In the United Sates, climate change has already made things worse and a new study published this week has highlighted that many Americans are paying millions on medical bills.
In 2012, 10 major events related to climate had cost Americans$10 billion in healthcare, causing more than 1,000 deaths and over 21,000 hospitalizations.
Scientists from the University of California Los Angeles, Columbia University, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) examined the fallouts of major climate-related events. These included Lyme disease outbreaks in Michigan, West Nile Virus cases in Texas, extreme heat days in Wisconsin, Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and New York, wildfires in Washington and Colorado, among others.
The scientists were able to found that these extreme climatic events accounted for more than 900 deaths, 20,500 hospitalizations, and 17,857 ER visits. They also found that financial healthcare costs amounted to nearly $10 billion.
According to the study, Hurricane Sandy impacted the most among other events, which resulted in nearly 300 deaths, with healthcare costs amounting to $3.1 billion, including damages or lost property because of the hurricane.
On Wednesday, study author Prof. Wendy Max, said, “There is a real cost in terms of human health. Our study is the first to put a price tag on these costs, but this is just the tip of the iceberg – we know this is an underestimate.”
However, the study looked at the major climate-related events only in 11 states, although many people died from Lyme disease, West Nile virus, and exposure to extreme heat.
Lead study author Dr. Vijay Limaye of NRDC said, “The linkage of this data is still lacking’ There’s no unified tracking of climate-sensitive data.” Later, he said, “This is a wake-up call.”
By publishing this study on Tuesday in the journal GeoHealth, the authors hope to make people, doctors, lawmakers, and policymakers aware of the situation and take necessary actions. These may include creating climate adaptation plans, improving health surveillance system, and reducing carbon emissions at the earliest.
