John Myers Jr., Staff Reporter
MONTREAL, Canada:
THE WORLD Health Organisation (WHO) is warning health authorities to brace for an increase in infectious diseases and illnesses due to extreme weather conditions which are expected to occur as a result of climate change.
WHO said health authorities will need to revamp their operations, especially those of developing countries which are already short of resources, to deal with increased outbreaks of infectious diseases such as diarrhoea, malaria; injuries which often occur during natural disasters; drowning, mental disorders and malnutrition from reduced agricultural activity.
"Future vulnerability is likely to increase unless public health agencies and authorities take seriously the threat of climate change and begin implementing adaptation policies and measures to increase resilience," the WHO pointed out in a report released yesterday at the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference in Montreal, Canada.
Dr. Maria Neira, director of protection of the human environment at WHO in Geneva, explained that the health systems in developing countries are already so stressed that they are coping very badly with the existing situation. She warned that any lethal increase in infectious diseases would create more stress and difficulties.
INCREASE IN GLOBAL TEMPERATURES
WHO's report said the increase in global temperatures, rise in sea level and disruption of the natural water cycle - all consequences of climate change - will cause a transmission of more water and food borne vectorsa, affect food and water security and trigger social and economic stability as a result of dislocations from extreme weather conditions. The "potential health impacts of climate variability and change for small island states also include increases in the prevalence of marine biotoxins and damage to coral reefs," WHO pointed out in the report entitled 'Climate variability and change and their health effects in small island states."
The world health body said it found that temperatures in the region where small states are located, including the Caribbean, have been increasing by as much as 0.1 degree Celsius every 10 years and sea levels rising by two millimetres every year. WHO also found that surface air temperatures in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea have increased more than the average global warming rate.
