Outside In: Environmental Impacts on Human Health

There are numerous environmental changes and damages that continue to be the consequence of why many humans experience health complications today. Whether it may be wildfires or the heavy consumption of fuel-reliant transportation, throughout the past 50 years, according to iere.org, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have surged from approximately 320 ppm to over 420 ppm today - a 30% increase. Due to this vast increase in carbon dioxide levels, the enhanced greenhouse effect is taking place as atmospheric pollutants such as CO2 trap radiation from the sun in our atmosphere and therefore contribute to an increase in average global temperatures, known as global warming.

Exposure to Pollution

With an increase in industrialization, humans are more exposed to long-term and harmful air pollutants. With more particulate matter within the atmosphere, more of it may penetrate through the lungs and into the bloodstream. Furthermore, other pollutant gases such as nitrogen dioxide are being inhaled, resulting in numerous respiratory diseases.

Direct Health Risks of Air Pollution:

Severe exposure to air pollution introduces several health risks, such as:

• Cancer: Air pollution is known to contain a large amount of carcinogens within the atmosphere that enter through the respiratory system and into the bloodstream, causing damage to cells and therefore resulting in cancer.

  
  

• Asthma/Respiratory Diseases: Once it penetrates into the lungs, particulate matter is able to reduce lung function as well as irritate airway linings. These effects cause inflammation and swelling of the linings, which can result in shortness of breath.

• Developmental Difficulties: Pregnant women inhaling air pollutants and particulate matter will experience shortness of breath as a result of air pollutants irritating and inflaming the linings of air passages within the respiratory system. This effect is directly passed onto the baby as it receives less oxygen. With a reduced amount of oxygen delivery, the baby will experience difficulties growing, and according to the World Health Organization, it may potentially lead to a miscarriage or an underweight child.

Non-direct Health Risks of Air Pollution

As previously mentioned, air pollutants cause the Earth's average temperatures to surge as a result of the enhanced greenhouse effect. These increases in temperatures slowly make specific climates within our planet less and less habitable as they cause health risks:

• Heat strokes: These sudden conditions are caused when the human body's thermoregulatory system is unable to keep up with the immense increase in temperatures. This is because the thermoregulatory system's aim is to maintain the body's temperature for function and survival - even when there may be a change within the external environment. When it is overwhelmed by the heat of the body's surroundings, the person may experience exhaustion and nausea.

• Increased spread of malaria: As average global temperatures rise, vectors, known as mosquitoes, will acquire access to a vast range of climates and habitats. This is because these climates will develop a warmer and more habitable environment for these mosquitoes to live in. As a result, more people will be at risk of catching malaria due to their increased exposure to infected mosquitoes. These infected insects will transfer the disease from person to person by biting their victims, resulting in more humans developing malaria.

• Water & Food Scarcity: Due to the rise in global temperatures, events such as desertification are more likely to take place. This is because more water evaporates, leaving climates with less moisture, causing soil to be less fertile and developing into a desert-like environment. With this lack of water, plants experience difficulties attempting to grow sufficiently. This is because when soil is less fertile, it is harder for the plants to obtain a sufficient amount of nutrients, leading to a shortage in crop yield.

Conclusion

Altogether, air pollution is the main cause of diseases spreading and infecting humans nowadays. With the rise of pollution within the atmosphere, it is expected that by 2050, 6 million annual deaths are likely to occur as a result of air pollution. However, there are several ways to mitigate this rise and slow the increasing rate of air pollution, such as using an electric vehicle, switching to renewable energy resources, and planting trees.