Canadian Woman Diagnosed With Climate Change: What Does It Mean?

Climate change has long been complex to navigate and come to terms with. The brutality of the change has long been exhibiting various tragic incidents one country at a time. With heat waves extending to several parts of the world in recent years, Canada is another country that has fallen under the radar.

Recently, a Canadian woman was diagnosed with climate change. It's something unheard of but very real, and this woman's case puts up the same question again - are we doing enough to avoid this in the first place?

The summer heat in Canada, which proved to be fatal for almost five hundred people, led to an elderly woman in the country getting diagnosed with climate change.

Suggested reading: How Air Pollution Harms The Brain And Mental Health

Canadian woman diagnosed with climate change

The summer of 2022 went down as the deadliest and hottest one in the history of Canada. The record-breaking heatwave is believed to have affected thousands and killed almost five hundred people within a few months.

The after-effects of the heat and the overall change in climate as compared to the previous years led to people across ages suffering from side effects to no end. In a case that has shocked the entire world, a woman in her 70s got diagnosed with climate change and her symptoms are real and verified by practitioners. The woman had first got herself checked at the emergency department of a  British Columbia hospital.

Kyle Merritt, the emergency room head doctor in British Columbia's Nelson stated that while the woman carried a history of diabetes and heart issues, the effect of heat waves on her was everlasting and pushed down her health further.

Being diagnosed with climate change includes degradation in part or overall health of a person due to the climate change after effects. The impact of environmental degradation on human health is real and it's about time we address it.

"If we don't look at the underlying cause and just treat the symptoms, we will just keep falling further and further behind," said Dr Merrit.

Dr Merritt shared that the woman by all means faced the side effect of the heat as the temperatures had risen to over 121 degrees Fahrenheit this summer. He said, "Her health has declined completely post the heat effect and her struggle to stay hydrated despite treatment is also leading to the severity of breathing issues."

It is reported that this woman's case led to a drastic realisation among clinicians too who launched the Doctors and Nurses for Planetary Health initiative which includes over forty healthcare professionals that aim to work towards bettering human health by working toward stretching the planet.

A recent report on the effects of climate change on India revealed how the Indian subcontinent is subjected to becoming one of the first places around the globe to experience heat waves that can "break the survivability limit of humans."