5 Ways Climate Change Is Affecting Our Health

Canada is warming up, and we’re feeling the effects: wildfires and floods, more snowstorms in the winter and dry spells in the summer. What impact could this have? Chatelaine asked two experts about the illnesses we might see more of, thanks to climate change.

Lung disease

Whether it’s from wildfire smoke or extreme heat, lung disease will become a growing concern. Ground-level ozone, created by heat, can cause “a smoggy soup of different chemical reactions that intensify the number of pollutants in the air,” explains Dr. Melissa Lem, president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. Issues like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease will likely increase. And since particulate matter and smoke travel, these issues can affect faraway communities, as well.

Mental health

“Research shows that when heat levels go up, rates of mental illness increase,” says Lem. “People can experience higher rates of anxiety, depression and PTSD when they have to flee from wildfires” or from floods. And, more generally, knowledge of climate change can intensify eco-anxiety.

Malnutrition

“In the North, there is going to be a decline in traditional food species that are usually harvested by Indigenous peoples,” says Dr. Lem, which could lead to higher rates of malnutrition.

“Communities may have to import other foods that are less nutritious and more processed,” adds Peter Berry, senior policy analyst and lead science coordinator of Health Canada’s Climate Change and Innovation Bureau. And remote communities, where ice roads are melting, will have to fly in food, driving up prices.

Related: Lyme Disease Is On The Rise—And Climate Change Is To Blame

Lyme disease

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection primarily transmitted from animals to humans through tick bites, explains Dr. Vett Lloyd, a professor of biology at New Brunswick’s Mount Allison University as well as head of the university’s Lloyd Tick Lab. As a former Lyme patient—an experience that motivated her to research the disease—she understands it intimately.

Lyme-carrying ticks are concentrated in southern Canada, especially New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, southern Ontario, southern Quebec, southern Manitoba and some parts of B.C. But the climate crisis and changing landscape ecology have created new challenges: Tick populations are increasingly migrating northward, to areas they normally wouldn’t, likely due to warming temperatures. Because both people and ticks travel, the number of Lyme cases in Canada grew ninefold between 2012 and 2021. (The average age in reported cases is about 48 years old, though Lyme can occur in children as young as five.) The risk is so great that Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, flagged Lyme disease as an illness to monitor in her 2022 report on the state of public health in the country, noting its propensity to spread amid a warming climate.

Heart disease

“[Air] pollutants increase inflammation, which can worsen stroke, heart attacks and other forms of heart disease,” says Dr. Lem. Seniors and those with chronic illnesses are particularly vulnerable to cardiovascular issues from extreme heat. 

Other diseases worsened by climate change can also affect cardiovascular health. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, for example, increases the risk of heart disease, while malnutrition can also worsen heart issues.

What can we do?

The good news is that there are ways to prepare for or prevent climate change-caused illnesses. On an individual scale, avoid burning fossil fuels, like on gas stoves. Ensure your home has proper air filtration, such as a HEPA filter, so you’re breathing in clean air, even if there is pollution from smoke outside. On a larger scale, channel eco-anxiety into action by advocating for green spaces. And keep yourself as healthy as you can: prioritize sleep, exercise, eat a healthy diet and get outside.

With files from Zeahaa Rehman

More ways to fight the climate crisis

• Talk to your friends, neighbours, relatives and colleagues about climate change
• Write your politicians
• Support a green charity
• Electrify your home heating
• Cut back on flying
• Decarbonize your hot water heating
• Canada's big banks fund fossil fuels. Switch to a credit union
• Cut back on meat and dairy
• Get rid of natural gas in your home
• Ditch your gas stove for an induction stove
• Garden with native plants
• Cut back on food waste
• Buy secondhand