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 Extreme weather events such as floods and heat waves bring rising
risks of infectious diseases, poor nutrition and stress, the
specialists said, while polluted cities where people work long hours
and have no time or space to walk, cycle or relax are bad for the
heart as well as respiratory and mental health.
Almost 200 countries have set a 2 degrees C global average
temperature rise above pre-industrial times as a ceiling to limit
climate change, but scientists say the current trajectory could lead
to around a 4 degrees C rise in average temperatures, risking
droughts, floods, storms and rising sea levels.
"That has very serious and potentially catastrophic effects for
human health and human survival," said Anthony Costello, director of
University College London's (UCL) Institute for Global Health, who
co-led the report.
"We see climate change as a major health issue, and that's often
neglected in policy debates," he told reporters at a briefing in
London.
The report, commissioned and published by The Lancet medical
journal, was compiled by a panel of specialists including European
and Chinese climate scientists and geographers, social,
environmental and energy scientists, biodiversity experts and health
professionals.
It said that because responses to mitigate climate change have
direct and indirect health benefits - from reducing air pollution to
improving diet - a concerted effort would also provide a great
opportunity to improve global health.
The report said direct health impacts of climate change come from
more frequent and intense extreme weather events, while indirect
impacts come from changes in infectious disease patterns, air
pollution, food insecurity and malnutrition, displacement and
conflicts.
"Climate Change is a medical emergency," said Hugh Montgomery,
director of UCL's institute for human health and performance and a
co-author on the report. "It demands an emergency response using
technologies available right now."
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The panel said there were already numerous ways to bring about
immediate health gains with action on climate change.
Burning fewer fossil fuels reduces respiratory diseases, for
example, and getting people walking and cycling more cuts pollution,
road accidents and rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and
stroke.
Cardiovascular disease is the world's number one killer, leading to
some 17 million deaths a year, according to World Health
Organization data.
"There's a big (energy) saving in people using calories to get
around, and there are some immediate gains from more active
lifestyles," Montgomery said.
(Reporting by Kate Kelland)
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