Climate change-driven weather, wildfires, flooding, and other extreme weather events can contribute to chronic health issues, and the impact is predicted to increase. The World Economic Forum estimates that climate change will be responsible for an additional 14.5 million deaths and $1.1 trillion in costs to global healthcare systems by 2050.
What do you know about the effects of extreme weather events on human health? Test your knowledge with this quick quiz.
A meta-analysis of multiple studies comprising more than 124 million patients investigated the association of wildfire smoke exposure with adverse health outcomes. In addition to respiratory outcomes, smoke exposure was consistently associated with ED visits, hospital admission, and all-cause mortality. The meta-analysis also found that associations between wildfire smoke exposure and cardiovascular disease were inconclusive.
Learn more about smoke inhalation.
Thunderstorm asthma, sometimes called a “pollen bomb,” is a rare exposure event that leads to acute and sometimes severe asthmatic responses among susceptible individuals. The mechanism is thought to involve airborne and rain-swollen large pollen particles, too massive to typically trigger asthma symptoms, that then break into subparticles that flood the atmosphere and cause asthma exacerbations.
In the most famous incident, occurring in 2016 in Melbourne, Australia, ED visits and hospitalization soared as a result.
Although studies have shown that children are affected by thunderstorm asthma, they are not more frequently affected than adults. Affected adults are generally males aged 18-44 years and females aged 45 years or older.
Learn more about asthma.
Dirofilariasis is a vector-borne disease transmitted by mosquitoes. As with other mosquito-transmitted illnesses, proximity to water, flooding, and agricultural irrigation are risk factors for the disease in humans. Rising temperatures and humid climates are also risk factors, as these conditions contribute to mosquito breeding.
Dirofilariasis in humans has mostly been reported in Europe and Asia, but the disease has also been identified in North America. Although human dirofilariasis has also been reported in South Africa, it is not limited to the African continent.
Dirofilariasis is not viral but is caused by several species of nematodes in the Dirofilaria genus.
Guinea pig, hamster, and rabbit ownership has not been identified as a risk factor for dirofilariasis in humans, but domesticated dogs are a likely zoonotic reservoir. Dog ownership and proximity to dogs are possible risk factors for the disease.
Learn more about dirofilariasis.
Valley fever, more formally known as coccidioidomycosis, is an illness caused by fungi of the Coccidioides genus. The fungi inhabit soil in arid and semi-arid regions of the Southwestern United States, Northern Mexico, and parts of Central and South America. Although most cases are asymptomatic, patients with symptoms might develop isolated pulmonary disease.
Regional weather patterns affect the transmission of C immitis as fungal spores remain dormant during drought conditions, emerging during rain, flooding, and when the soil is disturbed by human activity.
Learn more about Valley fever.
A multicenter, retrospective study found that patients with heat stroke who had higher APRIs (≥ 15.14) had significantly increased rates of 28-day mortality compared with those with lower indexes. Additionally, APRI was found to be a more accurate predictor of 28-day mortality from heat stroke than total bilirubin or AST to ALT ratio.
During the 1960s, most major cities in the United States experienced an average of two heat waves each year. This figure has grown to an average of more than six heat waves annually during the 2020s. Additionally, the heat wave season in most major United States cities is now an average of 46 days longer compared with in the 1960s.
Learn more about heat stroke.