FEATURE: CLIMATE AND HEALTH
Climate emergency, Health emergency From environmental activists to weather related natural disasters; discussions on climate change have dominated headlines over the past months. Sitting in an office above Trafalgar Square I have watched Extinction Rebellion march in protest, and amongst them noted staff, including doctors, from the National Health Service. Climate change has generated an ecological crisis with a global impact, generating devastating impacts widely, whether on marine life, or rainforests. Specific to healthcare, climate change has a direct impact on health, whether through extreme heat, flooding, and the potential spread of infectious diseases to the United Kingdom. Climate change also has an indirect impact through affecting the social and environmental determinants of health, and the availability of basic human requirements such as clean air and water, food and shelter.
8 Medical Woman | Spring/Summer 2020
