By LAURA WAKELY
THE CLIMATE Commission has warned of increased health risks as climate change worsens.
Chief Commissioner Professor Tim Flannery and Professor Lesley Hughes met with health providers from across the West at Sunshine Hospital last week to talk about the impact of climate change on health.
Prof Flannery said the visit was part of a tour of Victoria by the Climate Commission, which has also visited manufacturers, schools and businesses.
Prof Hughes said there would be more “proportionally extreme” weather days as global warming increases, including more flooding, storms and bushfires, which would impact on people’s health and wellbeing.
She said there was a 62 per cent increase in deaths in the week leading up to the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires and that twice as many people died from heat-related conditions as from the fires.
“One of our key messages is that these sort of impacts will be disproportionally felt by people in the community who are already vulnerable, so children, the elderly, people with chronic diseases, tend to be more vulnerable to all of these things,” Prof Hughes said.
“Our other key message is that the Victorian health system is already starting to adapt to things like future climate change, and the Victorian heatwave and bushfires give us a window on the future to illustrate things that we need to be prepared for.”
Climate and Health Alliance convenor Fiona Armstrong said environmentally-friendly and sustainable lifestyles were actually good for health.
She said many of the diseases burdening the health system could be lifted through lifestyle changes such as moving to active or public transport and reducing air pollution.
Western Health CEO Kathryn Cook said it was important to get everybody involved.
She said staff had been encouraged, through programs and competitions, to lead active and environmentally-friendly lifestyles at the hospital and at home.
