World Health - a global catastrophe
A November 2005 report has revealed the countries under threat from climate change. The study found that it was countries that could least afford the effect of climate change that were the most likely to be affected e.g. Africa, Southern Asia, the Middle East and parts of Central and South America.
What are the effects?
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- World Health
Worst affected areas
The WHO has estimated that climate change already has caused an additional 5 million extra cases of severe illness each year. The death toll from illnesses caused by climate change has risen with more than 150,000 deaths each year.
Countries with coastline along the Pacific and Indian Oceans as well as sub-Saharan Africa will have to carry a disproportionate share of the increased health risk. By 2030 a doubling of climate related diseases are expected. This includes malnutrition from crop failure and the spread of serious infectious diseases.
By 2080, when sea levels have risen by ~40 centimetres, an estimated 200 million people will be at risk from flooding and contamination of drinking water. This is expected to lead to an increase in diarrhoea and waterborne diseases.
Drinking water will also play a part in parts of China and India, where vast populations rely on water from malting show and glacial ice in the Himalayas. When the glaciers have melted, there is no more water supply to reply on. A similar picture is emerging in Peru, which has suffered a 25% drop in water supplies during the last 30 years.
