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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-17/how-weather-affects-our-mood-and-health/10124102

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Michael Mackenzie and Sophie Kesteven for Life Matters

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You’re right — the weather does affect how you feel. Here’s how

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Research shows people tip better on a sunny day, but think more clearly when it’s cloudy. So how else does the weather affect our mood — and our health?

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Cold weather can trigger a heart attack, while too much sun can cause heat stroke.

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Weather, both daily and seasonal, affects human, plant and animal health and comfort. Extreme weather can have immediate effects, such as destruction during a tornado, or delayed effects, such as a severe cold spell damaging future crop production.

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The forecast can predict a lot more than whether you'll need an umbrella or coat. Rain, wind, sleet, and snow all impact your well-being. Minimize the negatives with these tips.

1. How Weather Affects Your Mood

2. Your Heart

Extreme temperatures can put a strain on the heart, which can raise the risk of a heart attack or stroke in people who already have atherosclerosis, a buildup of plaque, cholesterol, and/or fats on the artery walls. Cold temps cause blood vessels to constrict, making the heart work harder to circulate blood.

3. Seasonal Allergies

Rain can be a blessing or a bother for seasonal allergy sufferers, depending on when it happens. A wet spring promotes rapid plant growth, which can cause allergy symptoms to come on quickly and intensely. But rain can also temporarily ease itchy eyes and a runny nose by washing away airborne pollen-from trees in the spring, grass in the summer, and weeds in the fall. Dry and windy weather can cause an uptick in symptoms; wind spreads pollen and mold.

Know when pollen and mold season peaks in your area and avoid extended outdoor activities during those times. Keep doors and windows closed and know that pollen levels are usually highest before 10 a.m.

If you regularly have allergy symptoms, see an allergist. Research shows allergy shots reduce symptoms in about 85 percent of people with hay fever-the itchy nose and eyes and inflammation caused by pollen.

4. Skin Conditions

Hydrate, moisturize, and protect. Pat moisturizer onto damp skin right after you shower to seal in moisture. If you're in a dry climate or during seasons with low humidity, consider using a humidifier. When you're outdoors, wear sunscreen (even in winter), and if it's windy, protect your face with a scarf to prevent chafing.

5. Aches and Pains

When people say "I can feel the storm coming in my bones," there is some truth to it. A fall in barometric pressure may cause the shock-absorbing parts of your joints to become overly extended and achy or painful, says Vinicius Domingues, M.D., a rheumatologist in Daytona Beach, FL. "It's more common for people to have swelling then, too." Chilly weather also can tighten muscles.

6. Asthma

Extreme weather-high heat and humidity, dry wind, rain, and bitterly cold air-can trigger an asthma attack, Mendez says. Asthma is an inflammation of the airways, and extreme weather changes the type of air you're breathing, which can irritate the airways. Very humid air, for example, is heavier and harder to breathe. Cold, dry air dehydrates the bronchial tubes (part of your airways), causing them to narrow and restrict airflow. Airborne allergens (pollen, mold) can also cause an asthma flare-up.

7. Headaches and Migraines

A fall in barometric pressure, which happens before a front or storm moves in, is such a strong predictor of a migraine attack in some people that they're referred to as migraine meteorologists. In one study nearly two-thirds of people with migraines had attacks when the barometric pressure dropped, possibly due to an effect on pressure-sensitive receptors in the brain. Both wind and sunlight (even brief 5- to 10-minute exposure to direct, bright sunlight) have also been shown to trigger migraines.

New seasons can be exciting (fall foliage, anyone?), but paying attention to the changing weather and regularly checking in with your body can go a long way in helping you feel your very best all year long.

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7 Major Ways the Weather Can Affect Your Mind and Body

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The forecast can predict a lot more than whether you'll need an umbrella or coat. Rain, wind, sleet, and snow all impact your well-being. Minimize the negatives with these tips. Extreme temperatures can put a strain on the heart, which can raise the risk of a heart attack or stroke in people who already have atherosclerosis, a buildup of plaque, cholesterol, and/or fats on the artery walls.

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https://www.funfactsabout.net/interesting-weather-facts/

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https://www.piedmont.org/living-better/can-a-sudden-change-in-the-weather-affect-your-health

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Many diseases are influenced by weather conditions or display strong seasonality,
Climate change also increases the appearance of more violent weather phenomena, drought, fires, the death of animal and plant species, flooding from rivers and lakes, the creation of climate refugees and destruction of the food chain and economic resources, especially in developing countries.

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https://www.who.int/features/factfiles/climate_change/facts/en/index2.html

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Weather and the Effect it Has on Mental Health | Jack Matteo | TEDxClintonMiddleSchool

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https://images.app.goo.gl/pCtGyfp19P7FVm5C7

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Climate Change and Mental Health

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Research indicates that extreme weather events such as large storms, flooding, droughts and heat waves are likely to become more frequent or more intense with climate change. Experiencing disasters related to climate and weather can cause significant stress and distress for many and contribute to more serious mental health issues.

