For many years now, Global Warming has been a common topic discussed by scientists and society alike. Global warming is a long-term rise in the average temperature of the Earth’s climate system, an aspect of climate change shown by temperature measurements and by multiple effects of the warming due to human activities.
This research paper touches on how global warming heavily impacts the environment as well as the people in it. With the continuous rise in temperatures, global warming has created an environment that allows for more diseases to be present. This has in turn created a domino-like effect which results in huge changes in ecosystems all around the world. A number of species, ourselves included, are currently affected by the ever-changing climate. As the ozone layer thickens, the Earth becomes warmer and temperatures everywhere fluctuate. This unstable change leaves diseases to live and to be easily spreadable.
In the 19th century, the natural greenhouse effect was first discovered and so the history behind the science of climate change began. Scientists declared how human emissions of greenhouse gases were the causes of climate change. These theories became more convincing in the 1960s as the effect of carbon dioxide increased. By the 1990s, Milankovitch’s cycle theory proved global warming existed through the observation of Earth’s movements and climate. A general agreement was formed about humans causing the emission of greenhouse gases which results in the change of climates and global warming. Based on this information, scientific research on climate change has developed into multiple fields of study and has been summarised in the Assessment Reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
It is safe to say that due to Global Warming, Climate change has increased.
Fossil fuels are primarily coal, fuel oil, or natural gas that are formed from the remains of dead plants and animals. Burning of fossil fuels by humans is the largest source of carbon dioxide, which is one of the greenhouse gases that allows radiative forcing and one of the main causes of global warming.
Many of the forests around the world are being threatened by deforestation. This comes in many forms, such as fires, chopping down trees for logging, and degradation due to climate change. Deforestation threatens a wide range of plants and animal species. Forests play an important role in climate change because they soak up the carbon dioxide that would otherwise be free in the atmosphere and contribute to ongoing changes in climate patterns.
Farming and agriculture have recently been contributing as much to climate change as much as deforestation. According to U.S. research, farming has been intensifying Global Warming due to the quantified amount of carbon taken from the soil by farming. Soil absorbs carbon in organic matter from plants and trees, and farming and agriculture have depleted that carbon accumulation in the ground. (Jonathan Sanderman, a soil scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center in Falmouth, Massachusetts, and one of the authors of the research)
Global warming is mostly due to the amount and accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from the activities listed above that would otherwise absorb greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.
Ice, especially at the Earth’s poles (North and South Pole) is melting. Looking for means of survival, animals migrate to more suitable places to live in while crops dwindle or die because of the unfamiliar environment global warming has created. Due to these warmer weather conditions, researchers have also recognized a noticeable decline in the penguin population while other plants and animals have journeyed to cooler places.
When animals begin to migrate, they are also expected to spread and enhance the global spread of pathogens and cause cross-species transmission. However recent research has also shown that migration allows hosts to escape from infected habitats which reduces disease levels when infected animals do not migrate successfully. This may lead to the evolution of less virulent pathogens. Migrating demands can also decrease immune functions with dire mortality. Such studies of these pathogen dynamics in migratory species and how these will respond to global change are urgently needed to look forward and predict future disease risks for animals and humankind alike.
Animals are expected to expand the global spread of pathogens and prompt cross-species transmission when they migrate. Research has also shown that migration permits the escape of uninfected animals from contaminated areas unlike infected animals who are less likely to migrate successfully, this can be a factor in reducing disease levels. This may also allow the evolution of less virulent pathogens. However, there is a possibility because of migration demands, for the immune functions in animals to decrease with dire mortality. Studies such as these pathogen dynamics in migratory animals and their response to global change are required for the future prediction of possible disease risks in animals and humankind.
Furthermore, global warming has caused natural disasters to increase and is predicted to become stronger and more common as the years go by. This too cuts off the regular supply of natural resources that were once there. If no action is taken to make changes, global warming will persist, and the potential of our future may cause the extinction of some species.
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Due to the earth’s temperature rising, climate changes are increasing which includes a change in distribution of infectious diseases with warming and changes in outbreaks related to weather extremes. “Statistical models” are used to estimate the global problem of some infectious diseases as a result of climate change.
According to such models, 10% more diarrheal diseases are expected mostly affect young children by 2030. If global temperature increases by 2-3 degrees Celsius as expected, the risk of malaria could increase by 3% - 5%.
The increase in the spread of infectious diseases can be attributed to the earth's rising temperature which has caused climate changes and disease outbreaks that have resulted from these weather extremes. 'Statistical models' which can be used to study the patterns of these infectious diseases, have shown that by 2030 young children are expected to be affected by 10% more diarrheal diseases. Other models have predicted and shown that if the global climate increases by 2 or 3 degrees Celsius it can increase the risk of malaria by 3% - 5%.
Effects that could take place later this century if global warming continues.
- Sea levels rising up to 7 and 23 inches and continued melting especially at the North and South Pole could add on 4 and 8 inches.
