Climate change is a long-term shift in the world’s weather systems. The majority of the recent changes in our climate have been caused by human activities. These changes will have far-reaching implications for our health, well-being, and safety. Climate change effects include rising air and sea temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, more frequent and more severe extreme weather events, and sea level rise.
Scientists propose a different approach to understanding and mitigating the health effects of human-caused climate and environmental change. In a recent study published in the journal One Earth, a team co-led by a Washington State University scientist proposes an alternate method for understanding and mitigating the health effects of human-caused changes to the climate and environment.
Deepti Singh, assistant professor in the School of the Environment at WSU Vancouver, drew on hundreds of studies of climate change, air quality, agriculture, and public health to propose a “systems lens,” or scientific approach, that connects health risks with concurrent environmental changes caused by human practices.
“The health impacts of air pollution, climate change, and agricultural alterations are frequently discussed individually,” Singh said. “However, these difficulties are all linked; they all stem from the same place, and each one has an impact on the others. Agricultural operations contribute to air pollution and influence regional climate patterns, while crop yield and quality are susceptible to air quality and climate circumstances.”
This study emphasizes the challenge with simplistic explanations and highlights how meaningful and effective policy responses must take various aspects and interactions into consideration.
Ashwini Chhatre
Singh studied the situation in South Asia with researchers from Columbia University, the Indian School of Business, Boston University, and the University of Delaware, where rapid industrialization and modern farming practices have aided economic development and increased food production, but have also jeopardized multiple dimensions of human health.
“We’re providing a framework for assessing the overall health implications of different components of Earth’s natural systems that are all changing at the same time as a result of human activity,” Singh explained. “The research could aid in the identification of policies and solutions with many co-benefits for the environment and human health.”
Climate change causes poor air quality, negative effects on food and water supply and quality, and more frequent and extreme weather events, all of which have serious consequences for human health. “Our research sheds fresh light on how food systems influence and are influenced by climate change and air pollution,” said Kyle Davis, co-author and assistant professor at the University of Delaware.
The scientists examined numerous cases of health implications from changes in climate, air quality, and agricultural output, as well as co-benefits and unintended consequences of attempts to reduce emissions and save water. They discovered that these instances all share the need for improved tools and local, high-resolution data on health, weather, emissions, air pollution, and land use in order to properly quantify human and environmental impacts.
“This study emphasizes the challenge with simplistic explanations and highlights how meaningful and effective policy responses must take various aspects and interactions into consideration,” said Ashwini Chhatre, co-author and associate professor of public policy at the Indian School of Business.
The use of fossil fuels, the burning of crop residue, and changes to the landscape caused by agricultural expansion and intensification have contributed to extremely poor air quality in South Asia, altered the main source of rainfall, the summer monsoon, and increased health risks for nearly a quarter of the world’s population living in the region.
“Late fall is ‘pollution season’ in north India, and it also brings virulent arguments in our culture over who and what is contributing to it,” Chhatre explained.
Furthermore, increased frequency and intensity of heat waves and floods have killed thousands, displaced millions, reduced labor output, and caused disease outbreaks. Severe air pollution has been linked to a rise in heart and lung ailments, as well as millions of early deaths and decreased monsoon rains. Simultaneously, air pollution and climate change have diminished yields of critical food crops.
“While the climate benefits of today’s reductions in greenhouse gas emissions may not be felt for decades,” Singh said, “our approach sheds light on some of the immediate health benefits, as well as unintended consequences, of policies that aim to minimize human impacts on climate and the environment.”
Climate change may have an impact on our health and well-being via increasing air quality, changing the spread of infectious diseases, dangers to food and water quality and quantity, and affects on our mental health. There are things we can all do right now to increase our resistance to the effects of climate change and limit its progression.
