Humans can adapt to major effects of climate change—but only if we contain greenhouse gas emissions, says public health expert.
Climate change is already affecting our health, even if we don’t think about it much, says a University of Alberta public health expert.
“People think about climate change as only impacting those in the Arctic or on the coasts or in low-lying places, but what has become very clear is ... it’s not just affecting certain areas or populations—it’s already impacted every one of us,” said Sherilee Harper, a professor with the U of A’s School of Public Health.
Harper, a Canadian representative on the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, studied the links between Earth’s changing climate and human health as a lead author on the United Nations’ Special Report on Climate Change.
In assessing scientific data from around the globe, she identified four major ways climate change affects human health and warns that the impacts are only going to worsen:
- Heat waves
- Wildfires
- Food quality
- Mental health
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Image via University of Alberta
