Reducing emissions is the vaccine we need against a potential health crisis

03.05.15 By
This article is more than 8 years old

Climate change is harming our health and reducing emissions is the vaccine we need against a potential health crisis.

That’s the strong message of a new report released by the Australian Academy of Science which predicts climate change could put unprecedented stress on Australia’s health system.

Changing patterns of disease, the health impacts of extreme heat and disruption to food and water supplies were among the major pressures on health identified in the report.

The burden on Australia’s health services will continue to mount as global temperatures rose, the report warned.

How does climate change affect your health?

Nine of the ten hottest years in history have occurred in the last decade and last year was the hottest on record globally.

We need to start taking action now to protect our most vulnerable Australians- including children, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses- because our climate is already changing and people are already being harmed.

Cutting emissions deeply and rapidly is the only way to ensure the worst of the extreme heat is avoided.