Australian doctors warn of health impacts of climate change

SYDNEY (AFP) – Climate change is likely to lead to higher rates of some infectious and respiratory diseases as well as more injuries from storms and bushfires, a report by Australian doctors warned Sunday.

The Doctors for the Environment Australia report found that over the next decade, the health of children and the elderly would be most at risk from rising temperatures.



“In 2020, it is likely that Australian doctors and other health professionals will be seeing patients with a diverse range of climate change-related illnesses,” the group, which aims to raise awareness about the health impacts of global warming, said in its report.

“These include heat stress, other heat-related illness events (affecting the heart, blood vessels and lungs), trauma from extreme weather events, and more allergic diseases.”

AFP