A Connection between Climate Change and health?

A doctor tells you that much of your condition or disease is caused by climate change. It sounds weird, right? It seems hard to believe, but there is a connection.

2015 left us as the warmest year on record, globally. It´s not something we should be proud of.  Of course not.

 A sign of the times, climate change in 2016 is perceived as the most impactful risk for the years to come, placing ahead of weapons of mass destruction, which ranked second, and water crises, which came in third.

As a result of human activity, temperature will increase between 1.5 ° and 4.5 ° C in the next few decades, our basic needs will be threatened. On World Cancer Day it is worth asking … How does climate change affect health and especially cancer?

• Air pollution represents an important environmental risk. According to an UN study, 7 million people die each year because of the consequences of air pollution which causes respiratory problems, cardiovascular diseases, lung infections and cancer.
• While a predisposition toward skin cancer is genetic, its incidence increases because there is a decrease in filtration of UVC rays (which are the most carcinogenic). This filtration is caused by chlorofluorocarbon gases (CFC) that contributes the reduction of the ozone layer.. It is estimated that 90 percent of skin cancer tumors are attributed to solar exposure.

Evidence of the impact of climate change on health is more evident every day.  Many of those impacts may be attributable to unsustainable public policies. The recent COP21 Climate Conference in Paris provides us a glimmer of hope since it concluded with the adoption of a historical, ambitious and transparent agreement to tackle climate change and promote measures and investments for a low-carbon, resilient and sustainable future.

The possibility of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the preservation and creation of green spaces, forest protection, are all steps that can be taken to mitigate and adapt to climate change, reduce the generation of hazardous air pollutants and produce clean oxygen.

Who knows that if today at my doctor’s appointment, my physician prescribes the planting of a tree, turning off the lights, and if possible that I ride my bike instead of taking my car.

What´s better than investing in the sustainability of the planet and also improving our health?