, which emits
carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Other human activities,
such as agriculture and deforestation, also contribute to the proliferation of
greenhouse gases that cause climate change. While some quantities of these gases
are a naturally occurring and critical part of Earths temperature control system, the
atmospheric concentration of CO2 did not rise above 300 parts per million between
the advent of human civilization roughly 10,000 years ago and 1900. Today it is at
about 400 ppm, a level not reached in more than 400,000 years.
Climate change is often thought of in terms of its effects on our physical
environment: melting icecaps, rising sea levels, heat-waves and storms. But
increasing evidence shows that the human impact and in particular the impact on
human health will be a major challenge for scientists, politicians and ordinary
people in years to come. Climate change is having an effect, and as the planet
warms up, that effect is only going to increase.
The first major health impact of climate change is the rise in rates of
mortality and diseases caused by extreme weather events, including floods,
droughts, tsunamis, heat-waves and other disasters which kill thousands of people
in both the developed and developing worlds. These disasters make the headlines,
but the indirect health consequences of climate change are just as important.
Higher temperatures pose major health risks to older people and raise the likelihood
that those who work outside such as farmers and builders, will suffer from heat
exhaustion and heat stroke. Many killer diseases, including malaria and cholera,
increase as temperature and rainfall increase. The mosquitoes that carry the
malaria virus thrive in hot and humid conditions-weather which climate change is
likely to make more common.
Experts now think that climate change is raising rates of malnutrition and
mental health. In the developing world, malnutrition is rising because crops are
failing, and thats happening because of extreme weather. Cycles of drought and
flood are making it harder and harder for subsistence farmers to grow enough food
to feed their families and when the rain does come, it washes the topsoil away,
degrading the land, so it becomes even more difficult to cultivate crops in the
future. As a result, people go hungry and children in particular suffer from
malnourishment. And for the people who have survived droughts, floods, tropical
storms and similar extreme weather events often lose their homes and their
families. As a result, they can experience post-traumatic stress disorder, severe
depression and other mental health problems.

One way to avoid dangerous climate change is to take immediate steps to

implement the wide variety of solutions that are already at hand. There are many
cost-effective opportunities to achieve significant reductions in carbon pollution. At
home, you can reduce greenhouse gas emissions through simple actions like
changing a light bulb, conserving water, powering down electronics and composting
food and yard wastes. Reducing, reusing and recycling helps conserve energy and
reduces pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from resource extraction,
manufacturing, and disposal. Emissions also can be reduced by increasing the use
of alternative fuels and energy sources like natural gas, solar, hydroelectric and
wind power. Plant more trees especially on mountains to avoid landslides and
improve the management of land.
There are organizations that help minimize climate change. One is the
Greenpeace which is one of the first environmental organizations in the world to
sound the alarm on global warming and climate change in the mid-1980s. Another
one is the World Nature Organization which helps reduce the damage to the
environment caused by human activities. Other organizations are the ECO-UNESCO,
The Philippine Network on Climate Change (PNCC), Philippine Movement for Climate
Justice and many more all over the world.
Our societies around the world need to reduce human-caused greenhouse
gas emissions to avoid worsening climate impacts especially to human health and
reduce the risk of creating changes beyond our ability to respond and adapt. Some
changes in climate and impacts on our society are unavoidable, even if we reduce
greenhouse gas emissions today. But we can take more actions to reduce
progressively worsening impacts. It cannot be solved by the effort of only one
country, it needs global effort of all countries on urgent basis to maintain healthy
and happy life.
Thank you.

Republic of the Philippines

Eastern Visayas State University
College of Architecture and Allied Discipline
Tacloban City

Climate Change:
A Threat to Humans
Health?

Presented By:

Pumanes, Angelique Lucille M.

BS ARCHITECTURE - 4A

Presented To:

Mrs. Gregoria dela Cruz, MAIS

Instructor