webfact Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 'Climate change a global health risk' By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM THE NATION Crowds gather for the “Rise for Climate” march in downtown San Francisco, California on Saturday (yesterday Thailand time) . “Rise for Climate” is a global day of action that demands real climate solutions from local leaders.///AFP UN CONFERENCE HEARS NEED FOR MITIGATION MEASURES AND STRONG HEALTH SYSTEM CLIMATE CHANGE is causing serious health threats and is capable of triggering a deadly global pandemic, doctors have warned. Preventive healthcare promotion, strengthening of the health system and stabilising the rising global temperature were urgently required to mitigate the impacts of climate change on health and prevent a possible global pandemic, experts said. They expressed their concern after the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Bangkok ended yesterday. Conference participants failed to make serious progress in advancing efforts to step up implementation of the Paris Agreement. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and leading medical experts warned that the impacts of climate change on people’s health were already visible and unless climate-stabilisation goals were achieved, humankind could face immense heath threats. The WHO said in reports that environmental degradation and ecological shifts caused by climate change had already aggravated various health problems. These include a surge in heat-related morbidity and increases in respiratory, vector-borne and water-borne diseases, which endanger lives and levy a severe financial burden. The WHO warned that if there were no implementation of prevention and mitigation measures, health hazards from climate change would claim 250,000 lives annually and cost an additional US$4 billion (Bt128 billion) in health expenditures. According to the WHO’s health-risks projection in a “business-as-usual” scenario, in which greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate, the planet would be 4.3 degrees Celsius warmer than in the pre-industrial era by 2100. The WHO warned that extreme heat waves and wildfires would become common events during the summer, contributing to higher heat-related mortality, especially in the mid-latitude regions, while more frequent wildfires and hotter climate would aggravate air pollution, increasing respiratory diseases. Though the impacts from heat wave were smaller for Thailand, it was estimated that the hotter weather would harm vulnerable population groups such as children, the elderly and outdoor workers. The WHO estimates that heat-related mortality among the Thai elderly will increase to 58 deaths per 100,000 population by 2080. Dr Thiravat Hemachudha, head of Chulalongkorn University’s Emerging Infectious Disease Health Science Centre, stressed that climate change not only increased transmission rates and the severity of known infectious diseases, but the ecological changes from rising global temperature could also spawn new harmful diseases. Dengue, malaria concerns “Climate change is creating a suitable environment for diseases to develop and spread because the warmer climate enables the propagation of tropical-disease vectors and allows them to expand into colder regions, allowing widespread and higher transmission rates of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue,” Thiravat said. According to the WHO’s estimates, the population at risk of contracting malaria could increase from 60 million people per year to more than 71 million in 2070. A higher dengue transmission rate has already been noticed in Thailand. Disease Control Department statistics show that, as of the end of August, 50,070 dengue cases were observed – a 50.5-per-cent increase over the same period last year. Mahidol University’s Centre of Excellence on Environmental Health and Toxicology has estimated that the number of dengue sufferers in Thailand would surge to 170,280 cases per year by the end of this century, which is double the 2006 baseline figure of 66,200 cases per year. Thiravat cautioned that the warmer and wetter environment caused by global warming was also providing favourable conditions for microbial pathogens to thrive and evolve into new contagious diseases, “Microbial pathogens are also living organisms, so they have the ability to mutate and constantly evolve to ensure the survival of their species,” he explained. “My main concern is that climate change has opened up a large opportunity for these microbes to evolve into new strains of infectious diseases, which could be very contagious and cause a global pandemic.” However, he pointed out that humanity also has the ability to cope with imminent challenges by building up a strong health system, encouraging preventive medical care, and strengthening climate resilience and mitigation measures. “If a person is healthy and has a strong immune system, it will be hard for him to catch a flu. The same principle applies to a country’s ability to prepare for emerging health risks – if our citizens are healthy, the country would be safer from outbreaks,” he added. As the Bangkok talks attempted to breathe life into the Paris Agreement, tens of thousands of people around the world took to the streets on Saturday to demand that governments take action against climate change, AFP reported. Nearly 1,000 events were organised in 100 countries as part of the “Rise for Climate” protest movement that called on countries to end their reliance on fossil fuels and transition fully into renewable energy. About 200 protesters assembled in front of the UN regional headquarters in Bangkok where delegates were discussing how to implement Paris Accord measures. Developing countries rounded on the US and its allies at emergency climate talks yesterday, accusing the world’s richest nations of stalling a deal aimed at preventing runaway global warming. Delegates ended their talks yesterday with an agreement to hand over technical discussions to a panel of experts, who will continue to meet before the COP 24 kicks off in Katowice, Poland, in December. Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30354070 -- © Copyright The Nation 2018-09-10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antonymous Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 'However, he pointed out that humanity also has the ability to cope with imminent challenges by building up a strong health system, encouraging preventive medical care, and strengthening climate resilience and mitigation measures. “If a person is healthy and has a strong immune system, it will be hard for him to catch a flu. The same principle applies to a country’s ability to prepare for emerging health risks – if our citizens are healthy, the country would be safer from outbreaks,” he added.' Some common sense being spoken at last. I bet that comment went down like a lead balloon at the junket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brunolem Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 By the time climate change is in full swing, most of us humans will be dead from food poisoning! The WHO shoud get its priorities straight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOTIRIOS Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 ..pesticides... ...genetically modified foods... ...tainted vaccines... ...fluoride... ...so-called 'modern medicine'..... ...EMF's...especially WiFi and in the Gigahertz frequency for mobile phones... ...'smart meters'... ...chemtrails...yes...chemtrails... ...and ...those... that want us to believe ....the 'global warming fable'.... ...and that....by extension...you and I are to blame... ....are... the real, perverse threat to all of humanity.... ....wake up.... ...do your own research while you can still access the real facts and figures on what is really going on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connda Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 15 hours ago, webfact said: CLIMATE CHANGE is causing serious health threats and is capable of triggering a deadly global pandemic, doctors have warned. You've got to be kidding me. X-Ray Gamma burst from Alpha Centuri -- Climate Change did that. Ice melts in you water glass -- Climate Change did that. Your cat has ringworm -- Climate Change did that. My sponge-cake 'fell' in the oven -- Climate Change did that. The 'Mrs' won't have sex with me -- Climate Change did that. If you want, you can interchange "Climate Change did that" with "Putin and Russia did that". Same, same for the same people. Actually: Putin and Russia ship cargo via the North Passage -- Climate Change did that. There you're right. See, climate change ain't all that bad. Al Gore and his carbon-credit cartel member buddies must be getting ready to laugh all the way to the bank. "Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stargeezr Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 People of Venesuala must really be worried about climate change, they are headed for Columbia and other countries. I guess the people or Syria and Iraq and Turkey are slightly distracted by their current or recent wars, so now they also have to worry about climate change. When I see the large groups of protestors and know that not a one of them know how to fight a forest fire or much else that could be useful, I am more worried about industries being affected by protests, than the Climate change concerns that India, China, Russia and the other major polluters do not have. Geezer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 Troll post removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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