HEALTH IMPACTS OF AIR POLLUTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE

作者：Adil Zareef · 发表于：Khyber Medical University Journal · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.35845/kmuj.2021.22287 · 被引用次数：3

On Friday 8th October 2021, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in a “historic breakthrough” declared access to an environment without pollution as a fundamental human right. By recognizing that a healthy environment is a human right, the world body has formally added its support to the global fight against climate change and its devastating consequences. The UN declaration is critical for a world where nine million preventable deaths are caused due to environmental crises yearly. This landmark declaration has firmly established, through research, an association between climate change, environmental degradation and its adverse effects on health. Reversing the level of current greenhouse gas emissions during this decade is crucial to prevent future disasters like extreme heat waves, flooding, tropical storms, rising sea levels supercharged by trapped carbons in the biosphere. As the clock is ticking for the planet's survival, catastrophic health related impacts are equally challenging. The UN Secretary General has termed this emergency as “red code for humanity”.2 The planet’s ecosystem and environment serve as health determinants for the entire humankind.   The recent surge in dengue in Pakistan, and COVID 19 pandemic underscore increase of zoonotic diseases, comprising various bacteria, parasites, viruses, fungi proliferating wildly and affecting global populations across continents. Research has established that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SA...