Globalne ocieplenie – wyzwanie dla zdrowia publicznego

In recent years, the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events has reached a dimension that allows to talk about a crisis of global warming. Mighty heat waves cause long-term changes in the environment, such as straining of the land with devastating economic, social (migration, unemployment) and political (internal and external conflicts) consequences. They also cause serious health consequences; trigger temporary and permanent weakening of immunity, an increase in the incidence of many diseases and, consequently, an rise in mortality. Certain social groups are particularly vulnerable to the negative impact of extremely high temperatures: the elderly, pregnant women and young children, people in a state of multimorbidity, migrants, as well as city dwellers. People living in particularly climatically dangerous regions – tropical Africa, South Pacific islands – are also exposed to a much greater extent than people living in other regions. The growing awareness of climate threats, supported by the results of many research projects, has prompted the international community to cooperate. Since the 1970s, international conferences on climate protection have been held on the initiative of the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization. This has led to the adoption of a number of agreements, including the Paris Agreements in 2015, which are intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and curb temperature rise. The European Green Deal document should also be mentioned. This complex and multithreaded activity can reasonably be described as global climate policy. Although many countries are not motivated enough to actively participate, there is a chance that cooperation within the framework of global climate policy and international public health will bring to people positive health results.