The Warming That Brings Death

[INTRO]This year World Health Day was dedicated to the problem of global climate change on our planet[/INTRO]

Lately, one hears more and more often that humanity is all but on the verge of extinction and at the edge of an abyss, because the Earth's climate is changing at an accelerated pace, the temperature is rising across the entire surface of the globe, and if the emerging trend is not stopped today, the consequences could be catastrophic.
It has long been established that the cause of what is happening is precisely human activity, and practically every one of us is to blame for the global rise in temperature, namely: anyone who uses electricity produced by burning coal, gas or oil, anyone whose home is heated by a central heating system fed by boiler plants, anyone whose refrigerators or air conditioners use chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), anyone who owns a car, anyone who raises livestock or eats the meat of domestic animals.
However, in fairness it must be noted that different states contribute differently to global warming. Some countries emit more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than others. Historically, the higher a country's standard of living and the more food, energy and timber it consumes, the more carbon dioxide, CFCs and other greenhouse gases that country releases into the environment.
As the newspaper "Zerkalo" reported earlier, this year the UN, precisely in order to draw the world community's attention to the problem of global warming, chose this very topic for its annual report on determining the Human Development Index (HDI) in different countries.
Evidently, given the seriousness of the problem, this year World Health Day, which was marked the other day, was also dedicated to this subject. Incidentally, this day is marked on the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948. In the time that has passed since then, more than 193 states of the world have become members of the World Health Organization. Every year World Health Day is dedicated to global problems facing the planet's healthcare and is held under different slogans. The theme for 2008 was not chosen by chance.

3 MILLION "CLIMATE" VICTIMS

The problem of climate change is sometimes discussed as though it affects only the planet and not the people living on it. World Health Day, observed this year, provides an opportunity to broaden the current view of this problem and to highlight the main health threats that hang over us as a result of global warming.
"Protecting health from climate change" - this theme was chosen in recognition of the fact that climate warming poses a threat to human health security. At present, this factor has to be considered on a par with other known health risk factors: poor environment, smoking, alcohol, excess weight, insufficient physical activity, etc. In his message for the day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon states that climate change threatens the quality and availability of water and food - the key factors determining the nutrition and health of humanity as a whole.
"As a result of climate change, hurricanes, periods of extreme heat, droughts and floods are becoming ever more frequent and severe, and the quality of the air we breathe is deteriorating. All of this compounds the human suffering caused by injury, disease, malnutrition and death.
We must draw attention to this reality, which is often ignored, and ensure that the protection of human health is placed at the very center of the agenda on global climate change.
The consequences will be especially severe in poor countries, which bear the least responsibility for this global crisis. By 2020, nearly a quarter of a billion Africans will face even more acute water shortages, and crop yields in some African countries are expected to fall by half.
The most vulnerable - young children, the elderly and people with disabilities - will suffer most from malnutrition and infectious diseases caused by climate change. Women living in poverty are particularly at risk from natural disasters and other dangers caused by global warming", Ban Ki-moon's message says. The UN Secretary-General calls on governments to do more than simply lament these circumstances.
"We must act to shield the most vulnerable citizens of our world from the health effects of climate change. This means stepping up efforts to achieve the development goals set out in the Millennium Declaration - from reducing infant mortality to improving the status and empowerment of women - as one of the main components of international action on climate change.
Over decades, public health has accumulated experience in effectively tackling the problems that climate change may worsen, and we can use this experience as a basis for forecasting - and preventing - the consequences.
Climate change is a reality; the process is accelerating and threatens us all. We must therefore take urgent measures to stabilize the climate, achieve the development goals set out in the Millennium Declaration, and encourage action at the individual level. Our joint efforts can contribute to the social and economic development of the world's poorest peoples and to improving their health systems and their lives", the message notes.
Grim statistics also point to the catastrophic consequences of climate change for people. Thus, the message of the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan, states that climate change has already caused the deaths of more than 3 million people worldwide.

CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES OF WARMING

Azerbaijan will not escape the negative consequences of temperature change across the Earth either. As Umayra Taghiyeva, Deputy Director of the Forecast Bureau of the National Department of Hydrometeorology of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and coordinator of the climate change project in Azerbaijan, stated earlier, the fact that certain gases can cause a greenhouse effect on Earth was first noticed by a Swedish scientist back in 1896, but in the distant 19th century this theory was put forward only as a hypothesis. Today, however, scientists have important facts on this that need no proof. "According to an expert group made up of scientists from different countries of the world, if global warming continues at the same pace, then by 2100 the temperature across the entire surface of the Earth will rise by 1,45,8 degrees Celsius.
Our country does not stand aside from the documents adopted by the world community to prevent global warming. For instance, in 1995 Azerbaijan ratified the Convention on Climate Change, and in 2000 it joined the Kyoto Protocol.
According to the forecasts of our scientists, significant changes in Azerbaijan's climate will occur in the near future. In particular, the amount of precipitation will increase in winter and decrease by 23-62% in summer. As for the level of the Caspian Sea, according to the same forecasts, by 2040 its level will rise by 150 centimetres", U.Taghiyeva noted.
According to Anver Aliyev, an employee of the Department of Hydrometeorology and a specialist in marine hydrometeorology, 60% of Azerbaijan's population is concentrated in the coastal zone, and climate change primarily affects the level of water basins.
"Research has shown that sea level change is influenced by such factors as climate - 85%, tectonic processes - 5%, and anthropogenic factors - 10%. Thus, the strongest of the three factors listed above is climate change, meaning that climate change affects Azerbaijan in the most direct way.
By the way, as a result of the sharp rise in the level of the Caspian over the period 1978-1995, 50 settlements, 250 commercial facilities, 60 kilometres of roads, 10 kilometres of railway, etc. ended up under water", A.Aliyev reported
But, as it turns out, climate change also has the most direct impact on the human body and health. As Jamila Akhmedova, head of the subgroup assessing the impact of climate change on human health, stated during one of the "round tables", rising temperatures increase the risk of the spread of various infectious diseases, such as malaria, measles, rubella and chickenpox.
"In 2003, abnormally high summer temperatures were recorded in Europe. At that time, in France, for example, 14 thousand deaths were recorded in August alone, which means that mortality in that country rose by 60% during that period. For comparison with the situation in our country, we took the period June-September of 2003-2006. During that period, abnormally high temperatures were also recorded in Azerbaijan. But unlike France, mortality in our republic rose by only 3%. This is primarily because our population is already used to hot weather, so temperatures somewhat above normal were not a source of stress for many. As for calls to emergency medical services, in Baku they increased by 26%. During hot periods, there is first of all a surge in cardiovascular diseases, poisonings and respiratory diseases. The last fact may surprise many, but there is nothing surprising here: it seems impossible to catch a cold in summer, yet we still have not learned to use air conditioners properly. Most residents of our country turn their apartments into freezers when the thermometer outside climbs above 40 degrees Celsius.
However, this is unacceptable, because when we leave the house we step out into the scorching sun, and that is severe stress even for the healthiest body. As for the population groups that suffer most from rising temperatures, these are children and the elderly", J.Akhmedova said.

Source: Zerkalo