The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Climate crisis ‘a health crisis’ increasingly deadly for the most vulnerable: WMO, WHO
Amid more frequent extreme weather events and temperature records, human health – particularly in the most vulnerable communities - is increasingly threatened, according to a new multi-agency report coordinated by the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
“The impacts of climate change on health are wide-ranging, affecting the determinants of health from social behaviors to water safety to air quality and food security," said Dr. Joy Shumake-Guillemot from the joint WMO-WHO Office on Climate and Health at the report launch in Geneva on Thursday. She stressed that low and middle-income countries in particular are being "impacted heavily".
The report, which includes input from more than 30 collaborating partners, shows that scientific know-how and resources can make a real difference in people’s daily lives, but are not sufficiently accessible or utilised. The number of medium or large-scale disaster events is projected to reach 560 a year – or 1.5 each day – by 2030. In countries with limited early warning coverage, disaster mortality is eight times higher than in those with substantial to comprehensive coverage.
“The impacts of extreme heat are quite severe, with up to half a million people being impacted with excess mortality related to extreme heat around the world," said Dr. Shumake-Guillemot.
Between 2000 and 2019, estimated deaths due to heat were approximately 489,000 per year, with a particularly high burden in Asia (45 per cent) and Europe (36 per cent).
Climate change is also exacerbating risks of food insecurity. “In the Horn of Africa during the past three years, we had [a] very severe food insecurity situation, which was related to both the heat and drought,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. “Quite often in these episodes when we have heatwaves, we have also fairly poor air quality. For example, in 2003, when we got the 75,000 casualties in in Europe, at the same time, the surface ozone concentrations were very, very high."
According to the report, heatwaves also aggravate air pollution, which is already responsible for an estimated seven million premature deaths every year.
“The real solution will be to stop the cause of the problem, which is the combustion of fossil fuels and this is for the health community, this is extremely important because the combustion of those fossil fuels [is] not only contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, but as well to air pollution,” said Dr. Maria Neira, Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health at the World Health Organization (WHO). She added that “we are creating conditions for more non-communicable diseases, lung cancer, chronic respiratory infections because of the bad quality of the air we breathe."
According to Dr. Neira, there are not only “immediate consequences because of the disaster, but as well massive displacement. They will maybe be responsible for destruction of the land and agricultural production and therefore we will see malnutrition and massive mental health issues as well."
The transmission of many climatically sensitive infectious vector-, food-, and water-borne diseases is also on the rise. Dengue is the world’s fastest-spreading vector-borne disease, whilst the length of the malaria transmission season has increased in parts of the world.
“If you have all of these extreme weather events, you have global warming, you will have more difficulties to access water services and that will be responsible as well for a massive increase [in] waterborne diseases," Dr. Neira said. "We have seen an increase in cholera outbreaks around the world, by the way."
-ends-
STORY: Report State of Climate Services for Health: WMO - WHO”
TRT: 3:00”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 2 November 2023 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot: UN building with UN flag, UN Geneva.
- Wide shot, press room with speakers at podium, UN Geneva.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Dr. Joy Shumake-Guillemot, joint WMO-WHO Office on Climate and Health: “The impacts of climate change on health are wide ranging, affecting the determinants of health from social behaviors to water safety to air quality and food security. And we see that it is the most vulnerable countries that are impacted the most by climate change and particularly low- and middle-income countries are being impacted heavily by climate change."
- Cutaway: close up, journalist taking notes, UN Geneva.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Dr. Joy Shumake-Guillemot, joint WMO-WHO Office on Climate and Health: “The impacts of extreme heat are quite severe, with up to half a million people being impacted with excess mortality related to extreme heat around the world."
- Cutaway: Wide shot, press room with journalists and speaker on the screen, UN Geneva.
- SOUNDBTE (ENGLISH) - Prof. Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “In the Horn of Africa during the past three years, we had [a] very severe food insecurity situation, which was related to both the heat and drought. And then quite often in these episodes when we have heatwaves, we have also fairly poor air quality. For example, in 2003, when we got the 75,000 casualties in Europe, at the same time, the surface ozone concentrations were very, very high."
