A woman in her 70s was taken to an emergency room suffering from symptoms of heat stroke.
Dr. Alexander St. John rushed to her aid and grabbed a bag that contained ice from the hospital kitchen. He then zipped her inside. Her body temperature dropped within minutes and her symptoms improved.
“I have never been forced to do this before.” It was surreal,” St. John said. “Twenty-years ago, we would have talked about climate change as something that would occur over the next generations. Now it seems like it’s accelerating to the point that we all are experiencing it in realtime.”
This technique was used to save many other patients at Seattle Harborview Medical Center’s Harborview Medical Center from the five-day heatwave last June, which saw temperatures soar as high as 118F (48F) and claimed 600 lives in Oregon, Washington, and western Canada.
According to the United Nations report, the sweltering stretch in the otherwise cool region is a glimpse at the type of extreme weather events that will occur in North America within the next 30 years if there is not coordinated effort to slow climate changes. Even if global warming stays below 1.5 degrees Celsius, there is a growing risk that catastrophic weather events will strike the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s report outlines how global warming is threatening people’s health and driving food insecurity. It also explains how economic upheaval will lead to increased migration from less-habitable areas. According to the report, the report states that the most affected will be those with low incomes and minorities, which could further exacerbate existing inequalities.
The West is expected to see an increase in drought, extreme heat, and wildfires. Rising sea levels and more severe hurricanes are expected to hit the Gulf Coast. Heavy rains in the Northeast and Midwest are likely to cause more flooding, and crop damage.
Flooding in the U.S. Midwest & South caused barge traffic to be disrupted on the Mississippi River in summer 2019. It also damaged crops in Ohio and Indiana. Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska was also affected by a flood and downpour months before.
These economic effects will have profound consequences. The report concluded that ocean acidification and warming water will have a negative impact on commercial fisheries. It also found that extreme heat will result in lower yields for key crops like corn and soybeans. Additionally, livestock losses will occur due to reduced ground available for them.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 35 floods that were not caused by hurricanes in the U.S. have caused more damage than $1 billion. More than half of these have occurred since 2010.
Kathleen Miller, who is the lead author of the North America chapter of the report and studies the economic effects of climate change at National Center for Atmospheric Research, said that “we’re exposed to undue damage.”
She stated, “It’s high time to think about our priorities and what we can do to address these growing threats.”
The report remains hopeful that people can slow down climate change, or adapt to its effects. It stated that prioritizing the most vulnerable members of society will have the greatest impact in climate resilience.
These adjustments are already being made in the Pacific Northwest, which is not designed for hot weather. For example, in Seattle, 44% have air conditioning.
Portland officials are looking into alarm systems for public housing to alert building managers when temperatures rise above 100 degrees. Officials in the city also approved plans to distribute 15,000 heat pump units, which are a cost-effective way to cool areas. Oregon legislators are considering funding of $15 million to increase distribution air purifiers, heat pumps, and air conditioners.
In the Pacific Northwest, and elsewhere, long-term discussions include painting roofs white and using lighter-colored asphalt to block sunlight, planting trees in urban centers, and creating cooling hubs in neighborhoods that could be used as social spots.
These measures will be crucial for those who were most affected by the deadly heat wave of last summer: the elderly, disabled, and the poor.
According to Multnomah County data, none of the Portland victims died without central air conditioning. More than half of them lived in apartments, while 10% lived in mobile homes. Low-income residents had difficulty reaching cooling centers that were quickly set up in libraries after the city’s light rail train stopped running.
According to Vivek Shandas (climate professor at Portland State University), an analysis of 1,000 residences revealed that the average temperature was 75 degrees in richer homes and 125 degrees for poorer ones.
This shows that those who have the resources can “further isolation themselves and protect themselves,” he stated.
Renee Salas, a Harvard University emergency room physician and fellow at the Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment, said that heat is not the only threat to health. She also warned about the dangers posed by wildfires spreading smoke thousands of miles across North America and the rising temperatures that could encourage the spread of tick-borne diseases such as Lyme, West Nile, and dengue fever.
Salas stated that adaptation will be treating climate change as a secondary diagnosis in many cases and adapting to it. Future doctors may prescribe heat pumps or air purifiers the same way as they prescribe medications. A national system of health records might also be used to ensure that patients who have become climate refugees receive consistent medical treatment.
She said that there are many things we can do to identify those most at risk and then protect them. “Now is the time to do this, as we are already seeing the results.”