- Storms such as hurricanes are likely to become stronger
- Flooding and droughts will happen more frequently. (Example: In Ethiopia where droughts are common rainfall could decline by 10% over the next 50 years.)
- Less fresh water will be available
Zika is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes which bite during the day. Infection caused during pregnancy can cause infants to be born with microcephaly and other congenital malformations, known as congenital Zika syndrome. Infection with Zika virus is also associated with other complications of pregnancy including preterm birth and miscarriage.
Due to the contributions of climate change instability, the emergence of infections carried by mosquitos like dengue, chikungunya, and zika has increased. Even though the Zika virus is not new, the recent epidemic of microcephaly in Brazil and other countries in South America resulting from the infection of pregnant women with Zika raised an increase of serious public health concerns
The unpredictability of climate change has resulted in the emergence of infections hosted by mosquitos such as dengue, chikungunya, and zika. Although the Zika virus is not a recent discovery, the latest epidemics of microcephaly in Brazil and other countries in South America reportedly caused by the Zika virus infections in pregnant women have raised concerns about general public health.
Floods also increase the risk of microbiological water pollution. Reported cases of leptospirosis and campylobacter enteritis have been reported after flooding in the Czech Republic and in coastal areas of Maryland during extreme precipitation events. In Germany, an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis began six weeks after the peak of an extensive river flooding in Germany. Global warming also affects the water heating and transmissions of water-borne pathogens, which makes it more suitable for bacterial growth. The higher the sea surface temperature and sea level, the higher the rising water-borne infection and toxic-related illnesses increase.
The increase in climate change has also caused floods which have significantly increased the risk of microbiological water pollution. Cases of leptospirosis and campylobacter enteritis were reported after severe precipitation events prompted flooding in both the Czech Republic and some coastal areas of Maryland. In Germany, six weeks after a substantial river flooding resulted in an epidemic of cryptosporidiosis. The increase in global temperatures has proceeded to heat water allowing for water-borne pathogens to emerge, making it more susceptible to bacterial growth. This has also affected large bodies of water such as the sea, where an increase in sea level and sea surface temperatures has caused a parallel increase in waterborne infections and toxic-related illnesses.
Global Warming has influenced the transmission of infectious diseases in Germany as well. In the last 135 years, the temperature in Germany has increased by 1.4 Degrees Celsius. It is predicted that by 2050 there will be a rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius. This is due to the increase in precipitation during the winter months. This change would improve conditions for mosquitoes and ticks as well as transmitting their infectious diseases.
A study that Eckelman and Sherman did in 2018 stated that an increase in disease burden is caused by the US healthcare sector life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 614 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents in 2013. Their methods shown is they screened for health damage factors that are linked to GHG emissions to disease burdens. After selecting 5 factors based on an appropriate temporal scare that reflects a possible GHG emission exposure they applied these factors to healthcare sector emissions. The study resulted in concluded that annual GHG emissions associated with healthcare in the US would cause 123,000 to 381,000 disability-adjusted life years in future health damages, with malnutrition being the highest damaged category.
To conclude, if human society does not change the increased activities that contribute to Global warming there will be many problems caused in the next generations to come. Animals may end up going extinct, new diseases may even be released and current diseases may even amplify due to the improved conditions for them to multiply, increase, and infect. Due to the impact it has on health, it will grow to become more costly. Studies have shown and proven that as the earth heats up more which will cause climate change to increase, the future will look bleak.
Citations:
- Chan, Alson Wm, et al. “The Effects of Global Warming on Allergic Diseases.” Hong Kong Medical Journal, 29 May 2018, doi:10.12809/hkmj177046.
- Choffnes, Eileen R., and Alison Mack. Washington, D.C.: National Academies. Washington, D.C.: National Academies, 2014, ezproxy.okcu.edu:2192/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/ZTAwMHhuYV9fODY3OTAwX19BTg2?sid=9c75daee-340a-4e09-9a4c-dc1013a8292c@sessionmgr4006&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1.
- Antonella Rossati. “Global Warming and Its Health Impact.” Global Warming and Its Health Impact, vol. 8, Jan. 2017, ezproxy.okcu.edu:2192/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=58313a6a-000c-45a0-98ca-398343add45e@sessionmgr4009&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ==#db=mnh&AN=28051192.
- J, Eckelman Matthew, and Sherman Jodi D. “Estimate Global Disease Burden From US Health Care Sector Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” Estimated Global Disease Burden From US Health Care Sector Greenhouse Gas Emissions, vol. 108, no. 52, 2018, ezproxy.okcu.edu:2192/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=b6a9b0d5-38f5-495e-b602-b546822b7e9f@sessionmgr4009.
- Hemmer CJ, et al. “Mosquitoes and Ticks: The Influence of Global Warming in the Transmission of Infectious Diseases in Germany.” Mosquitoes and Ticks: The Influence of Global Warming in the Transmission of Infectious Diseases in Germany, vol. 143, ezproxy.okcu.edu:2193/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=d22148a3-a7dc-4922-96bd-79bf9308e9a9@pdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ==#AN=30440075&db=mnh.
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