Climate Causes Chaos for Health

 Although climate and personal health may seem like two separate things, they may be more closely related than most would imagine. Something as simple as heat can have a toll on our bodies and minds. According to studies published by the American Psychological Association, a change in climate can make a aggravate certain mental states like like depression, anger, or worry. Although everyone is susceptible to these effects, some groups are more vulnerable than others.

    Women and children especially have a greater chance of being affected, according to Dr. Garona, a pediatrician from the Palo Alto Medical foundation. “Recently, I have met many teens suffering from the heat,” Dr. Garona reveals. “The issue of climate change is becoming more severe and affecting children in their home and school lives. We are working on solutions to help kids through their issues.”

COURTESY OF IVAN THOMAS

The environment can affect both our physical health as well as our mental health in serious ways.

 

The Earth is changing in more than one way. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, global temperatures have been increasing steadily. In the past century, our planet’s average temperature has increased  by about a degree-and-a-half in Fahrenheit. According to John Balbus, senior adviser to the director of the National Institute of Health, the recent changes in the global climate are responsible for the increase in fires, hurricanes, and floods. California alone has been affected by several fires at once, raging from the North to just above the Bay Area. There have also been major heat waves that have hit several countries, along with hurricanes that have appeared in the southern states of America. Additonally, the temperature change has caused sea ice and snow to melt, resulting in a rise in sea level. This makes flooding more likely. These major changes lead to one of the main causes of mental unwellness.

    Unfortunately, climate change might be affecting people for the worse, as stated by the Union of Concerned Scientists. The recent influx of natural disasters may result in stress, anxiety, and suicidality. Statistics from the American Public Health Association show that twenty-five to fifty percent of people exposed to an extreme weather disaster are at greater risk of damaging mental health effects. For example, one may feel suicidal after losing a family member to a heat stroke. In another instance, a wildfire may destroy a family’s home or business, leaving them with the struggle to reinvent themselves and get back on their feet.

    Another issue is the  increasing number of vector-borne diseases. Mosquitos and ticks, which cause diseases such as malaria and lyme disease, are able to thrive and reproduce in warmer climates. This means that the frequency of pathogenic outbreaks is rising as well.

  Although people are working towards making our planet healthier, the climate will continue to change. There may not be a solution in the immediate future, however, we can choose to keep our mental health in check by being conscious of the effects that climate change may have on it.