Despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, many people still believe that the worst impacts of climate change are a distant problem. This might be because when scientists really started uniting around the need to reduce fossil fuels, it was the 80s and we did have some time before our lives would start being dramatically affected by rising temperatures. But that was nearly half a century ago, and now our governments’ inaction has come home to roost.
Over the past year, Climate Legacy has taken part in a number of conversations and watched fantastic webinars by groups like Re.Climate and EcoAnalytics, and one theme we’ve seen emerging is that even when Canadians are able to ignore things like record temperatures and extreme weather, they are more likely to be swayed by stories of how climate change can make them sick. This is particularly true for older Canadians, who are more likely to worry about their own wellbeing later in life, as well as the health of their children and grandchildren.
With that in mind, in last month’s Climate Legacy newsletter we sent out a call for readers to share their stories of how the climate crisis has already affected their health. This month, we wanted to share some of the responses we received. We think these demonstrate a few of the many surprising and complex ways that a warming planet can make us sick.
Wildfire smoke and its effect on our breathing
One reader, who wished to only go by David, shared his story of dealing with the unprecedented wildfire smoke of 2023:
“In 2023, the smoke from the B.C. and Alberta wildfires drifted into Toronto. My street looked like it was in a fog. I remember my eyes stinging, the black grit that appeared on a tissue when I blew my nose and the pressing on my chest as I breathed. With the forecast of another severe wildfire season in 2024, my wife and I bought a wildfire smoke rated air purifier.”
Lasting exposure to wildfire smoke can harm our health in countless ways. There’s the common symptoms, like those David described, which include dizziness, chest pains, shortness of breath, and a severe cough. Then there are rarer and more deadly symptoms, such as asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, and even reproductive and developmental effects, such as low birth weight among newborns. It goes without saying that several of these symptoms are more common, and potentially more dangerous, among seniors.
Another reader, Jane, may have had a more severe and and lasting reaction to the smoke:
“Four years ago, I was very thoroughly tested for asthma and didn’t have it. I was retested this year and didn’t even need to get far into the test for the technician to confirm asthma. I was in Winnipeg for a few days during the worst of the wildfire smoke and have not been able to identify any other factor for that change.”
Although Jane can’t guarantee that it was smoke inhalation that caused her asthma, adult-onset asthma does exist, and is more common in women. It is well known that air pollution can make asthma symptoms worse, but it can actually increase your risk of developing asthma in the first place. In short, inhaling wildfire smoke and other extreme forms of air pollution is not only deeply uncomfortable in the moment, but can have lasting, even lifelong impacts.
While we’re on the subject of climate change and the quality of our air – many of you may have noticed that 2024 has been a particularly bad year for allergy sufferers. This may be a result of climate change as well. 2023 research from the Harvard School of Public Health found that warmer weather arriving earlier in the year is making trees and plants, including ragweed, produce pollen much sooner. So, if you find your allergies already kicking in at the beginning of march, you may have climate change to blame.
Oppressive Heat
In last month’s newsletter, a member of our steering committee shared how extreme heat was making her apartment practically unlivable. This month, one of our readers told us that:
“Heat during the summer hits me more intensely. Some of that is my aging body but also the number of really hot days and the length of heat waves are getting bigger. The last two summers there have been periods where I did not want to go outside and I wonder about what life will be like in the future. I know our long-long range forecast is to have more heat with longer periods of it.”
As we shared last month, hotter summers can be deadly, especially for seniors, but it’s effect on our quality of life is also well worth paying attention to. What indeed will life be like in the future when more and more of us can’t bear to go outside in the summer, or outright fear for our lives when doing so?
Much has been said about the mental health impacts of COVID-19 and the loneliness and isolation caused by lockdowns. However, days or even weeks spent inside to avoid wildfire smoke or extreme heat have the potential to be just as harmful. Especially when you consider that spending time outside – the activity that became many Canadians’ go-to coping mechanism during COVID – is exactly what we’d be avoiding while sheltering indoors to avoid the heat or poor air quality.
Stories like these are depressing both to read and think about, but they show just how much is at stake in the fight to reduce fossil fuel use and prevent worsening climate change. Climate Legacy knows how much is at stake, and we’re excited to return to this work at the beginning of 2025 and see what we can accomplish in the New Year. We wish you a happy New Year, and hope you will join us in fighting for a greener, healthier future.
Take care,
Eric Murphy
Communications Coordinator, Climate Legacy