A recent report from the Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change 2 identifies specific mental health impacts, noting that climate change and associated natural disasters cause "anxiety-related responses, and later chronic and severe mental health disorders." For example, both flooding and prolonged droughts have been associated with elevated levels of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorders. 3 The trauma and losses from a disaster, such as losing a home or job and being disconnected from neighborhood and community, can contribute to depression and anxiety.

Exposure to extreme heat has been associated with increased use of alcohol to cope with stress, increases in hospital and emergency room admissions for people with mental health or psychiatric conditions, and increase in suicide. Extreme weather events have also been associated with increases in aggressive behavior and domestic violence. 3

The need for mental health services increases in the aftermath of a climate-related disaster. At the same time, there is often a disruption in services or a decrease in the availability or accessibility of services.

Who Is Affected by Climate Change

Some people are more vulnerable to the potential impacts of climate change, including children, the elderly, the chronically ill, people with mobility impairments, pregnant and postpartum women, and people with mental illness. People of lower socioeconomic status, migrants, refugees and the homeless may also be more vulnerable.

People with mental health conditions are more likely to be affected by extreme weather events for several reasons. Psychiatric medications can interfere with a person's ability to regulate heat and their awareness that their body temperature is rising. Several studies of heat-wave related deaths found the people with mental illness had a three times greater risk of death from to a heat wave than those without mental illness. 1 In addition, people living with mental illness are also more likely to live in poverty or to have co-occurring substance use disorders, which make it harder for them to cope or adapt to changes.

Children are more impacted by disasters than adults and are more likely to have continued trauma-related symptoms after a disaster. 2 Children are often very resilient and reactions to disasters may resolve over time, however, children may be vulnerable to longer term effects of chronic stress related to extreme weather events.

First responders, emergency workers and others involved with responding to extreme weather-related disasters are at increased risk for mental health consequences both in the short and long term. 3

Longer-Term and Interconnected Effects

Many potential long-term impacts of climate change, such as population migration, food scarcity, loss of employment and loss of social support, have consequences for mental health.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, population migration linked to climate change is already happening. Each year since 2008, an average of more than 20 million people are forced to move because of weather-related events, such as floods, storms, wildfires or extreme temperature. Many others are leaving their homes because of slower moving events, such as droughts or coastal erosion.

Mental health can also be affected by other impacts of climate change, including food scarcity or food quality issues, potential increases in diseases transmitted by insects (such as Lyme disease and malaria) and air pollution. 3

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Research indicates that extreme weather events such as large storms, flooding, droughts and heat waves are likely to become more frequent or more intense with climate change. Experiencing disasters related to climate and weather can cause significant stress and distress for many and contribute to more serious mental health issues.

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https://youtu.be/JywsWktvODc

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razan alanzi

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Climate Impacts on Human Health | Climate Change Impacts | US EPA

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This page discusses the projected climate change impacts on U.S. human health.

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https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-human-health_.html

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Climate Impacts on Human Health | Climate Change Impacts | US EPA

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This page discusses the projected climate change impacts on U.S. human health.

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On This Page:

Overview

The impacts of climate change include warming temperatures, changes in precipitation, increases in the frequency or intensity of some extreme weather events, and rising sea levels. These impacts threaten our health by affecting the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the weather we experience.

The severity of these health risks will depend on the ability of public health and safety systems to address or prepare for these changing threats, as well as factors such as an individual's behavior, age, gender, and economic status. Impacts will vary based on a where a person lives, how sensitive they are to health threats, how much they are exposed to climate change impacts, and how well they and their community are able to adapt to change.

People in developing countries may be the most vulnerable to health risks globally, but climate change poses significant threats to health even in wealthy nations such as the United States. Certain populations, such as children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with low incomes, face increased risks; see the section below on Populations of Concern.

Temperature-Related Impacts

Warmer average temperatures will lead to hotter days and more frequent and longer heat waves. These changes will lead to an increase in heat-related deaths in the United States-reaching as much as thousands to tens of thousands of additional deaths each year by the end of the century during summer months.

These deaths will not be offset by the smaller reduction in cold-related deaths projected in the winter months. However, adaptive responses, such as wider use of air conditioning, are expected to reduce the projected increases in death from extreme heat.

Exposure to extreme heat can lead to heat stroke and dehydration, as well as cardiovascular, respiratory, and cerebrovascular disease. Excessive heat is more likely to affect populations in northern latitudes where people are less prepared to cope with excessive temperatures. Certain types of populations are more vulnerable than others: for example, outdoor workers, student athletes, and homeless people tend to be more exposed to extreme heat because they spend more time outdoors. Low-income households and older adults may lack access to air conditioning which also increases exposure to extreme heat. Additionally, young children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with certain medical conditions are less able to regulate their body temperature and can therefore be more vulnerable to extreme heat.

