Climate Change & Health: Is it the Biggest Global Threat?

Climate change increases risks of heart disease through heat stress, air pollution, and food insecurity—protecting heart health is now a climate priority.

Do you know that climate change not only changes the temperature of the Earth, but it also has a serious impact on your health? Problems such as increasing heat, floods, droughts, and air pollution can directly increase the risk of diseases, stress, and death. This article is for you to understand how changing weather affects you and your family’s health. You will know which diseases are at increased risk, how climate change affects mental health, and what steps you can take to protect yourself and society. Let’s understand this crisis and move towards a solution.

Table: Climate Change Effects on Human Health

Health Impact	Details
Heat-Related Illnesses	Increased temperatures cause heatstroke, dehydration, and exacerbate heart conditions, especially in the urban poor and elderly populations.
Air Quality & Respiratory Issues	Climate change worsens air pollution and allergens, increasing asthma and bronchitis cases, particularly in children and seniors.
Vector-Borne Diseases	Warmer climates expand the reach of mosquitoes and ticks, leading to more malaria, dengue, chikungunya, and Lyme disease.
Water-Borne Illnesses	Floods and poor sanitation increase exposure to pathogens, causing cholera, diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid.
Mental Health Impacts	Climate anxiety, displacement, and disaster trauma are linked to stress, depression, and PTSD in affected communities.
Food Insecurity & Malnutrition	Droughts, floods, and rising costs threaten food supply, leading to undernutrition and weakened immune systems.

How Does Temperature Change Affect Your Health?

Rising temperatures have a bad effect on the balance system of the human body.

• Heat causes conditions like dehydration, exhaustion, and heatstroke in the body.

• Severe heat waves can prove fatal for the elderly, children, and pregnant women.

• Workers working in high temperatures are at a higher risk of dehydration and heart disease.

• Problems like heat stroke, exhaustion, and skin irritation are increasing rapidly.

How Does Air Pollution Cause Respiratory Diseases?

Air pollution causes respiratory diseases in different ways as follows:

• Climate change affects air quality, which increases diseases like allergies, asthma, and bronchitis.

• Dust, smoke, and pollutants damage the lungs and reduce breathing capacity.

• The risk of pulmonary diseases has increased manifold in children and the elderly.

• Air pollution also increases the risk of serious problems like heart disease and stroke.

Indoor pollution from cooking smoke, dust, and chemicals can harm health. Ventilation, air purifiers, and clean energy are key to safer indoor air.

How Does Climate Change Increase Waterborne Diseases?

Waterborne diseases may increase due to a possible increase in floods, submergence, and contact with dirty water full of germs caused by global warming.

• Diseases like dengue, malaria, typhoid, and cholera spread due to unclean water and mosquitoes.

• Problems like cholera, diarrhea, gastroenteritis, and malnutrition are more common among children due to dirty water sources.

• After floods, open defecation contaminates water and food.

How Does Climate Change Impact Mental Health?

Both physical health and emotional health are significantly impacted by the climate issue.

• Anxiety, depression, and PTSD (post‑traumatic stress disorder) are becoming common among people who are rendered homeless by drought, flood, or storm.

• When life is disrupted by natural disasters, fear and sleep problems arise in children and adolescents.

• Loss of livelihood has seen an increase in cases of stress and suicide.

Categories of Diseases & Climate Change

Category	Examples & Reasons
Infectious Diseases	Malaria, Dengue – warmer temperatures and stagnant water increase mosquito breeding
Respiratory Diseases	Asthma, Bronchitis – rising air pollution and pollen levels worsen breathing conditions
Waterborne Illnesses	Cholera, Diarrhea – increased flooding contaminates drinking water supplies
Heat-related Illnesses	Heatstroke, Dehydration – extreme temperatures stress the human body, especially elderly
Nutrient Deficiency	Vitamin A, Iron – reduced crop yields and food insecurity, lower nutrient intake
Mental Health	Anxiety, Depression – climate disasters and displacement increase psychological stress
Vector-borne Diseases	Zika, Lyme – changing habitats and weather expand vector ranges into new regions

How Does Climate Change Impact Your Nutrition and Diet?

Changing weather affects crop yields, leading to food shortages and nutrition crises.

• Droughts and floods affect agricultural production, reducing the availability of food items.

• Lack of food worsens the problem of malnutrition among children and women.

• Expensive grains and vegetables make a balanced diet impossible for the poor.

Who Suffers the Most from Climate Change?

Children, the elderly, pregnant women, and the poor are more affected by climate change.

• People with low incomes are deprived of clean water, health services, and nutritious food.

• Excessive heat and lack of nutrition for pregnant women lead to delivery complications.

• Due to their weakened immune systems, young children are more susceptible to illness.

Urban smog, filled with pollutants, severely impacts lung health, increasing risks of asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory diseases.

How Does Climate Change Threaten Communities? 

Climate change also indirectly causes problems like violence, migration, and social tensions.

• Crises like droughts and floods destroy livelihoods, forcing people to migrate.

• Lack of food and water can lead to conflicts and instability in communities.

• Fights for natural resources lead to social and mental stress.

Now that you know how climate change affects health, let’s learn some key points that simply explain these effects.

Important Points

• The increasing heat causes the body temperature to become unregulated, leading to life‑threatening conditions like heat stroke and dehydration.

• Air pollution harms children, the elderly, and asthmatics the most, and the rate of respiratory diseases is constantly increasing.

• Diseases such as diarrhea, typhoid, and malaria spread easily due to exposure to dirty water during floods.

• Natural disasters are mentally disturbing, causing symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and sleep problems in a person.

• Climate impacts on agriculture are reducing the availability of grains, fruits, and vegetables, which is increasing malnutrition.

• Underprivileged communities have less access to nutrition, clean water, and medicines, which reduces their ability to fight diseases.

• Floods and droughts cause loss of homes, properties, and business establishments, and thousands of people become homeless, facing mental and physical insecurity.

• Droughts are leading farmers to take steps like suicide, which is breaking the social fabric.

• Pregnant women may face miscarriages and neonatal complications due to excess heat and a lack of nutrition.

• Due to climate change, not only are diseases increasing in children, but also their mental and physical development is being affected.

FAQs—Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Is it possible to lessen the impact of climate change on health?
Yes, the risk can be reduced by individual, social, and government efforts.

Q2. Will the impact of climate change be greater in India?
Yes, India's population, poverty, and geographical diversity make it more vulnerable.

Q3. Who is most affected by mental health?
People affected by natural disasters, especially children and women, are most prone to mental stress.

Q4. Can the impact of climate change be reduced by improving diet?
By increasing immunity with a balanced diet and clean water, you can remain safe from diseases to a great extent.

Conclusion

Climate change is not a future problem but a crisis of today that is seriously affecting your physical and mental health. If you are not careful, problems like diseases, malnutrition, stress, and migration will increase further. But you can bring about change through your diet, environmental habits, and social participation. This article is not just a warning but an opportunity to think and take steps towards solutions. Let's work together to create a secure and healthy future.

Online Courses, Reference Books, & Websites

Category	Resources
Online Courses	Coursera – Climate Change and Health (Yale) edX – Health Effects of Climate Change (Harvard) FutureLearn – Planetary Health
Reference Books	Climate Change and Public Health – Barry S. Levy Planetary Health – Samuel Myers & Howard Frumkin Health of People, Health of Planet – Wael Al-Delaimy
Websites	WHO – Climate Change and Health CDC – Climate Effects on Health

Note to readers: This article is intended for awareness purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or a qualified healthcare professional with any questions regarding a medical condition or your personal health.