Health holocaust
The health impacts of climate change are difficult to calculate since most human health problems have multiple factors. Demographics, environmental degradation and socioeconomic conditions are major factors in illness and disease.
l Climate related shortages in natural resources like fresh water will exacerbate health problems.
l According to the World Heatlh Organisation (who) , there will be a drop in deaths and illnesses related to cold, but those caused by heat will intensify. The number of people dying during heat waves will increase . In urban areas, this will be exacerbated by air pollution.
l Climate change will add to the numbers suffering from infectious diseases. Temperature and rainfall affect the distribution of disease vectors and disease-organisms, as well as the vulnerability of populations to these diseases. An example of this can be seen in the case of mosquitoes. Various species of mosquitoes carry malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, and several types of encephalitis. Cold is usually the limiting factor in mosquito survival, so any increase in minimum winter temperatures is likely to extend mosquito ranges into cooler climes or higher altitudes.
l According to the World Resources Institute (wri) , Washington dc , higher temperatures also speed up the life cycles of both the mosquito and the disease organisms they harbour and make adult mosquitoes bite more often. At 30