Climate change impacts many different fields, including health. According to researchers, increasing temperatures lead to worsening of current health conditions and developing new threats that include cardiovascular diseases and kidney problems (Watts et al., 2018). Furthermore, evidence shows that climate change caused more than 2% of diarrhea worldwide and more than 5% of malaria cases in some countries (Sazvar et al., 2018). Therefore, climate change harms health and physical well-being, which is why it is an important issue for public health.
While climate change is an issue that cannot be easily diminished, there are specific ways to mitigate its effects. Harris County Public Health Department offers various options that can help the population that is physically affected by environmental issues. One of them is planting trees based on the heat map that shows the places most affected (Sartain, 2020). Trees produce oxygen, which is beneficial for the areas where the air is most polluted. Another solution that is being implemented is installing green rooftops. The absence of vegetation is a factor that contributes to the formations of heath islands. Introducing more green areas, trees, and plants is the tactic that the Harris County Public Health Department suggests for mitigating the health implications of climate change.
Climate change negatively affects the health of the general population is various ways. It can worsen the chronic issues the person already has as well as add new health problems and implications to an individual who lives in an affected area. There are ways to combat it, and those include adding more vegetation to certain regions. This will help with pollution, decrease of thermal stress, and minimize the intensity of heat waves.
References
Sartain, C. (2020). Houston/Harris County holds largest single-day, community-led heat mapping effort in U.S. history. Houston Advanced Research Center. Web.
Sazvar, Z., Rahmani, M., & Govindan, K. (2018). A sustainable supply chain for organic, conventional agro-food products: The role of demand substitution, climate change and public health. Journal of Cleaner Production, 194, 564–583. Web.
Watts, N., Amann, M., Ayeb-Karlsson, S., Belesova, K., Bouley, T., Boykoff, M.,… Costello, A. (2018). The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: From 25 years of inaction to a global transformation for public health.The Lancet, 391(10120), 581-630. Web.