Climate Change and Public Health

Potential Impacts on Human Health

Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health graphic

The activities of humans release pollutants into the Earth’s atmosphere. Some of these pollutants are greenhouse gases that can trap the Sun’s energy. The result has been a gradual increase in the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere. The result of this global warming has been global climate change.

Increased global temperature, rising sea levels, and precipitation changes, with more extremes in weather, are expected to have ill effects on public health. Increased morbidity, mortality, and displacement are expected due to global climate change. The graphic above shows the potential impacts of global climate change on human health.

Potential Impacts of Global Climate Change on Human Health Changes in global climate are expected to adversely affect communities worldwide. Storms will be more intense and flooding more common. Higher temperatures will lead to heat-related illnesses and longer allergy seasons. Droughts could be more persistent while arctic sea ice and spring snowpack shrink. Changes in rainfall amounts will lead to disruptions in the global food supply. The number, size, and strength of wildfires is predicted to increase. Organisms that transmit viruses and other pathogens will be able to infect people in larger geographic ranges. Air pollution will trigger more respiratory diseases.  Mental health and stress-related disorder could increase. Altering the basic human needs of food, clean water, clean air, and shelter is likely to result in civil conflict.

Sadly, these changes are expected to have disproportionate effects on people. People without access to health care will likely suffer more. People who are very young or very old are usually less able to cope with sudden changes. People and nations without wealth will be less able to respond to rapidly changing living conditions. Extreme events can strain on our health system and emergency services.  Climate-related economic impacts such as  financial losses from flooding, changes in crop yield, and increased patients seeking care for heat-related illness at medical facilities have also been observed. Reduction of greenhouse gases and adaptation are both important strategies to mitigating the human health and economic impact of climate change.

Click on the tabs above to learn more about climate resilience and adaptation, opportunities for public health response, things you can do to mitigate climate change risks, and for more websites and publications about climate change and public health.

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Resilience

photograph of flood neighborhood in Nashville 2010

Resilience is the ability to bounce back.  Building resilient communities is important to get communities back to normal living and economic conditions after events like severe weather, accidents, or natural disasters.   Terms like resilience, disaster risk reduction, and adaptation are often used when planning to cope with the changing climate.  In Tennessee, opportunities for adjusting to climate change include farmers planting more drought-resistant crops and riverside communities building infrastructure well above flood stage.

More and more people are living in cities.  Today more than half of the world's population lives in cities.  While grouping people in cities helps to leave some green countryside, the increased amount of impervious surfaces in cities leads to more radiant heat creating urban heat islands.  Extreme weather events with increased rain on impervious surfaces can lead to storm water issues and flooding.  Increased temperature combined with urban heat islands can lead heat-related illness and poor air quality.

Governments and communities that plan now can limit the potential damages of future climate change.  Resilient communities protect their valuable infrastructure, maintain their residents property values, conserve their natural resources, often improve their sense of place and livability, maybe even improve their tourism, and should bounce back to functionality much more quickly should the unthinkable happen.  The U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit website is a great place to start planning.  Also, click on the Resources tab for more websites and publications about climate resilience and adaptation.

Public Health Response

An effective public health response to climate change can prevent injuries, illnesses, and death while enhancing overall public health preparedness. Protecting Americans from adverse health effects of climate change directly correlates with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s four overarching Health Protection Goals of: Healthy People in Every Stage of Life, Healthy People in Healthy Places, People Prepared for Emerging Health Threats, and Healthy People in a Healthy World.

image of CDC's five step B R A C E framework

The CDC developed Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE).  The BRACE framework is a five-step process that allows health officials to develop strategies and programs to help communities prepare for the health effects of climate change. The BRACE framework has 5 steps to: (1) anticipate climate impacts and assess vulnerabilities, (2) project disease burden, (3) assess public health interventions, (4) develop and implement a climate and health adaptation plan, and (5) evaluate impact and improve quality of activities.  The framework and additional resources are available on CDC's BRACE website.

Public Health programs provide a solid foundation for action and policy. Many of the activities needed to protect Americans from adverse health effects due to climate change are mutually beneficial for overall public health. Human health and the environment are connected. What is generally good for the environment is good for human health.

Tennessee Department of Health former Commissioner, Susan R. Cooper, testified before the United States Senate Environmental Public Works Committee. Representing the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), she spoke about the human impacts of climate change. Click here to read the statement.

You can make a difference

Climate change is a global issue. It might be hard to believe that you can have an affect on a global issue, but you can. Whether your affect on climate change is positive or negative is up to you. There are many simple things you can do in your daily life to help keep our planet healthy. See below for actions you can do to green your home or workplace. Our positive actions make a difference.

 

Buy Energy Star qualified appliances and products

  • Replace incandescent light bulbs with Energy Star qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs)
  • Buy appliances, such as refrigerators, air conditioners, heaters, dishwashers, and washing machines, that are Energy Star qualified
 

Conserve water

  • Buy plumbing fixtures, such as faucets and toilets, that are WaterSense qualified
  • Turn off the water when shaving or brushing your teeth
  • Fix leaky faucets and toilets
  • Landscape so that rainwater is absorbed into your yard instead of running off into the street
  • Only run the dishwasher when it is full
 

Be fuel efficient

  • Use renewable fuels
  • Drive a fuel-efficient vehicle
  • Combine neighborhood errands; bicycle or walk whenever possible
 

Make your home energy efficient

  • Seal and caulk around windows and doors; insulate your attic and crawlspace
  • Replace old windows with Energy Star qualified windows
  • Plant natives trees for shade

Be Green in your yard

  • Compost food and yard wastes
  • Use gasoline-powered equipment during cooler parts of the day
 

Reduce, reuse, recycle

  • Reuse products whenever possible
  • Recycle newspapers, beverage containers, paper
  • Buy products in containers that can be recycled



 

Ways to have an environmentally friendly workplace

  • Turn off equipment when it's not being used. This can reduce the energy used by 25 percent; turning off the computers at the end of the day can save an additional 50 percent.
  • Reduce fax-related paper waste by using a fax-modem and by using a fax cover sheet only when necessary. Fax-modems allow documents to be sent directly from a computer, without requiring a printed hard copy.
  • Produce double-sided documents whenever possible
  • Encourage communications by email, and read email messages onscreen to determine whether it's necessary to print them. If it's not, don't
  • Don't just toss out paper after you've used it. See if you can turn the paper over and use the back. If this doesn't create confusion, you'll cut down on paper cost as well as help save a tree.
  • Get some small indoor plants. If you’re lucky enough to have an office with a window, most any plant should do ok. However, if you don’t have a window, make sure you do a little bit of research and check out which plants can survive in your office without lots of direct sunlight.
  • Stop cleaning your computer with canned air. Or find a brand without chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which destroy the ozone layer. Use a mini vacuum cleaner instead.
  • Recycle everything you can: toner cartridges, waste paper, cardboard boxes, batteries, etc. It doesn't cost anything.
  • Instruct your shipping department to re-use boxes and wrappings. This can cut costs, as well as help reduce the amount of non-biodegradable trash stored in landfills (styrofoam popcorn, plastic bubblewrap, etc).
  • Bring in a coffee mug. Instead of getting a new styrofoam or disposable cup each day, bring in a regular coffee mug from home and just wash it out at the end of each day. This is a great and simple way to reduce needless trash.



Websites about Climate Change

Reports and Publications about Climate Change