Climate Change Already Affecting Human Health

By Kelly Young

Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD, and Richard Saitz, MD, MPH, FACP, DFASAM

The Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health, comprising 11 medical societies, is "sounding the alarm" that climate change is already harming people's health.

In a new report, the group outlines some of the direct effects of climate change and whose health is most at risk:

• Extreme heat: people with chronic conditions, outdoor workers, student athletes, people lacking air conditioning

• Air pollution from increased smog, wildfires, and pollen: people with asthma and chronic lung conditions

• Increased geographic range of disease-carrying ticks and mosquitoes: anyone who spends time outdoors

• Contaminated food and water: children, seniors, the poor, and people with weakened immune systems.

The group advocates speeding up the transition to renewable energy sources.