Dengue, a viral fever transmitted by mosquitoes, is now showing up in areas of the world where it has never before been seen. Once confined to the tropics, dengue is spreading fast as illustrated by a case of dengue
While we are appropriately concerned about the impact of record-breaking temperatures on people, too often we ignore the extensive casualties of heat on the world’s animal and plant populations.
July 2023 is now the hottest month on record worldwide. Extreme heat can endanger human health. The steep rise of global temperatures and the frequency and intensity of extreme weather due to climate change can lead to heat-related illness
In June the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health alert identifying five cases of malaria in Florida and Texas — the first locally acquired malaria infections to occur in 20 years.
April 22 is Earth Day. WiRED International board members, staff and volunteers wish everyone a meaningful Earth Day. Ever since the first Earth Day in 1970, each year Earth Day voices our global environmental consciousness, calls the world to action
No one escapes air pollution. A family in a Kisumu, Kenya, community cooks all its meals on a wood and charcoal fire inside their home. Indoor cooking over an open fire is common practice in much of the
Air pollution. We have been living with it ever since we began burning fossil fuels, such as coal and gas, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, cause temperatures to rise and produce chemicals and particles in the air that can harm the health of humans, animals and plants. A pivotal part to stopping climate change is reducing air pollution.
The COVID-19 pandemic cruelly demonstrates the vulnerability of human life and how our actions can impact the health of others. Earth Day gives us the opportunity to think about how the health of people and animals is closely linked with the changing climate and intensifying environmental conditions.
Exactly how do climate change and the environment relate to our health?
At the start of each year since 1999, we have released the plans that guide WiRED International’s efforts for the next 12 months. Last year our objective was to launch a major new community health worker (CHW) training program. After COVID-19 struck, we had to make a number of mid-course corrections to stay on track. By the end of 2020, though, we met our goals to test the CHW training program in four countries. That success was due to the flexibility of a small and nimble organization, good working relationships with partners abroad and, admittedly, a bit of luck.
COVID-19 has understandably preoccupied us for months, nevertheless many other critical threats have not taken a holiday. One threat — climate change — looms large, and will punish the earth long after the virus is off the front pages.
An exhaustive study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that pregnant women exposed to air pollution or high temperatures intensified by climate change risk preterm birth, low birth weight and stillbirth.