While climate change threatens everyone, certain groups of people are more at risk than others. For example, Indigenous communities, low-income neighborhoods, and those living in areas with poor infrastructure or limited access to healthcare are frequently more vulnerable. Extreme weather events such as coastal flooding and frequent hurricanes may also pose a great risk to certain populations, leading to a lack of resources to prepare or recover from climate-related health crises.

Additionally, children and the elderly are also particularly susceptible to health risks associated with climate change. Because children’s bodies are still developing, they are more vulnerable to diseases, malnutrition, and heat stress. On the other hand, many elderly people have weakened immune systems due to chronic health conditions, old age, or other factors. This makes them more vulnerable to heatstroke and other climate-related illnesses.

Apart from that, in many regions of the world, women and girls bear disproportional health risks associated with climate change. In cases where women are the caregivers or water fetchers, they are usually more directly affected by water shortages, food insecurity, and health problems that result from natural disasters.

How Climate Change Impacts Health

There are many ways climate change can impact health. Here are some of the major ones:

1. Flooding: Intense precipitation, hurricanes, storms, and rising sea levels can all contribute to flooding. Contaminated water and debris can expose populations to various health problems, including injuries, mental health consequences, and GI and other illnesses. These effects can be felt before, during, and after events.
   
   
2. Outdoor Air Quality: Changing precipitation patterns, wildfires, and increasing temperatures can worsen air quality, leading to premature death and acute and chronic illnesses relating to the heart, lungs, and more.
   
   
3. Extreme Heat: Elevated temperatures for frequent and/or prolonged periods can lead to a range of heat-related illnesses and death. Heat stroke and dehydration are among the most common, as well as diseases related to the heart, lungs, and brain. Certain populations are more affected than others, but adaptive responses such as wider use of air conditioning are expected to reduce the projected increases in heat-related deaths.
   
   
4. Water and Food-Related Infections: Increasing water and air temperatures can allow many pathogens to thrive. For example, increases in water temperatures will alter the location and timing of certain bacterial growth, increasing exposure and the risk of developing a water-borne illness. Rising air temperatures can increase the prevalence of certain bacteria in food. The risk of exposure and infection can be heightened by warming winters and longer seasons.

5. Wildfires: As mentioned above, wildfires greatly reduce air quality. This is because they contain particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and other dangerous organic compounds. With high temperatures leading to droughts and dry conditions, the wildfire risk is at a high. Smoke exposure caused by wildfires can increase breathing and heart-related hospitalizations, asthma, chest pain, COPD, and many other illnesses.
   
   
6. Food Security: Climate change globally threatens food production, quality, prices, and distribution systems. Fish and livestock production, as well as crop yields, are expected to decline. This is due to the combined effects of changes in severe weather events, rainfall, and increasing pests and weeds. Additionally, the nutritional values of some foods are projected to decline due to a lack of necessary plant nutrients.