WHO expert calls for faster response to climate change
The World Health Organization's (WHO) regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, described the present response to climate change as "dangerously inconsistent and much too delayed" in a statement on Monday.
WHO expert calls for faster response to climate change
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, described the present response to climate change as “dangerously inconsistent and much too delayed” in a statement on Monday.
“Climate change and the issues it has sparked are long-standing, obvious health catastrophes. Kluge urged attendees of the current United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt to act more quickly and cogently, saying “WHO and (its) partners have long sounded the alarm.
Kluge urged for radical adaptation and mitigation efforts that may address climate change and enhance social, individual, and planetary health in order to prevent rising exposure and vulnerability to heatwaves and other extreme weather events.
The disastrous wildfires that ravaged Europe this summer, in accordance with Kluge, “polluted our air, killing many people,” and were responsible for the biggest carbon emissions since 2007.
He issued a warning that heat stress, which was now the main weather-related cause of death in Europe, was brought on by severe temperatures.
According to country data, the WHO estimates that 15,000 people will die from heat-related causes in 2022.
Over 500,000 individuals were directly impacted by severe weather and climate events including floods and storms last year, he claimed.
Kluge highlighted a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report that stated that Europe was the world’s region that was warming the fastest and that over 148, 000 people had died as a result of excessive temperatures in the previous 50 years.
In order to “integrate health into any climate change plan,” Kluge’s organization plans to “leverage the collective strength of WHO member nations.”
He remarked, “We need to act now if we want to stop the climate catastrophe from becoming an unstoppable climatic calamity for our area and our entire world.”
