According to the findings that were published in Nature Medicine, around 2,135 additional people could die every year in America as a result of climate change-related injuries like drownings, assaults and falls, if temperature rise 2°C over current long-term averages.
While the researchers still need to study the intersection of health and climate change before, the focus has been on chronic and infectious diseases. Malaria is considered an especially serious threat. A little research has been done on the impact of climate change and its link on injuries which are the cause of 10% of deaths worldwide. Abnormal and extreme temperatures are linked to an increase in violent crimes, car accidents and falls. During times of extreme heat, drowning rates increase by 14%.
Extreme temperatures result in suicide or assault
The researchers have also found that intentional injuries like assault or suicide increase during extreme temperatures. One study in 2018 discovered that suicide rates in America and Mexico increased by 0.7% and 2.1% respectively for each 1 °C rise in temperatures over monthly averages.
The experts can't explain why there is a connection between extreme temperatures and increased intentional injuries but believe the evidence illuminates the mental health dimensions of climate change. An environmental epidemiologist at Imperial College London and the lead author of the study, Robbie Parks, said that the study highlights how important mental health is like a hidden burden of not just the dangers of climate change, but also environmental exposures in general.
The author also stressed that mental health implications of climate change may be more visible in young people and prevalent in low and middle-income countries that are home to around 80% of global injuries.
While the study shows both answers and questions about climate change and its impact on injuries, it highlights the need to prepare for the health problems that climate change will cause. A professor of global environmental health at Imperial College London and one of the authors of the study, Majid Ezzati, said that we all need to respond to this threat with better preparedness in terms of emergency services, health warnings, and social support.
Dangers of climate change
From extreme weather patterns to melting glaciers, people are now starting to notice the impacts of climate change. While some countries are taking action with initiatives like the Paris Climate Agreement, others are continuing business as usual, like pumping millions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year. While the long-term consequences are still to be seen, climate change continues to cause extreme weather conditions as well as economic and safety challenges on a global scale.
In 2014, the U.S Department of Defense released a report that showed that climate change posed a severe and immediate threat to national security. According to Chuck Hagel, the former Secretary of Defense, the rising global temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, the climbing sea levels, and more extreme weather events will intensify the challenges of global instability, poverty, hunger, and conflict.
Climate change is also likely to cause economic challenges in a lot of parts of the world. Some experts estimate that the U.S is already spending around $240 billion every year due to human-caused climate change and the future costs are said to be even higher.
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