Human Health Risks in Your State

Urban areas are typically warmer than their rural surroundings. Large metropolitan areas such as St. Louis, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Cincinnati have seen notable increases in death rates during heat waves. Climate change is projected to increase the vulnerability of urban populations to heat-related health impacts in the future. Heat waves are also often accompanied by periods of stagnant air, leading to increases in air pollution and associated health effects.

Air Quality Impacts

Changes in the climate affect the air we breathe both indoors and outdoors. Warmer temperatures and shifting weather patterns can worsen air quality, which can lead to asthma attacks and other respiratory and cardiovascular health effects. Wildfires, which are expected to continue to increase in number and severity as the climate changes, create smoke and other unhealthy air pollutants. Rising carbon dioxide levels and warmer temperatures also affect airborne allergens, such as ragweed pollen.

Despite significant improvements in U.S. air quality since the 1970s, as of 2014 about 57 million Americans lived in counties that did not meet national air quality standards. Climate change may make it even harder for states to meet these standards in the future, exposing more people to unhealthy air.

Increases in Ozone

Scientists project that warmer temperatures from climate change will increase the frequency of days with unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone, a harmful air pollutant, and a component in smog.

People exposed to higher levels of ground-level ozone are at greater risk of dying prematurely or being admitted to the hospital for respiratory problems.

Ground-level ozone can damage lung tissue, reduce lung function, and inflame airways. This can aggravate asthma or other lung diseases. Children, older adults, outdoor workers, and those with asthma and other chronic lung diseases are particularly at risk.

Because warm, stagnant air tends to increase the formation of ozone, climate change is likely to increase levels of ground-level ozone in already-polluted areas of the United States and increase the number of days with poor air quality.

The higher concentrations of ozone due to climate change may result in tens to thousands of additional ozone-related illnesses and premature deaths per year by 2030 in the United States, assuming no change in projected air quality policies.

Changes in Particulate Matter

Particulate matter is the term for a category of extremely small particles and liquid droplets suspended in the atmosphere. Fine particles include those smaller than 2.5 micrometers (about one ten-thousandth of an inch). Some particulate matter such as dust, wildfire smoke, and sea spray occur naturally, while some is created by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels to produce energy. These particles may be emitted directly or may be formed in the atmosphere from chemical reactions of gases such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and volatile organic compounds.

Inhaling fine particles can lead to a broad range of adverse health effects, including lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cardiovascular disease.

Climate change is expected to increase the number and severity of wildfires. Particulate matter from wildfire smoke can often be carried very long distances by the wind, affecting people who live far from the source of this air pollutant.

Older adults are particularly sensitive to short-term particle exposure, with a higher risk of hospitalization and death. Outdoor workers like firefighters can also have high exposure.

Due to the complex factors that influence atmospheric levels of fine particulate matter, scientists do not yet know whether climate change will increase or decrease particulate matter concentrations across the United States. Particulate matter can be removed from the air by rainfall, and precipitation is expected to increase in quantity though not necessarily frequency. Climate-related changes in stagnant air episodes, wind patterns, emissions from vegetation and the chemistry of atmospheric pollutants will also affect particulate matter levels.

Climate Change and Human Health Quiz

Changes in Allergens and Asthma Triggers

Allergic illnesses, including hay fever, affect about one-third of the U.S. population, and more than 34 million Americans have been diagnosed with asthma. Climate change may affect allergies and respiratory health. The spring pollen season is already occurring earlier in the United States for certain types of plants, and the length of the season has increased for some plants with highly allergenic pollen such as ragweed. In addition to lengthening the ragweed pollen season, rising carbon dioxide concentrations and temperatures may also lead to earlier flowering, more flowers, and increased pollen levels in ragweed.

Impacts from Extreme Weather Events

Increases in the frequency or severity of some extreme weather events, such as extreme precipitation, flooding, droughts, and storms, threaten the health of people during and after the event. The people most at risk include young children, older adults, people with disabilities or medical conditions, and the poor. Extreme events can affect human health in a number of ways by:

Reducing the availability of safe food and drinking water.

Damaging roads and bridges, disrupting access to hospitals and pharmacies.

Interrupting communication, utility, and health care services.

Contributing to carbon monoxide poisoning from improper use of portable electric generators during and after storms.

Increasing stomach and intestinal illness, particularly following power outages.

Creating or worsening mental health impacts such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In addition, emergency evacuations pose health risks to older adults, especially those with limited mobility who cannot use elevators during power outages. Evacuations may be complicated by the need for concurrent transfer of medical records, medications, and medical equipment. Some individuals with disabilities may also be disproportionally affected if they are unable to access evacuation routes, have difficulty in understanding or receiving warnings of impending danger, or have limited ability to communicate their needs.

Vectorborne Diseases

Vectorborne diseases are illnesses that are transmitted by disease vectors, which include mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas. These vectors can carry infectious pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, and protozoa, from animals to humans. Changes in temperature, precipitation, and extreme events increases the geographic range of diseases spread by vectors and can lead to illnesses occurring earlier in the year.

The geographic range of ticks that carry Lyme disease is limited by temperature. As air temperatures rise, ticks are likely to become active earlier in the season, and their range is likely to continue to expand northward. Typical symptoms of Lyme disease include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash.

