How might this phenomenon affect human health and well-being?

Climate change has been troubling humanity for decades. A phenomenon whose main culprit is man, but which, in addition to having a negative impact on the flora and fauna of our planet, also has a negative impact on our health and well-being.

Hurricanes, droughts and floods are considered direct effects of climate change, and today these same events can cause health problems such as allergies, respiratory, cardiovascular or infectious diseases as well as malnutrition.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution causes 24% of adult deaths from heart disease, 25% of deaths from stroke, 43% of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 29% of deaths from lung cancer.

“The air we breathe is highly polluted by a variety of gases produced by humans, such as carbon dioxide and monoxide, hydrocarbons, etc. These gases, as well as other pollutants, when ingested through the respiratory tract, are extremely harmful to our health, and are considered the main cause of cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Maria Teresa, Dean of the Faculty of Health Care Sciences. Valenzuela said. USS Health.

Along these lines, it has been explained that drought worsens air quality and this type of pollution is directly linked to the development of respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is estimated that a 1°C increase in temperature could increase the global mortality rate by between 2% and 5%.

According to Ignacio Newman, an epidemiologist and researcher at the US, dengue is considered a re-emerging infectious disease in the region and one of the causes is climate change.

“Climate change, in addition to tourism, is one of the main causes of the appearance of tropical diseases that do not usually occur in Chile, because ideal climatic conditions exist today for their spread. An example of this is dengue, currently its outbreak is affecting Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, which is quite significant, which is why it is relevant that our country is the last in cases through adequate epidemiological surveillance. Ready for growth. ., and early application of prevention measures,” Newman explained.