Climate change 'has effects on health'

THE HIGH numbers of people who die during the winter months, particularly as a result of respiratory disease and heart failure, may decrease because of global warming, an all-Ireland conference on the health implications of climate change has been told.

The conference in the College of Physicians, Dublin, organised by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland, was told yesterday that Ireland had particularly high numbers of deaths during the winter months – largely ascribed to poor insulation in homes and fuel poverty – when compared to other European countries.

NUI Maynooth lecturer John Sweeney said with a rise in temperatures it may be expected that fewer elderly and infirm people would die during the winter. However, he also warned that the close association between mortality and temperatures could work in reverse, noting the high temperatures across Europe in 2003 which were deemed responsible for about 35,000 deaths.

Because of the flooding across much of the west and south late last year, Prof Sweeney warned of ill effects including those caused by micro-organisms and contaminants in water supplies, crop failures and increased risk of infectious diseases.

The co-chair of the UK Climate and Health Council, Prof Mike Gill, said up to now the climate change debate had been mainly about environmental or economic issues, but there could be considerable health effects as well.

“Just as public health professionals should have been more alert earlier to the obesity epidemic, now we should be collaborating with colleagues in other disciplines and sectors to plan for and respond to the health dimensions of climate change,” he warned.

In terms of acting against climate change, with better building regulations and insulation, “what is good for the climate is good for health”, Prof Gill added.

Minister for the Environment John Gormley, who opened the conference, said he was disappointed the December conference in Copenhagen had not resulted in more positive agreements on climate change.