Mosquitoes thrive in certain climate conditions and can spread diseases like West Nile virus. Extreme temperatures-too cold, hot, wet, or dry-influence the location and number of mosquitoes that transmit West Nile virus. More than three million people were estimated to be infected with West Nile virus in the United States from 1999 to 2010.

The spread of climate-sensitive diseases will depend on both climate and non-climate factors such as land use, socioeconomic and cultural conditions, pest control, access to health care, and human responses to disease risk. The United States has public health infrastructure and programs to monitor, manage, and prevent the spread of many diseases. The risks for climate-sensitive diseases can be much higher in poorer countries that have less capacity to prevent and treat illness.

Water-Related Illnesses

People can become ill if exposed to contaminated drinking or recreational water. Climate change increases the risk of illness through increasing temperature, more frequent heavy rains and runoff, and the effects of storms. Health impacts may include gastrointestinal illness like diarrhea, effects on the body's nervous and respiratory systems, or liver and kidney damage.

Climate impacts can affect exposure to waterborne pathogens (bacteria, viruses, and parasites such asCryptosporidium and Giardia); toxins produced by harmful algal and cyanobacterial blooms in the water; and chemicals that end up in water from human activities.

Changing water temperatures mean that waterborne Vibrio bacteria and harmful algal toxins will be present in the water or in seafood at different times of the year, or in places where they were not previously threats.

Runoff and flooding resulting from increases in extreme precipitation, hurricane rainfall, and storm surge will increasingly contaminate water bodies used for recreation (such as lakes and beaches), shellfish harvesting waters, and sources of drinking water.

Extreme weather events and storm surges can damage or exceed the capacity of water infrastructure (such as drinking water or wastewater treatment plants), increasing the risk that people will be exposed to contaminants.

Water resource, public health, and environmental agencies in the United States provide many public health safeguards to reduce risk of exposure and illness even if water becomes contaminated. These include water quality monitoring, drinking water treatment standards and practices, beach closures, and issuing advisories for boiling drinking water and harvesting shellfish.

Food Safety and Nutrition

Climate change and the direct impacts of higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are expected to affect food safety and nutrition. Extreme weather events can also disrupt or slow the distribution of food.

Higher air temperatures can increase cases of Salmonella and other bacteria-related food poisoning because bacteria grow more rapidly in warm environments. These diseases can cause gastrointestinal distress and, in severe cases, death. Practices to safeguard food can help avoid these illnesses even as the climate changes.

Climate change will have a variety of impacts that may increase the risk of exposure to chemical contaminants in food. For example, higher sea surface temperatures will lead to higher mercury concentrations in seafood, and increases in extreme weather events will introduce contaminants into the food chain through stormwater runoff.

Higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the air can act as a "fertilizer" for some plants, but lowers the levels of protein and essential minerals in crops such as wheat, rice, and potatoes, making these foods less nutritious.

Extreme events, such as flooding and drought, create challenges for food distribution if roads and waterways are damaged or made inaccessible.

Mental Health

Any changes in a person's physical health or surrounding environment can also have serious impacts on their mental health. In particular, experiencing an extreme weather event can cause stress and other mental health consequences, particularly when a person loses loved ones or their home.

Individuals with mental illness are especially vulnerable to extreme heat; studies have found that having a pre-existing mental illness tripled the risk of death during heat waves. People taking medication for mental illness that makes it difficult to regulate their body temperature are particularly at risk.

Even the perceived threat of climate change (for example from reading or watching news reports about climate change) can influence stress responses and mental health.

Some groups of people are at higher risk for mental health impacts, such as children and older adults, pregnant and post-partum women, people with pre-existing mental illness (see above), people with low incomes, and emergency workers.

Populations of Concern

Climate and Health Factsheets
View the factsheets "
Some groups of people are more vulnerable than others to health risks from climate change. Three factors contribute to vulnerability: sensitivity, which refers to the degree to which people or groups are affected by a stressor such as higher temperatures; exposure, which refers to physical contact between a person and a stressor; and adaptive capacity, which refers to an ability to adjust to or avoid potential hazards. For example, while older adults are sensitive to extreme heat, an older person living in an air-conditioned apartment won't be exposed as long as she stays indoors, and as long as she can afford to pay for the electricity to run the air conditioner. Her ability take these actions is a measure of her adaptive capacity.

Some populations are especially vulnerable to climate health risks due to particular sensitivities, high likelihood of exposure, low adaptive capacity, or combinations of these factors.

Communities of color (including Indigenous communities as well as specific racial and ethnic groups), low income, immigrants, and limited English proficiency face disproportionate vulnerabilities due to a wide variety of factors, such as higher risk of exposure, socioeconomic and educational factors that affect their adaptive capacity, and a higher prevalence of medical conditions that affect their sensitivity.

Children are vulnerable to many health risks due to biological sensitivities and more opportunities for exposure (due to activities such as playing outdoors). Pregnant women are vulnerable to heat waves and other extreme events, like flooding.

