Climate Change–driven by human activity–is altering the planet’s temperatures and causing abnormal weather patterns. Beyond the environment, it also worsens health risks, as heat, pollution, and wildfires intensify. It tightens our lungs and strains our hearts. The air is getting hotter, and our bodies are paying the price.
Climate change affects existing and pre-existing lung conditions, also affecting virus transmission, increasing the risk for asthma attacks and COPD exacerbations, and reducing overall lung function.
“It worsens health when [the climate] is warmer, when the air is more humid, it causes more problems with fungus, bacteria, and viruses, and creates more favorable conditions for microbes,” said Mr. Caskey, one of the advisers of the Conservation and Gardening Club at East.
Moreover, according to Science Today, “Fossil fuel pollution exerts further stress on the human respiratory system by driving anthropogenic climate change,” and this is affected by intense heat waves, wildfires, and more intense allergy seasons.
Air pollution is caused by contamination of the atmosphere by harmful substances. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “The main pathway of exposure from air pollution is through the respiratory tract. Breathing in these pollutants leads to inflammation, oxidative stress, immunosuppression, and mutagenicity in cells throughout our body, impacting the lungs, heart, brain, among other organs, and ultimately leading to disease.” This displays that climate change not only destroys our beloved planet but also our bodies by triggering inflammation and oxidative stress, which leads to heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure.
Mold is another issue that threatens our health, and climate change helps it thrive. Mold thrives in warm, damp, wet environments. Mold leads to health issues like asthma, irritation, or serious infections in immunocompromised (someone whose immune system doesn’t work as well as it should) individuals.
It’s not hopeless; major counter attacks against climate change include switching to renewable energy, adopting plant-rich diets, planting trees and plants, and reducing overall consumption and waste.
Mr. Caskey says that students can be “mindful of chemicals, mindful of what you’re eating and putting into your body. Avoid plastic bags and straws. It’s the small personal choices that add up. One student is a drop in two-thousand.”
Climate change isn’t just an environmental issue—it’s a health concern. From worsening air pollution to encouraging mold growth and intensifying extreme weather, the effects touch our lungs, hearts, and overall well-being. While climate change may seem hard to grasp, every small action counts. Our planet’s health and our own are deeply connected, and by taking steps to protect our planet, we are protecting ourselves.
