Climate change is not only an environmental issue, but a major threat to public health, according to 11 U.S. medical societies.
It's an issue that many people do not know exists, even though it may already affect them, the groups warned in a new report.
"We want to get the message out that climate change is affecting people's health right now," said Dr. Mona Sarfaty. She's director of the group collective the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health.
More frequent and more intense heat waves raise the risk of heat-related illness, for example.
Climate change can also exacerbate heart and lung conditions, including asthma and emphysema, said Sarfaty, who's also director of Program on Climate and Health at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.
[For more of this story, written by Amy Norton, go to https://consumer.healthday.com...e-change-720691.html]
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