Global health catastrophe

醫師警告：氣候變遷將帶來許多健康問題
Failure to agree a new UN climate deal in December will bring a "global health catastrophe", say 18 of the world's professional medical organisations.


因地球暖化造成的氣候改變，導致世界各地天災不斷，有的地方連日暴雨大水潰堤淹沒家園，有的地方接連幾個月未降一滴雨土壤乾旱民不聊生。

如果各國不改善溫室氣體排放量，不減少對地球的傷害，將會有越來越多的人因為缺乏足夠食物以及乾淨用水而生病，傳染病也因氣溫升高而增加傳播機會。

減碳不只對地球好，對你也好，少吃肉多運動的低碳生活可以減低癌症、心臟病、糖尿病的發生率，讓你更健康！

Earlier in the year, The Lancet, together with University College London (UCL), published a major review on the health impacts of climate change.

Some of the headline findings were that rising temperatures are likely to increase transmission of many infectious diseases, reduce supplies of food and clean water in developing countries, and raise the number of people dying from heat-related conditions in temperate regions.


But it also acknowledged some huge gaps in research - for example, that "almost no reliable data for heatwave-induced mortality exist in Africa or south Asia".

Nevertheless, the main conclusion was that in a world likely to have three billion new inhabitants by the second half of this century: "Effects of climate change on health will affect most populations in the next decades and put the lives and wellbeing of billions of people at increased risk".

Written by Lord Michael Jay, who chairs the health charity Merlin, and Professor Michael Marmot of UCL, the editorial argues that there are plenty of "win-win solutions" available.

"A low-carbon economy will mean less pollution. A low carbon-diet (especially eating less meat) and more exercise will mean less cancer, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

"Opportunity, surely, not cost."


- BBC News