Climate change and public health: The effects of global warming on the risk of allergies and autoimmune diseases: The effects of global warming on the risk of allergies and autoimmune diseases.

Global climate change and extreme weather events are associated with epigenetic modifications in immune cells, leading to the possible increased risk and prevalence of allergies and autoimmune diseases.

Acute and chronic impacts of heat stress on planetary health.

Heat waves are increasing in intensity, frequency, and duration causing significant heat stress in all living organisms. Heat stress has multiple negative effects on plants affecting photosynthesis, respiration, growth, development, and reproduction. It also impacts animals leading to physiological and behavioral alterations, such as reduced caloric intake, increased water intake, and decreased reproduction and growth. In humans, epidemiological studies have shown that heat waves are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. There are many biological effects of heat stress (structural changes, enzyme function disruption, damage through reactive oxygen or nitrogen species). While plants and animals can mitigate some of these effects through adaptive mechanisms such as the generation of heat shock proteins, antioxidants, stress granules, and others, these mechanisms may likely be inadequate with further global warming. This review summarizes the effects of heat stress on plants and animals and the adaptative mechanisms that have evolved to counteract this stress.

The Role of Climate Change in Asthma.

Human activity and increased use of fossil fuels have led to climate change. These changes are adversely affecting human health, including increasing the risk of developing asthma. Global temperatures are predicted to increase in the future. In 2019, asthma affected an estimated 262 million people and caused 455,000 deaths. These rates are expected to increase. Climate change by intensifying climate events such as drought, flooding, wildfires, sand storms, and thunderstorms has led to increases in air pollution, pollen season length, pollen and mold concentration, and allergenicity of pollen. These effects bear implications for the onset, exacerbation, and management of childhood asthma and are increasing health inequities. Global efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change are urgently needed with the goal of limiting global warming to between 1.5 and 2.0 °C of preindustrial times as per the 2015 Paris Agreement. Clinicians need to take an active role in these efforts in order to prevent further increases in asthma prevalence. There is a role for clinician advocacy in both the clinical setting as well as in local, regional, and national settings to install measures to control and curb the escalating disease burden of childhood asthma in the setting of climate change.