- Cutaway: Wide shot: press briefing room with journalists and speakers at the podium, UN Geneva.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Dr. Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health (WHO): “The real solution will be to stop the problem. So the cause of the problem, which is the combustion of fossil fuels and this is for the health community, this is extremely important because the combustion of those fossil fuels [is] not only contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, but as well to air pollution.”
- Cutaway: Wide shot, press room with journalists and speakers at the podium
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Dr. Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health (WHO): “We are creating conditions for more non-communicable diseases, lung cancer, chronic respiratory infections because of the bad quality of the air we breathe."
- Cutaway: medium shot press room with journalists and speaker at podium
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – Dr. Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health (WHO): “Immediate consequences because of the disaster, but as well, because they there will be massive displacement. They will maybe be responsible for destruction of the land and that with agricultural production and therefore we will see malnutrition and massive mental health issues as well that we are seeing. »
- Cutaway: medium shot, speakers at podium
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health (WHO): “If you have all of these extreme weather events, you have a global warming, you will have more difficult to access water services and that will be responsible as well for a massive increase [in] waterborne diseases. We have seen an increase in cholera outbreaks around the world, by the way."
- Cutaway: wide shot, speakers at podium, UN Geneva.
- Cutaway: Wide shot, speakers at podium with journalists in press room and speaker on screen, UN Geneva.
- Cutaway: wide shot press room with journalists and screens with speaker, UN Geneva.
Similar Stories
1
6
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
In a new twist on panda diplomacy, UN Geneva welcomed five young peacocks to the Palace of Nations on Friday, a gift of India that preserves a tradition of keeping the stately birds in the grounds, that predates both the global body and its ill-fated predecessor, the League of Nations.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WHO
WHO updates on Ebola; WMO on drought in Europe
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Afghanistan’s hunger crisis intensifies as millions go without food aid – WFP
Afghanistan’s dire hunger crisis now affects 14 million people including babies fed on weak tea and a little bread by their despairing and dirt-poor parents.
In a new alert on Tuesday, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that one in three Afghans is now in the grip of acute food insecurity and that it lacks the resources to contain the deepening crisis.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | ILO , WHO , WFP , IFRC
ILO to release youth employment trends report; WHO discusses Ebola treatments; WFP highlights Afghan nutrition crisis
1
1
2
Edited News | IOM
From fake jobs to forced crime: IOM sounds alarm on human trafficking behind online scams
A job offer can conceal a criminal network and a single click can lead to a nightmare. Lured by false promises of legitimate employment abroad, hundreds of thousands of people are being trafficked each year, held captive and forced to carry out online scams.
Ahead of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons marked on 30 July, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is raising the alarm over a rapidly expanding multibillion-dollar criminal industry that turns job seekers into victims of forced cybercrime.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IMO , WHO
WHO: World Hepatitis Day; IOM with Director General Amy Pope: Protecting Victims of Trafficking in Online Scam Operations
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
In Sudan’s El Obeid, women risk drone attacks by day and rape by night to access water
As war intensifies in the city of El Obeid in North Kordofan state, filling up a jerrycan of water comes at a high risk for women and girls: by day, drones strike water points and by night, women who venture out to fill a bucket risk rape. UN Women warns of a dual terror that has turned access to water into a deadly gamble.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo made the following remarks on stranded Hormuz seafarers abandoned for months at sea, at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , OHCHR , UNHCR , WFP , WHO , UN WOMEN
UNHCR: 75 years of the Refugee Convention; UN Women: El Obeid, Sudan - drone attacks and sexual violence - no safety window for women and girls; WFP: Gaza operations update; OHCHR: Stranded Hormuz seafarers abandoned for months; IFRC: Urgent humanitarian needs in Venezuela, one month after devastating earthquakes; WHO PROTECT: drowning prevention strategies for policymakers
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Danielle Bell, head of UN Human Rights’ Ukraine team, spoke of the deepening impact of the war on the civilian population.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following remarks Intensified Israeli attacks in Gaza.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DR Congo: Ebola outbreak continues to expand, WHO sees signs of stabilization
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), UN health teams and partners are still racing to contain the rapidly expanding Ebola outbreak, despite ongoing insecurity in eastern areas where the virus has taken hold. As of 19 July, the DRC Government has recorded 2,423 confirmed cases, including 967 deaths and 469 patient recoveries.