Environmental Health in Israel | 2014

Extreme climate change is likely to have acute effects on human health, including both physical and psychological damage due to extreme conditions like drought, floods, fires, and heat/cold waves. Moderate climate change is also expected to impact patterns of morbidity and mortality. For example, climate change may lead to changes in the patterns of chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and even cancer. Increases in ground-level ozone (O 3 ), caused by high temperatures, can increase risk for asthma in children. Even moderate climate change is likely to alter the seasonality of infectious diseases (viral, bacterial, and parasitic), particularly those transmitted among human beings (for example: diarrhea, mumps, measles, and rubella). Climate change is also expected to impact incidence of diseases transmitted by vectors such as insects (for example, West Nile virus, malaria and cutaneous leishmaniasis) and rodents (for example, plague, typhus, and leptospirosis), as well as pesticide use for vector control. The prevalence of illnesses related to poor sanitation – such as foodborne disease – is also likely to be affected by climate change. Current Regulations Contribution to the Global Effort against Global Warming Emission of greenhouse gases and industrial and transportation pollutants are the main causes of global warming and climate change. Since Israel was not a party to the first annex of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, it did not commit to reducing greenhouse gas Climate Change Chapter 11 - 73 - Climate Change