Climate Change Threatens Global Health

“Human society faces a global health catastrophe if climate change is not effectively tackled at the UN conference in Copenhagen in December,” a Lancet and University College London study warns.

The study released earlier this year predicts that increased temperatures caused by green house gasses will increase the incidences of tropical diseases like malaria, and dengue fever, causing health crisis in half a dozen areas.

For diseases like dengue there are no specific medical treatments. Of the 350 million people infected with malaria each year, over a million die. Right now we have the potential to limit the future suffering caused by what the authors call "the biggest global health threat of the 21st century." But to develop effective treatments for use later, we must invest in researching those diseases that disproportionately affect the poorest segments of our population now.

The lead author of the report, Professor Anthony Costello, Director of UCL's Institute for Global Health, said: "The big message of this report is that climate change is a health issue affecting billions of people. The impacts will be felt not just in the UK, but all around the world – and not just in some distant future but in our lifetimes and those of our children."

Professor Ian Gilmore, the president of the Royal College of Physicians, explains the current challenges: "There is a real danger that politicians will be indecisive, especially in such turbulent economic times as these. Should their response be weak, the results for international health could be catastrophic."

To avert the impending global health crisis doctors, researchers, and concerned citizens of the world must appeal to their political leaders to prioritize investment in research now.