Effects Of Population Growth On The Environment – Maureen Lichtveld does not work for, consult, own shares in, or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations other than her academic position.

Will we have enough food for the world’s growing population? How will we care for more people during the next pandemic? What will the heat do to the millions of people with hypertension? Will countries fight water wars due to worsening droughts?

Effects Of Population Growth On The Environment

All these risks have three things in common: health, climate change and a growing population, which, according to the United Nations, exceeded 8 billion people in November 2022, double the figure just 48 years ago.

Pdf) Population Growth And Environmental Impact: Ideology And Academic Discourse In Israel

In my 40-year career, first working in the Amazon rainforest and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and then in academia, I have faced many public health threats, but none as intransigent and pervasive as climate change .

Of the many climate-related adverse health effects, the following four pose the greatest threat to the health of a growing population.

For example, floods can affect water quality and habitats where dangerous bacteria and vectors such as mosquitoes can breed and transmit infectious diseases to people.

Dengue, a painful mosquito-borne viral disease that affects about 100 million people a year, is becoming more common in warm, humid conditions. Its R0, or basic reproduction number (a measure of how quickly it spreads), has increased by about 12% since the 1950s to average from 2012 to 2021, according to the 2022 Lancet Countdown report. The malaria season has increased by 31% in the highlands of Latin America and by almost 14% in the highlands of Africa as temperatures have risen over the same period.

Solution: Population Growth And Its Impact On Environment

Patients rest in a makeshift dengue fever ward at a hospital during a severe outbreak in Pakistan in 2021. Arif Ali/AFP via Getty Images

Flooding can also lead to the spread of waterborne organisms that cause hepatitis and diarrheal diseases such as cholera, especially when large numbers of people are displaced by natural disasters and live in areas with poor quality water for drinking or washing.

Droughts can also degrade the quality of drinking water. As a result, more rodent populations are moving into human communities in search of food, increasing the likelihood of the hantavirus spreading.

Excessive heat can worsen existing health problems such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. And when heat stress turns into heat stroke, it can damage the heart, brain and kidneys and be fatal.

Impacts Of Overpopulation On The Environment

Today, about 30% of the world’s population is exposed to potentially fatal heat stress every year. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that this percentage will rise to at least 48% and reach 76% by the end of this century.

In addition to the loss of life, heat exposure is projected to result in the loss of 470 billion potential work hours worldwide in 2021, with associated income losses of up to US$669 billion. As populations grow and temperatures rise, more people will rely on fossil fuel-powered air conditioning, further contributing to climate change.

The Lancet review found that high temperatures in 2021 shortened the growing season by an average of about 9.3 days for corn or maize and six days for wheat, compared with the 1981-2020 average. Meanwhile, warming oceans could kill shellfish and alter the fisheries on which coastal communities depend. In 2020 alone, heat waves caused the number of people facing food insecurity to increase by 98 million compared to the 1981–2010 average.

A farmer in Zimbabwe has switched to sorghum, a grain crop that can grow well in dry conditions, after drought killed other crops in 2019. Jekesai Njikizana/AFP via Getty Images

World Population Day 2017: Ifpri Models Impact Of Population Growth On Demand For Food

Rising temperatures are also affecting freshwater supplies through evaporation and the reduction of mountain glaciers and snow cover that historically supported water flow during the summer months.

The UN estimates that water shortages and drought could displace nearly 700 million people by 2030. Combined with population growth and rising energy demands, they can also fuel geopolitical conflicts as countries face food shortages and compete for water.

Air pollution may be exacerbated by climate change factors. Hot weather and the same fossil fuel gases that warm the planet contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone, a key component of smog. This can worsen allergies, asthma and other respiratory problems, as well as cardiovascular disease.

Wildfires caused by hot, dry landscapes increase the health risks of air pollution. Wildfire smoke is laden with tiny particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs, causing heart and breathing problems.

What Are The Impacts Of Population Growth?