Older adults are vulnerable to many of the impacts of climate change. They may have greater sensitivity to heat and contaminants, a higher prevalence of disability or preexisting medical conditions, or limited financial resources that make it difficult to adapt to impacts.

Occupational groups, such as outdoor workers, paramedics, firefighters, and transportation workers, as well as workers in hot indoor work environments, will be especially vulnerable to extreme heat and exposure to vectorborne diseases.

People with disabilities can be very vulnerable during extreme weather events, unless communities ensure that their emergency response plans specifically accommodate them.

People with chronic medical conditions are typically vulnerable to extreme heat, especially if they are taking medications that make it difficult to regulate body temperature. Power outages can be particularly threatening for people reliant on certain medical equipment.

Other Health Impacts

Other linkages exist between climate change and human health. For example, changes in temperature and precipitation, as well as droughts and floods, will affect agricultural yields and production. In some regions of the world, these impacts may compromise food security and threaten human health through malnutrition, the spread of infectious diseases, and food poisoning. The worst of these effects are projected to occur in developing countries, among vulnerable populations. Declines in human health in other countries can affect the United States through trade, migration, and immigration and has implications for national security.

Although the impacts of climate change have the potential to affect human health in the United States and around the world, there is a lot we can do to prepare for and adapt to these changes-such as establishing early warning systems for heat waves and other extreme events, taking steps to reduce vulnerabilities among populations of concern, raising awareness among healthcare professionals, and ensuring that infrastructure is built to accommodate anticipated future changes in climate. Understanding the threats that climate change poses to human health is the first step in working together to lower risks and be prepared.

References
5. EPA (2014). Air Quality Trends. Accessed March 1, 2016. National Research Council. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA.
Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 151 p. (PDF, 80 pp, 4.6MB).

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The impacts of climate change include warming temperatures, changes in precipitation, increases in the frequency or intensity of some extreme weather events, and rising sea levels. These impacts threaten our health by affecting the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the weather we experience.

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Sunlight has repeatedly been found to boost positive moods, though the link is weaker than many people imagine. Image from shutterstock.com

The weather supplies many metaphors for our changeable minds. Moods can brighten and darken, dispositions can be sunny, futures can be under a cloud and relationships can be stormy. Like the weather, our emotions sometimes seem like fickle forces of nature: unstable, enveloping and uncontrollable.

Weather provides a vivid language for describing our emotional atmosphere, but does it also influence it? Do grey days bring grey moods? When the mercury rises, does our blood boil?

Of the many aspects of weather, sunshine is the most intimately tied to mood. Although the link is weaker than many people imagine, sunlight has repeatedly been found to boost positive moods, dampen negative moods and diminish tiredness.

Anything that alters our moods can affect our behaviour. Happy people are more favourably disposed to one another, and accordingly people are more helpful when the sun is out. One study found that Minnesotan diners tipped more generously on sunny days. Investors may benefit in the same way as waitresses; American studies have observed better daily stock returns in sunny weather.

Image from shutterstock.com

The sun may melt hearts as well. In a 2013 study by French psychologist Nicolas Guéguen, an attractive male confederate approached unaccompanied young women and solicited their phone numbers. "I just want to say that I think you're really pretty", he cooed. "I'll phone you later and we can have a drink together someplace". "Antoine" achieved an impressive success rate of 22% on sunny days but only 14% when it was cloudy.

Guéguen's finding of sun-assisted flirtation followed up his earlier studies on the effects of exposure to flowers (2011) and pastry aromas (2012) in priming women for seduction. Can we expect future studies on chocolate (2014) and puppies (2015)? Rarely have psychologists lived up to national stereotypes so well: the Americans study money, the French study romance.

And the Australians study shopping. Research by Sydney's Joseph Forgas shows that sunshine can also affect our mental sharpness. Shoppers exiting a boutique were quizzed about ten unusual objects - including a toy tractor and a pink piggy-bank - that had been placed in the check-out area. They correctly recalled seven times as many objects on cloudy days as on sunny ones.

This effect accords with other findings that negative moods induce careful and systematic cognition. Grey weather may similarly induce sober, grey-flannelled thinking. In a paper titled " Clouds make nerds look good ", Uri Simonsohn showed that university admissions officers weighted the academic credentials of applicants more on overcast days, and their non-academic attributes more on sunny ones.

Temperature can also affect our mind and behaviour, independently of sunshine. The more it departs from an ideal of around 20°C the more discomfort we feel. One study found that rates of helping declined as temperatures dropped below or rose above this value.

Image from shutterstock.com

In addition, the higher the temperature, the more people are likely to act aggressively. Rates of aggression are higher in hotter years, months, days and times of day, a pattern observable for murders, riots and car-horn honking. Baseball pitchers are more likely to hit batters on hot days, an effect that isn't merely a result of having sweat-slick fingers.

Heat may also increase verbal aggression. A recent study of news media coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics found that stories filed by American journalists contained more negative words on hotter days, even when they were writing about China in general rather than the Games in particular.

