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Articles on Health and climate change

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Members of a ground crew In Phoenix wrapped wet towels around their necks to cool off when the temperature reached a record of 116°F. Matt York/AP Photo

3 dangers of rising temperatures that could affect your health now

Rising temperatures will not only hurt people in the future. Many are feeling the effects now. Those who work outdoors, those who have certain chronic conditions and the elderly are vulnerable.
Climate change can cause higher pollen counts. Lukasz Szmigiel/Unsplash

Can we blame climate change for thunderstorm asthma?

Irrespective of whether climate change contributed to the thunderstorm in Melbourne last week, we can be sure Australia’s climate projections herald new risks to health that cannot be ignored.
Drought-reduced crop yields could threaten food supply in Australia. David Kelleher/Flickr

Adapt now to prevent poor health from climate change: report

The Australian Academy of Science has warned that sick, older, poor and isolated Australians are at most risk from the health impacts of climate effects such as drought, fires, floods and heatwaves.
US President Barack Obama speaks during the Climate Summit 2014 at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 23 September 2014. JUSTIN LANE/EPA

PODCAST: Speaking with Nick Watts from the UN Climate Summit in New York

Speaking with Nick Watts, Director of the The Global Climate & Health Alliance, from the UN Climate Summit in New York. Listen in as he explains the links between climate and health, what we have to…
Poorer people are more vulnerable to the impact of extreme weather events. Pictured: the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan. DFID - UK Department for International Development/Flickr

Climate change will widen the social and health gap

Climate projections suggest that, thanks to human activity, we will likely see an increase in extreme weather events, disruptions to agriculture, loss of livelihoods and displacement of people. While everyone…
The largest impacts will occur in poorer and vulnerable populations. 'Collecting water' by UNAMID

Climate change and health: IPCC reports emerging risks, emerging consensus

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Impacts volume of the Fifth Assessment Report will be released today. Here, three contributors to the health chapter explain the ideas and evidence…
Green and gone: Perth’s Burswood Park Golf Course is about to make way for a football and casino complex. Moondyne/Wikimedia Commons

Our cities need more trees and water, not less, to stay liveable

Australia’s major cities routinely rank among the world’s most liveable. But for all our clean streets, good healthcare and educational opportunities, one of the things we have to contend with is our sweltering…
Melbourne is facing more frequent hot days in the future. Wikimedia Commons

Spending wisely now will make heatwaves less costly later

As Melbourne labours through its second heatwave this month, it is becoming clear that these events take a heavy toll. Health, energy consumption, transport, infrastructure, agriculture and other natural…
The Barossa in January: not always ideal cycling conditions. AAP/Dan Peled

It’s time for Australia to change its attitude to extreme heat

Complacency can kill. You would have to be living under a rock to be unaware that heat exposure can be deadly. Yet every year Australia – supposedly the “clever country” – endangers the lives of everyone…
China’s industrialisation has followed the same path, but the rules of the game have changed. Jonathan Kos-Read

China’s industrial revolution is happening on a new planet

What can two periods of industrialisation nearly two centuries apart tell us about how economies change and the demands their change place on the planet? Today, China leads the wave of emerging economies…
The secret killer. United Nations Photo

Thousands die early due to air pollution

A recent MIT study claims that total combustion emissions in the US account for about 200,000 premature deaths per year. This enormous figure is not unique. In the UK, roughly 29,000 premature deaths are…
Children suffer around 90% of the disease burden from climate change. Flickr/SeemaKK

Future under threat: climate change and children’s health

Climate change has been widely recognised by leading public health organisations and prestigious peer reviewed journals as the the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. A recently released…

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