More than 250,000 people are expected to die of climate change by 2050



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RIO – A British poll released this week warns that climate change could be more lethal than expected. Until now, extreme events have been thought to cause up to 250,000 deaths a year between 2030 and 2050. The new study, however, believes that this badysis is "conservative" and does not take into account factors that Would have no direct impact on the disease.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced in 2014 the calculation of 250,000 deaths, based on the effects on the body caused by climate change, such as malaria, diarrhea and malnutrition .

However, epidemiologist Andrew Haines, former director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, pointed out that quantifying the impact of climate change "is harder than that" and that some of the consequences of rising global temperature "have not been taken into account".

– There are population displacements and a host of additional factors, such as food production, and how heat will limit farmers' productivity in the tropics, "said Haines, co-author of the report. study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. "

By 2050, 529,000 adult deaths would be caused by food shortages. In addition, 100 million people would become extremely poor by 2030 due to climate change. This population, exposed to worse living conditions, would be more vulnerable to health problems.

In an interview with CNN, Haines added that climate events are the main environmental issue facing humanity, but not the only one threatening our health. The chaotic increase in temperature brings with it dangers such as the depletion of freshwater resources, loss of biodiversity, ocean acidification, deforestation and the spread of invasive species.

– We urgently need to understand how to protect our health from these dramatic trends caused by the activities that support our economy, "he warned.

Caren Solomon, a professor at the Haren University School of Medicine, who did not participate in the study, urged health professionals to review the findings of the report. Last year, the American Medical Association issued resolutions calling for a divestment in fossil fuel companies.

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