Aspects of weather beyond heat and sunshine have also been shown to affect mood. Humidity tends to make people more tired and irritable. Barometric pressure fluctuations can alter moods and trigger headaches, some studies finding a link between low pressure and suicide. On rainy days people report lower satisfaction with their lives.

Weather influences our psychology in myriad subtle ways. Why this might be the case is not entirely obvious. One possibility is that the effects of weather on mood are primarily physiological. Excess heat causes discomfort by taxing our capacity to thermoregulate, and this causes irritability and aggression.

Exposing skin to sunlight produces vitamin D, promoting the brain's production of serotonin, which lifts mood. Exposure to bright lights, a treatment for people affected with the Winter depressions of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also enhances the mood of unaffected people.

Image from shutterstock.com

However, the effects of weather on mood are not straightforwardly biological. They are also psychological and social. One reason why heat is associated with aggression is that people interact more in public in hot weather.

Indeed, the effects of weather on mood depend on our behaviour and on how we think. Most basically, weather will only influence us if we expose ourselves to it. On one estimate, people in industrialised societies tend to spend only 7% of their time outside.

A study by US psychology researcher Matthew Keller and colleagues showed that beneficial effects of warm and sunny conditions on mood were only seen in people who had spent more than 30 minutes outdoors that day. Good weather even had negative effects on mood for people confined indoors, who perhaps gazed enviously outside at the solar fun they were missing.

It is hard to argue with Dr Keller's prescription: "If you wish to reap the psychological benefits of good springtime weather, go outside."

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Here comes the sun: how the weather affects our mood

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The weather supplies many metaphors for our changeable minds. Moods can brighten and darken, dispositions can be sunny, futures can be under a cloud and relationships can be stormy. Like the weather, our emotions sometimes seem like fickle forces of nature: unstable, enveloping and uncontrollable.

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Happy snow😀❤️↗️ https://images.app.goo.gl/7AKecuhDVyRoSSoq8

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https://public.wmo.int/en/bulletin/public-health-and-weather-services%E2%80%93climate-information-health-sector

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Key facts

Climate change is directly contributing to humanitarian emergencies from heatwaves, wildfires, floods, tropical storms and hurricanes and they are increasing in scale, frequency and intensity.

Research shows that 3.6 billion people already live in areas highly susceptible to climate change. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250 000 additional deaths per year, from undernutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress alone.

The direct damage costs to health (excluding costs in health-determining sectors such as agriculture and water and sanitation) is estimated to be between US$ 2-4 billion per year by 2030.

Areas with weak health infrastructure - mostly in developing countries - will be the least able to cope without assistance to prepare and respond.

Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases through better transport, food and energy use choices can result in very large gains for health, particularly through reduced air pollution.

Overview

Climate change presents a fundamental threat to human health. It affects the physical environment as well as all aspects of both natural and human systems - including social and economic conditions and the functioning of health systems. It is therefore a threat multiplier, undermining and potentially reversing decades of health progress. As climatic conditions change, more frequent and intensifying weather and climate events are observed, including storms, extreme heat, floods, droughts and wildfires. These weather and climate hazards affect health both directly and indirectly, increasing the risk of deaths, noncommunicable diseases, the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, and health emergencies.

Climate change is also having an impact on our health workforce and infrastructure, reducing capacity to provide universal health coverage (UHC). More fundamentally, climate shocks and growing stresses such as changing temperature and precipitation patterns, drought, floods and rising sea levels degrade the environmental and social determinants of physical and mental health. All aspects of health are affected by climate change, from clean air, water and soil to food systems and livelihoods. Further delay in tackling climate change will increase health risks, undermine decades of improvements in global health, and contravene our collective commitments to ensure the human right to health for all.

Climate change impacts on health

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) concluded that climate risks are appearing faster and will become more severe sooner than previously expected, and it will be harder to adapt with increased global heating.

It further reveals that 3.6 billion people already live in areas highly susceptible to climate change. Despite contributing minimally to global emissions, low-income countries and small island developing states (SIDS) endure the harshest health impacts. In vulnerable regions, the death rate from extreme weather events in the last decade was 15 times higher than in less vulnerable ones.

Climate change is impacting health in a myriad of ways, including by leading to death and illness from increasingly frequent extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, storms and floods, the disruption of food systems, increases in zoonoses and food-, water- and vector-borne diseases, and mental health issues. Furthermore, climate change is undermining many of the social determinants for good health, such as livelihoods, equality and access to health care and social support structures. These climate-sensitive health risks are disproportionately felt by the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, including women, children, ethnic minorities, poor communities, migrants or displaced persons, older populations, and those with underlying health conditions.
Figure: An overview of climate-sensitive health risks, their exposure pathways and vulnerability factors. Climate change impacts health both directly and indirectly, and is strongly mediated by environmental, social and public health determinants.
Although it is unequivocal that climate change affects human health, it remains challenging to accurately estimate the scale and impact of many climate-sensitive health risks. However, scientific advances progressively allow us to attribute an increase in morbidity and mortality to global warming, and more accurately determine the risks and scale of these health threats.

