No abstract available.
Climate ; Climate Change ; Hypersensitivity

The Russian military invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and Hamas’ terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, signaled the beginning of two of the most recent wars to make international headlines. To date, over 110 armed conflicts are taking place: over 45 in the Middle East and North Africa (Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Yemen, Western Sahara); over 35 in Africa (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan); 21 in Asia (Afghanistan, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines); seven in Europe (Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan); and six in Latin America (three each in Mexico and Colombia); with two more international armed conflicts (between India and Pakistan, and between India and China) in Asia.1 This list does not even include such problematic situations as those involving China and the South East Asia region. As though these situations of armed violence were not enough, mankind has already passed or is on the verge of passing several climate tipping points – a recent review lists nine Global core tipping elements (and their tipping points) - the Greenland Ice Sheet (collapse); West Antarctic Ice Sheet (collapse); Labrador-Irminger Seas / SPG Convection (collapse); East Antarctic Subglacial Basins (collapse); Amazon Rainforest (dieback); Boreal Permafrost (collapse); Atlantic M.O. Circulation (collapse); Arctic Winter Sea Ice (collapse); and East Antarctic Ice Sheet (collapse); and seven Regional impact tipping elements (and their tipping points) – Low-latitude Coral Reefs (die-off); Boreal Permafrost (abrupt thaw); Barents Sea Ice (abrupt loss); Mountain Glaciers (loss); Sahel and W. African Monsoon (greening); Boreal Forest (southern dieback); and Boreal Forest (northern expansion).2 Closer to home, how can we forget the disaster and devastation wrought by Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) 10 years ago to date? Whether international or non-international, armed conflicts raise the risk of nuclear war. Russia has already “rehearsed its ability to deliver a ‘massive’ nuclear strike,” conducting “practical launches of ballistic and cruise missiles,” and stationed a first batch of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus,3 and the possibility of nuclear escalation in Ukraine cannot be overestimated.4 Meanwhile, in a rare public announcement, the U.S. Central Command revealed that an Ohio- class submarine (560 feet long, 18,750 tons submerged and carrying as many as 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles) had arrived in the Middle East on November 5, 2023.5 Indeed, “the danger is great and growing,” as “any use of nuclear weapons would be catastrophic for humanity.”
Armed Conflicts ; Nuclear Energy ; Radiation ; Climate Change ; Global Warming

Over 200 health journals call on the United Nations, political leaders, and health professionals to recognise that climate change and biodiversity loss are one indivisible crisis and must be tackled together to preserve health and avoid catastrophe. This overall environmental crisis is now so severe as to be a global health emergency.
Armed Conflicts ; Nuclear Energy ; Radiation ; Climate Change ; Global Warming

No abstract available.
Climate Change ; Climate ; Environmental Pollution

Introduction: The Lancet Countdown used Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data to track mortality from diseases influenced by climate change. The Philippines is one of the most vulnerable nations to climate change. Objective: This study aimed to provide summative data on climate change and health-environmental factors based on several large databases. It looked into the correlation of climate change to selected health variables and correlated environmental factors to health chosen variables in the Philippines. Methods: The database was assembled through a compilation of different secondary data. Climate change variables were acquired from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD 2017) Study on Health-related Sustainable Development Goals Indicators from 1990 to 2030. The data for the Philippines were obtained. These indicators include air pollution mortality, disaster mortality, household air pollution, malaria incidence, mean PM2.5, non-communicable disease mortality, neglected tropical diseases mortality, unimproved sanitation, and unsafe water. The resulting database was analyzed using exploratory data analysis techniques with descriptive statistics and line graphs to analyze trends over the years. Then Pearson correlation analysis was done to explore the linear relationship between health indicators, climate indicators, and environmental indicators. Results: The study results showed that the trend in the Philippines for air pollution mortality, household air pollution, malaria incidence, and neglected tropical diseases mortality is in a downward direction. However, non-communicable disease mortality was constantly increasing from 41.99 in 1990 to 55.00 in 2016. Meanwhile, the mean temperature is significantly negatively correlated to household air pollution, malaria incidence, and neglected tropical diseases and significantly correlated with non-communicable diseases. Also, NOAA adjusted sea level is significantly positively correlated with air pollution mortality, malaria incidence, disaster mortality, and non-communicable diseases. It is negatively correlated with malaria incidence and neglected tropical diseases prevalence. Global mean CO2 is significantly negatively correlated with household air pollution, malaria incidence, and neglected tropical diseases prevalence. On the other hand, it was significantly and positively correlated with air pollution mortality and non-communicable diseases mortality. Household air pollution health risk was significantly positively correlated to mean PM2.5 levels in the Philippines. Unimproved sanitation was positively correlated with household air pollution, malaria incidence, and neglected tropical disease prevalence. Conclusion As recordings of heat index increased, there was a correlation with NCD, Malaria, Disaster, and NTD infection mortality. With the evidence of the correlation of increasing temperature and pollution to health, the urgency to focus on addressing these problems was present in this study. Further research may help in policymaking to target drivers of pollution which affect extreme climate changes.
Climate Change ; Air Pollution

