health canada report on climate change is dire, but not hopeless

today's environmental disasters and infectious diseases are a warning of the dangers that warming temperatures pose for our future.

by maija kappler

published feb 14, 2022

4 minute read

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4 minute read

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health canada report on climate change is dire, but not hopeless

as grim as the findings are, it's not without hope. getty

climate change is going to have a devastating impact on our health, according to new health canada findings — and it’s already started. the report, published this week, is sobering, painting an ominous picture of the risks of rising global temperatures on canadians’ health.

extreme weather is already here

we’ve already seen some of the destructive effects of rising temperatures, including the heat waves in b.c. that killed 595 people this past summer and the massive flooding that also hit the province. natural hazards like extreme heat and wildfires are already happening in many parts of the country.

and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.

“deaths in canada are projected to increase significantly by the end of the century due to the effects of rising temperatures (and extreme heat) if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise at the same rate seen over the past 30 years,” the report says. it projects longer, more frequent and more severe heatwaves, more climate-related natural hazards like wildfires, flooding and drought.

change in mean seasonal temperatures, from 1948 to 2016 for four seasons (zhang et al., 2019 via health in a changing climate)

these kinds of hazards pose the biggest risk to coastal regions, particularly in the arctic, eastern quebec and atlantic canada. and seniors, according to the report, “are particularly at risk of suffering from the health impacts of climate change related events, such as heatwaves, cold snaps, drought, wildfire smoke, and floods.”

climate change will also decrease our air quality, increasing ozone levels in industrial areas including southern ontario and southwestern quebec. air pollution is currently thought to result in 15,300 deaths a year; the report says that number is likely to grow.

infectious disease will get much worse

a less obvious result of a warmer climate that can already be seen is the rise of infectious disease. insects that live in warm climates, and historically haven’t been present in canada, are being attracted to our hottest weather. “there is evidence that the recent emergence of lyme disease in canada has been driven by climate warming, making more of canada suitable for the ticks that carry the disease,” the report states.

mosquitoes, of course, have lived in what is now canada for millions of years, but those carrying different diseases are adapted to different temperates. stanford researchers found that mosquitoes that carry malaria, for instance, are more likely to spread the disease at 25 degrees celsius. the zika virus, meanwhile, presents the highest risk at 29 degrees.

in regions where malaria is endemic, it’s highest in the hottest, most humid periods. in the early 1900s, the punjab region of india was hit with malaria epidemics during periods of excessive rain and high humidity, when mosquitoes were able to successfully breed.

“mosquito-borne diseases already in canada such as west nile virus, which usually cause a limited number of infections each year, may produce epidemics under a more variable climate with more frequent extreme weather events,” the health canada report says.

the report predicts that illnesses transmitted from animals to humans like rabies and hantavirus are also likely to emerge or re-emerge in canada as the planet warms, in addition to an increase in seasonal and enterovirus infections, and cryptococcus infection and legionnaires’ disease — both of which are transmitted through environmental factors.

marginalized groups will suffer most

as in many aspects of health, social factors make a huge difference and climate change won’t just exacerbate existing inequalities, the report says — it will also create new ones.

people who work outdoors, for instance, or indoors without access to air conditioning, are more likely to suffer from extreme heat conditions. many people with disabilities are living in poverty, which alone puts them at risk, but more tangible barriers, according to the report, include melting permafrost which can damage health and transportation infrastructure and isolate people with disabilities who need to access health services.

indigenous people, too, “are uniquely sensitive to the impacts of climate change because they tend to live in geographic regions experiencing rapid climate change and because they have a close relationship to and depend on the environment and its natural resources,” the report says. “the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on the health and well-being of first nations, inuit, and métis are interconnected and far-reaching.”

indigenous people in canada already live with less access to health care and more health problems than other canadians, including increased vulnerability to respiratory, cardiovascular, chronic and infectious diseases, as well as financial hardship, food insecurity, and limited access to clean water. in addition to the obvious destruction that natural disasters have on everyone, for indigenous people they can also “result in temporary or long-term evacuations from traditional territories, in addition to greater risk of injury and death from accidents while out on the land,” the report says.

action is possible

as grim as the findings are, it’s not without hope.

“canada has an historic opportunity to avoid many of [climate change’s] health effects,” the report states. “levels of inequity, social cohesion, and technological innovation will influence how greatly the health of canadians and their communities are affected by climate change and should be taken into account in all adaptation plans and processes.”

maija kappler is a reporter and editor at healthing. you can reach her at mkappler@postmedia.com

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health canada report on climate change is dire, but not hopeless