While we recognize that climate change increases air pollution and other exposures that can lead to negative health outcomes, advocacy to support policy and regulatory action is a long-term strategy. Advocacy alone does nothing for the vulnerable populations threatened by environmental triggers today. There are individuals experiencing the consequences of potentially severe health outcomes and preventable symptoms due to air pollution.
In our changing climate, the threat to individual health from environmental exposure is increasing daily. This fact, compounded by the aftermath of more frequent extreme weather events, is resulting in very real health implications for growing segments of the population. Now is the time for the medical community to recognize this threat. It is time practitioners focus on preventative health and wellness strategies that can empower an individual to respond to this ever-changing environment. Medicine needs to include a person-centric approach to health and symptom awareness that can support a personalized response to environmental exposures that can cause everything from annoying allergic symptoms to a severe respiratory distress – and in some cases - death.
Right now, vulnerable populations like children, the elderly, and people with chronic respiratory conditions are the most impacted by pollution; however, research indicates that these conditions are impacting the broader population each year. As the climate changes, more and more people are becoming sensitive to pollutants. Based on recent reports, it’s likely that the current risk scales do not sufficiently measure the actual threat of pollutant levels to human health and long-term wellness. The reality is that as the climate changes the environments in which we live, individuals are becoming significantly more sensitive to health impact at much lower thresholds of pollution.
The threat of a changing climate on the land is indisputable. The threat of a changing climate to humans is equally so. Now is the time to act. Now is the time for the health care community to support a person-centered approach to environmental factors. Now is the time for individuals to be empowered to understand the when, where, and what of the triggers that impact their health. Now is the time to empower people to be environmentally informed, location aware, and health prepared.