The Americas region (South, North and Central) is expected to face increases in mortality and heat-related health problems. The list includes exhaustion and heat stroke, as well as cardiovascular, kidney and respiratory diseases related to exposure to high temperatures.
This is what a survey carried out by the Inter-American Network of Academies of Science (IANAS) reveals. The report, released on Tuesday (8), revealed that excess mortality has been projected in many countries over the century, including Brazil, Canada, the United States, Chile and Colombia.
According to the document, a series of epidemiological studies were carried out in the countries of the Americas. In Brazil, an investigation was carried out on the variation and role of temperature in hospital admissions in the public health system.
The network analyzed 15 years of daily hospitalizations with data obtained from 1,869 hospitals covering approximately 70% of the Brazilian population. The data concluded that temperature deviations from the thermal comfort zone were significantly associated with increased hospitalizations for different diseases, such as cardiovascular, respiratory and diabetes.
According to the report, children, the elderly, malnourished individuals and economically disadvantaged people were the most affected by the extreme temperatures in the country. For the researchers, these results reinforce the concept that climate change, in addition to affecting biodiversity and causing serious consequences for health, also affects human rights and dignity.
In 2021, a heat wave that hit British Columbia, a province located in Canada, between June and July, caused more than 500 deaths. In comparison with previous years, the number of deaths represented a 300% increase in heat-related mortality. Of those deaths related to high temperatures, 79% of victims were 65 years of age or older, according to the survey.
The report warned that climate change is also increasing the frequency, intensity and distribution of wildfires. The smoke caused by them contains particulate matter that affects the respiratory health of populations living in the Americas. In the South and West of the Brazilian Amazon, approximately 10 million people are exposed to smoke from fires, which impacts health and raises costs for the public health system.
Disparity of impacts between countries
The researchers stress that the health impacts of climate change will not be equitably experienced. Certain populations are at disproportionately high risk of ill health due to complex interactions between geographic, political and economic factors, as well as social determinants of health, including gender.
Those who live in low-income countries, for example, and who contribute less to global greenhouse gas emissions, typically carry a greater burden of climate-related health impacts, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report says ( IPCC) of the United Nations (UN), released in 2018.
The IANAS research still brings an alarming fact: low-income countries are six times more likely to be affected by climate disasters and seven times more likely that events lead to the death of many people, when compared to nations that have a population of high income. According to the study, this happens because these countries have more limited resources for areas such as health and basic sanitation and fewer public policies to mitigate these climate effects.
Actions to reduce the problem
The report suggests some measures to mitigate climate effects on health. According to experts, it is essential to increase public awareness of health risks, including education in schools; heat action plans; modifications to the built environment to deal with higher temperatures; explicitly incorporate health provisions into disaster risk management plans; integrated environmental and health surveillance and response systems; and better access to essential services, including improved water, sanitation and hygiene systems.
“It is necessary to reduce the effects and the emissions themselves. There are many avenues for climate action to improve health, but we need public policy to start acting,” notes Andrew Haine, professor of public health and climate change at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
*under the supervision of Helena Vieira, from CNN
Source: CNN Brasil