Climate change, caused by global warming, is increasingly recognized as a major threat to mankind's survival. Climate change concurrently has both direct and modifying influences on environmental, social, and public health systems undermining human health as a whole. Environmental health policy-makers need to make use of political and technological alternatives to address these ramifying effects. The objective of this paper is to review public health policy in Korea, as well as internationally, particularly as it relates to climate change health adaptation and mitigation programs (such as C-CHAMP of Korea), in order to assess and elicit directions for a robust environmental health policy that is adaptive to the health impacts of climate change. In Korea, comprehensive measures to prevent or mitigate overall health effects are limited, and the diffusion of responsibility among various government departments makes consistency in policy execution very difficult. This paper proposes integration, synergy, and utilization as the three core principles of policy direction for the assessment and adaptation to the health impacts of climate change. For specific action plans, we suggest policy making based on scientifically integrated health impact assessments and the prioritization of environmental factors in climate change; the development of practical and technological tools that support policy decisions by making their political implementation more efficient; and customized policy development that deals with the vulnerability of local communities.
Climate ; Climate Change ; Diffusion ; Environmental Health ; Global Warming ; Health Impact Assessment ; Humans ; Korea ; Policy Making ; Public Health

The prevalence of atopic diseases seems to be increasing worldwide. Climate change induced by global warming has been reported to increase allergic respiratory diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis (AR), and appears to aggravate atopic dermatitis (AD). Increasing air pollution and pollen associated with climate change, acting individually or synergistically, may have harmful effects on the prevalence and symptoms of AD, because they can easily penetrate the damaged epithelium of AD and sensitize patients. However, the direct scientific evidence supporting the linear correlation between climate change and increase of AD is quite limited compared to that available for respiratory allergic diseases. Large-scale population studies are necessary to observe the effects of climate change on AD in a more detailed and objective way. In terms of allergic march, climate change may aggravate and increase AD and lead to more increases in asthma and AR in the long run.
Air Pollution ; Asthma ; Climate ; Climate Change ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Epithelium ; Global Warming ; Humans ; Pollen ; Prevalence ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial

Along with increases in global warming and air pollution, increased asthma prevalence has been reported in most Westernized regions. Air pollutants enhance IgE-mediated response to aeroallergens and increased airway inflammation. Climate changes including global warming have impact on asthma in a variety of ways. Many epidemiologic studies have shown that climate factors including temperature and humidity influence the severity of symptoms and exacerbation in asthmatic patients. Climate changes can lead to deterioration of air pollution and increase the production and allergenicity of pollens which can enhance airway inflammation. In asthmatic patients, health effects from air pollution and climate changes are complex and may be difficult to assess separately. Herein, recent studies on air pollution and climate factors in asthma are reviewed.
Air Pollutants ; Air Pollution* ; Asthma ; Climate Change* ; Climate* ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Global Warming ; Humans ; Humidity ; Inflammation ; Pollen ; Prevalence

Although most enterovirus infections are not serious enough to be life threatening, several enteroviruses such as enterovirus 71 are responsible for severe, potentially life-threatening disease. The epidemic patterns of enteroviruses occur regularly during the year, but they may change due to environmental shifts induced by climate change due to global warming. Therefore, enterovirus epidemiological studies should be performed continuously as a basis for anti-viral studies. A great number of synthesized antiviral compounds that work against enteroviruses have been developed but only a few have demonstrated effectiveness in vivo. No proven effective antiviral agents are available for enterovirus disease therapy. The development of a new antiviral drug is a difficult task due to poor selective toxicity and cost. To overcome these limitations, one approach is to accelerate the availability of other existing antiviral drugs approved for antiviral effect against enteroviruses, and the other way is to screen traditional medicinal plants.
Antiviral Agents ; Child ; Climate Change ; Enterovirus ; Enterovirus Infections ; Global Warming ; Humans ; Plants, Medicinal

OBJECTIVES: The mass media play a crucial role in risk communication regarding climate change. The aim of this study was to investigate the trend in journalistic reports on climate change in the daily newspapers of Korea. METHODS: We selected 9 daily newspapers in Korea, which according to the ABC Association, represented 77% of newspaper circulation, out of a total of 44 Korean daily newspapers. The collected articles were from 2009 to 2011. All of the articles were sorted into the following 8 categories: greenhouse gas, climate change conventions, sea level rise, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change synthesis reports, expected damage and effect, use of fossil fuels, global warming, and mitigation or adaptation. A chi-squared test was done on the articles, which were counted and classified into cause, effect, and measurement of climate change according to the newspaper's majority or minority ownership structure. RESULTS: From the 9 selected newspapers, the number of articles on climate change by month was greatest in December 2009. Generally, the articles vague about climate change (lack of precise data, negative or skeptical tone, and improper use of terminology) were much more common than the articles presenting accurate knowledge. A statistical difference was found based on ownership structure: the majority-owned newspapers addressed the cause of climate change, while the minority-owned newspapers referred more to climate change measurement. CONCLUSIONS: Our investigation revealed that generally Korean daily newspapers did not deliver accurate information about climate change. The coverage of the newspapers showed significant differences according to the ownership structure.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; *Climate Change ; Global Warming ; Greenhouse Effect ; Humans ; Newspapers/*trends ; *Ownership ; Republic of Korea