World Health Day: How does climate change impact our health?

This year, the theme of World Health Day is "Our Planet, Our Health”, which calls for creating a better planet to ensure a healthy environment for a healthy society.

The link between environment and health is like a vicious cycle - if you live in a polluted environment, it destroys the basis of your health.

For example, if the air you breathe is polluted and the water you consume is contaminated, what will this do to your body?

In an article, the director of the department of environment, climate change and health at the World Health Organisation, Dr Maria Neira said the powerful message behind this theme is a call for people to understand how the health of the planet influences the health of the people.

Meanwhile, Environmental Management and Research Association of Malaysia (Ensearch) immediate past president Gobinathan Kumaran Nair said the occurrence and intensity of natural disasters is increasing so rapidly.

"These disasters are accompanied by infectious viruses and bacteria. Most of the population affected by these disasters are exposed to infections.

"Developing countries must generate economic climate sustainable development plans to lay the foundations for a prosperous and sustainable future for a healthy populace,” he said.

Let’s dive deeper to learn how climate change can impact our health.

Did you know that over 90 per cent of people in this world breathe unhealthy air due to air fuel combustion? According to the WHO, polluted air caused by burning fuels kills 13 people every minute.

In addition to the millions of premature deaths caused by air pollution, Dr Neira said it also leads to other chronic diseases such as lung cancer, or asthma, affecting the organs in the body.

By addressing the root cause of climate change, and reducing air pollution, this will significantly contribute towards better health.

With the rise of global temperateure, this causes the frequent extreme weather events like floods, extreme heat, storms.

Frequent floods and extreme rainfall can cause drownings, injuries, heart attacks,, trauma and even infectious diseases.

Weather-related hazards like major floods, much like the ones Malaysia has endured, will also likely have a long-lasting impact on people’s mental health.

With homes and other properties destroyed paired with the risk of being exposed to infectious diseases, these are the factors that are responsible for increased trauma and anxiety.

In other parts of the world where droughts and wildfires happen, this will result in suffocation, burns, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, trauma as well as mental health problems.

What can we do? WHO stated that governments should prioritise long-term human well-being and ecological stability in all decision-making.

Gobinathan said governments should embrace sustainable development goals wholly. "Focus on protecting lives and livelihoods,” he said.

As individuals, we can take small actions by advocating for a greener planet, choose how we commute and lessen plastic usage.

Let’s do our part to take care of our planet, for a healthier tomorrow.