WHO data indicates 2 billion people lack safe drinking water and 600 million suffer from foodborne illnesses annually, with children under 5 bearing 30% of foodborne fatalities. Climate stressors heighten waterborne and foodborne disease risks. In 2020, 770 million faced hunger, predominantly in Africa and Asia. Climate change affects food availability, quality and diversity, exacerbating food and nutrition crises.

Temperature and precipitation changes enhance the spread of vector-borne diseases. Without preventive actions, deaths from such diseases, currently over 700 000 annually, may rise. Climate change induces both immediate mental health issues, like anxiety and post-traumatic stress, and long-term disorders due to factors like displacement and disrupted social cohesion.

Recent research attributes 37% of heat-related deaths to human-induced climate change. Heat-related deaths among those over 65 have risen by 70% in two decades. In 2020, 98 million more experienced food insecurity compared to the 1981-2010 average. The WHO conservatively projects 250 000 additional yearly deaths by the 2030s due to climate change impacts on diseases like malaria and coastal flooding. However, modelling challenges persist, especially around capturing risks like drought and migration pressures.

The climate crisis threatens to undo the last 50 years of progress in development, global health and poverty reduction, and to further widen existing health inequalities between and within populations. It severely jeopardizes the realization of UHC in various ways, including by compounding the existing burden of disease and by exacerbating existing barriers to accessing health services, often at the times when they are most needed. Over 930 million people - around 12% of the world's population - spend at least 10% of their household budget to pay for health care. With the poorest people largely uninsured, health shocks and stresses already currently push around 100 million people into poverty every year, with the impacts of climate change worsening this trend.

Climate change and equity

In the short- to medium-term, the health impacts of climate change will be determined mainly by the vulnerability of populations, their resilience to the current rate of climate change and the extent and pace of adaptation. In the longer-term, the effects will increasingly depend on the extent to which transformational action is taken now to reduce emissions and avoid the breaching of dangerous temperature thresholds and potential irreversible tipping points.

While no one is safe from these risks, the people whose health is being harmed first and worst by the climate crisis are the people who contribute least to its causes, and who are least able to protect themselves and their families against it: people in low-income and disadvantaged countries and communities.

Addressing climate change's health burden underscores the equity imperative: those most responsible for emissions should bear the highest mitigation and adaptation costs, emphasizing health equity and vulnerable group prioritization.

Need for urgent action

To avert catastrophic health impacts and prevent millions of climate change-related deaths, the world must limit temperature rise to 1.5°C. Past emissions have already made a certain level of global temperature rise and other changes to the climate inevitable. Global heating of even 1.5°C is not considered safe, however; every additional tenth of a degree of warming will take a serious toll on people's lives and health.

WHO response

WHO's response to these challenges centres around 3 main objectives:

Promote actions that both reduce carbon emissions and improve health: supporting a rapid and equitable transition to a clean energy economy; ensuring that health is central to climate change mitigation policy; accelerating mitigation actions that bring the greatest health gains; and mobilizing the strength of the health community to drive policy change and build public support.

Build better, more climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable health systems: ensuring core services, environmental sustainability and climate resilience as central components of UHC and primary health care (PHC); supporting health systems to leapfrog to cheaper, more reliable and cleaner solutions, while decarbonizing high-emitting health systems; and mainstreaming climate resilience and environmental sustainability into health service investments, including the capacity of the health workforce.

Protect health from the wide range of impacts of climate change: assessing health vulnerabilities and developing health plans; integrating climate risk and implementing climate-informed surveillance and response systems for key risks, such as extreme heat and infectious disease; supporting resilience and adaptation in health-determining sectors such as water and food; and closing the financing gap for health adaptation and resilience.

Leadership and Raising Awareness: WHO leads in emphasizing climate change's health implications, aiming to centralize health in climate policies, including through the UNFCCC. Partnering with major health agencies, health professionals and civil society, WHO strives to embed climate change in health priorities like UHC and target carbon neutrality by 2030.

Evidence and Monitoring: WHO, with its network of global experts, contributes global evidence summaries, provides assistance to nations in their assessments, and monitors progress. The emphasis is on deploying effective policies and enhancing access to knowledge and data.

Capacity Building and Country Support: Through WHO offices, support is given to ministries of health, focusing on collaboration across sectors, updated guidance, hands-on training, and support for project preparation and execution as well as for securing climate and health funding. WHO leads the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH), bringing together a range of health and development partners, to support countries in achieving their commitments to climate-resilient and low carbon health systems.

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WHO fact sheet on climate change and health: provides key facts, patterns of infection, measuring health effects and WHO response.

