The researchers estimate that global warming will increase the spread of many diseases and lead to an increase in the number of "climate refugees".
Scientists from 24 research organizations around the world have prepared a report on the impact of global warming on human health. Rising temperatures will lead to widespread spread of a number of diseases and increase the number of "climate refugees", according to the report. The research results are published on the Lancet Countdown project website.
Representatives of the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization, as well as scientists from various universities around the world, participated in the preparation of the document. The report brings together studies of 40 health indicators of the world's population.
The authors of the works conclude that hundreds of millions of people have already suffered from the effects of global warming.
The researchers found that between 2000 and 2016, the number of people exposed to high temperatures increased significantly. Among them, there are 125 million more elderly people: the heat is a particular danger to their health. Also in the world there are more victims of hunger caused by climatic causes. This indicator is measured in 30 countries where the population's nutrition is highly dependent on local products. In 1990, 398 million people in these countries were undernourished; in 2016, that number rose to 422 million. Indicators are increasing not only due to climate change, but also due to the growth of the world's population, as well as the gradual aging of the population of many territories.
The spread of many vector-borne diseases is growing. These diseases are transmitted with the participation of vector organisms (insects or ticks). For example, the likelihood of dengue bone crusher fever spreading has increased by 9.4% since the early 1950s. This figure is growing, as warming increases the area of the disease vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
Scientists estimate that by the end of the century, more than a billion people could become climate refugees. Already, residents of some regions are forced to move because of constant rains or rising average temperatures. These changes are reflected, for example, on farmers - changes in the weather directly affect their income.
Natalia Pelezneva
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