Smog in New Delhi, India is an ongoing problem. In 2017, things got so bad that the city temporarily closed elementary schools. Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images

Many groups and medical experts are working to counteract this cascade of negative climate impacts on human health.

The US National Academy of Medicine has embarked on an ambitious grand challenge on climate change, human health and equity to boost research. At many academic institutions, including the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, where I am dean, climate and health are integral to research, teaching, and service delivery.

Addressing health issues in low- and middle-income countries is critical. Often, the most vulnerable people in these countries face the greatest harm from climate change, lacking the resources to protect their health and the environment. Population growth may exacerbate these inequalities.

Population And Environment: A Global Challenge

Adaptation assessments can help countries at high risk prepare for the impacts of climate change. Development groups are also leading projects to expand the cultivation of crops that can grow well in dry conditions. The Pan American Health Organization, which focuses on the Caribbean, is an example of how countries are working to reduce infectious disease rates and develop regional capacity to cope with the effects of climate change.

In 1992, countries around the world committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Thirty years later, global emissions are just beginning to decline, and communities around the world are increasingly suffering from extreme heat and devastating floods and droughts.

The UN climate change negotiations, which in my opinion do not pay enough attention to health, could help draw attention to key climate impacts that harm health. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted: “While we rejoice in our achievements, “at the same time, this is a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for our planet and a moment to reflect on where we are still falling short of our commitments to one planet.” another.”

Samantha Totoni, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health contributed to this article.

Solutions To Overpopulation And What You Can Do

Write a paper and join a growing community of more than 170,700 scientists and researchers from 4,735 institutions. Many people are concerned that population growth will eventually lead to environmental disaster. However, the problem is larger and more complex than just counting bodies.

We humans are wonderful creatures. From our humble beginnings in small corners of Africa, we have evolved over thousands of years and colonized almost every corner of our planet. We are smart, resilient and adaptable – perhaps a little

In 2015, the world population is over 7.3 billion. That’s over seven billion three hundred million bodies that need to be fed, clothed, warmed and, ideally, nurtured and educated. More than 7.3 billion people consume resources while producing enormous amounts of waste, and our numbers continue to grow. The UN estimates that by 2050 the world’s population will reach 9.2 billion.

For most of our existence, the human population grew very slowly, held back by disease, climate fluctuations, and other social factors. In 1804 alone we reached 1 billion people. Since then, continued improvements in nutrition, medicine, and technology have led to a rapid increase in our population.

Pdf) The Implications Of Population Growth And Urbanization For Climate Change

Over the past few hundred years, the human population has experienced exponential growth. Data source: Our world in data.

Many people are concerned that uncontrolled population growth will eventually lead to environmental disaster. This is an understandable fear, and a quick look at the circumstantial evidence certainly shows that as our population increases, the health of the environment is deteriorating. The impact of so many people on the planet has led some scientists to coin a new term to describe our time: the Anthropocene Epoch. Unlike previous geological eras, where different geological and climatic processes defined time periods, the proposed period of the Anthropocene is named after the dominant influence of humans and their activities on the environment. In essence, humans represent a new global geophysical force.

We humans have spread across every continent and made enormous changes to landscapes, ecosystems, atmospheres—everything. Image source: Richard Schneider / Flickr.

However, while population size is part of the problem, the problem is larger and more complex than just counting bodies.

All You Need To Know About Effects Of Population Growth On Environment

These population groups—their distribution (density, migration patterns, and urbanization), their composition (age, gender, and income levels), and, most importantly, their consumption patterns—are of equal, if not greater, importance than mere numbers.

Focusing solely on population size obscures the multifaceted relationship between us humans and our environment, and we find it easier to place blame on others, such as in developing countries, rather than looking at how our own behavior may be negative. affecting the planet.

It is not surprising that as the world’s population continues to grow, the limitations of key global resources such as drinking water, fertile land, forests and fisheries are becoming increasingly apparent. You don’t need to be a math genius to

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