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1. Weather has a profound effect on human health and well-being. It has been demonstrated that weather is associated with changes in birth rates, and sperm counts, with outbreaks of pneumonia, influenza and bronchitis, and is related to other morbi dity effects linked to pollen concentrations and high pollution levels

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https://www.bhg.com/health-family/staying-healthy/weather-health-tips/

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Weather, both daily and seasonal, affects human, plant and animal health and comfort. Extreme weather can have immediate effects, such as destruction during a tornado, or delayed effects, such as a severe cold spell damaging future crop production.

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Changing seasons can mean a lot more than just needing to wear a jacket. Each change of the seasons can be exciting, laborious and even somewhat emotional. People often associate the seasons with their favorite holidays or the wistful passage of time.

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https://www.nationalgeographic.com/content/dam/magazine/rights-exempt/2012/09/extreme-weather/01-deluge-falls-during-thunderstorm-montana.adapt.1900.1.jpg

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http://www.ciesin.org/docs/001-338/001-338.html

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The forecast can predict a lot more than whether you'll need an umbrella or coat. Rain, wind, sleet, and snow all impact your well-being. Minimize the negatives with these tips.

1. How Weather Affects Your Mood

2. Your Heart

Extreme temperatures can put a strain on the heart, which can raise the risk of a heart attack or stroke in people who already have atherosclerosis, a buildup of plaque, cholesterol, and/or fats on the artery walls. Cold temps cause blood vessels to constrict, making the heart work harder to circulate blood.

3. Seasonal Allergies

Rain can be a blessing or a bother for seasonal allergy sufferers, depending on when it happens. A wet spring promotes rapid plant growth, which can cause allergy symptoms to come on quickly and intensely. But rain can also temporarily ease itchy eyes and a runny nose by washing away airborne pollen-from trees in the spring, grass in the summer, and weeds in the fall. Dry and windy weather can cause an uptick in symptoms; wind spreads pollen and mold.

Know when pollen and mold season peaks in your area and avoid extended outdoor activities during those times. Keep doors and windows closed and know that pollen levels are usually highest before 10 a.m.

If you regularly have allergy symptoms, see an allergist. Research shows allergy shots reduce symptoms in about 85 percent of people with hay fever-the itchy nose and eyes and inflammation caused by pollen.

4. Skin Conditions

Hydrate, moisturize, and protect. Pat moisturizer onto damp skin right after you shower to seal in moisture. If you're in a dry climate or during seasons with low humidity, consider using a humidifier. When you're outdoors, wear sunscreen (even in winter), and if it's windy, protect your face with a scarf to prevent chafing.

5. Aches and Pains

When people say "I can feel the storm coming in my bones," there is some truth to it. A fall in barometric pressure may cause the shock-absorbing parts of your joints to become overly extended and achy or painful, says Vinicius Domingues, M.D., a rheumatologist in Daytona Beach, FL. "It's more common for people to have swelling then, too." Chilly weather also can tighten muscles.

6. Asthma

Extreme weather-high heat and humidity, dry wind, rain, and bitterly cold air-can trigger an asthma attack, Mendez says. Asthma is an inflammation of the airways, and extreme weather changes the type of air you're breathing, which can irritate the airways. Very humid air, for example, is heavier and harder to breathe. Cold, dry air dehydrates the bronchial tubes (part of your airways), causing them to narrow and restrict airflow. Airborne allergens (pollen, mold) can also cause an asthma flare-up.

7. Headaches and Migraines

A fall in barometric pressure, which happens before a front or storm moves in, is such a strong predictor of a migraine attack in some people that they're referred to as migraine meteorologists. In one study nearly two-thirds of people with migraines had attacks when the barometric pressure dropped, possibly due to an effect on pressure-sensitive receptors in the brain. Both wind and sunlight (even brief 5- to 10-minute exposure to direct, bright sunlight) have also been shown to trigger migraines.

New seasons can be exciting (fall foliage, anyone?), but paying attention to the changing weather and regularly checking in with your body can go a long way in helping you feel your very best all year long.

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7 Major Ways the Weather Can Affect Your Mind and Body

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The forecast can predict a lot more than whether you'll need an umbrella or coat. Rain, wind, sleet, and snow all impact your well-being. Minimize the negatives with these tips. Extreme temperatures can put a strain on the heart, which can raise the risk of a heart attack or stroke in people who already have atherosclerosis, a buildup of plaque, cholesterol, and/or fats on the artery walls.

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sadeem

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https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjSipKXj-3rAhUHXxoKHZF5BpQQFjAAegQIBxAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geeknative.com%2F61211%2F25-strange-weather-effects-fantasy-rpg%2F&usg=AOvVaw3HTcA_0Y5Gnrvx38XNDL1G

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Climate Impacts on Human Health | Climate Change Impacts | US EPA

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This page discusses the projected climate change impacts on U.S. human health.

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https://www.health24.com/Lifestyle/Healthy-you/9-ways-the-weather-affects-your-health-20170802

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Weather is a powerful force undeniably linked to human health and well-being. Hot climates can cause heat stroke and encourage the breeding of disease-carrying mosquitoes and the multiplication of harmful microbes. Cold weather can cause hypothermia and frostbite.