The effects of climate change have an increasing impact on populations across the world and have a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable. This includes air pollution (and increased prevalence of respiratory diseases as a result), erosion and flooding causing extensive damage to crops and destruction of homes and livelihoods, leading to homelessness, poverty, malnutrition and disease.
It is essential that urgent measures are put in place to enable us to adapt to environmentally evolving conditions; these include action to reduce carbon emissions (a major cause of global warming) and also the strengthening of local infrastructures to cope with the inevitable increase in climate-based mass migrations in many parts of the world.
The impact of climate change is greatest on individuals who are already vulnerable through poverty, age and ill health. In the UK, for instance, the August 2003 heat-wave resulted in a significant short-term increment in mortality rates; statistics show that there were 2,139 (16 per cent) excess deaths in England and Wales with the 75+ age bracket suffering the most severe effects (in London deaths in those above 75 rose by 59 per cent). By the 2080s, it is anticipated that, in the absence of urgent preventative action, incidents like this could happen on an annual basis. There is emerging evidence of the health impact of floods, especially on people’s emotional well-being. For instance, in one investigation following the floods in 2007, there was a significant increase in self-revealed symptoms of mental health effects (including distress and PTSD) amongst people enduring interruptions to basic services.
The task of limiting the risks which environmental change poses to human life and well-being is made significantly more difficult by the paucity of data and in many cases the hampering of effective and coordinated efforts through lack of political will in the face of powerful vested interests.
The health implications of climate change on vulnerable individuals and population groups cannot be effectively addressed without a sustainable health and social care program involving closely coordinated collaboration across a number of sectors.
We believe that access for each individual to the conditions which will enable them to live a full and independent life, free as far as possible from the corrosive effects of ill-health and natural (and man-made) disaster are a basic human right and should therefore underpin all of the work that we embark upon.