Climate Change is Destroying Lives... Now

How does climate change hurt? We can get lost in the numbers and the global picture, but heating our planet is profoundly harming the health of real people right now. And today I want to take a look at four lives that have been shaken by climate change to help us all understand what's at stake. I'm Adam. I have a PhD in atmospheric physics and I'm here to help you make sense of the changing planet we all share. And quick note that this video has been made with support from the Meliora Foundation. But as usual, I'm not selling you anything and I have creative control and responsibility for everything you're about to watch. Let's look at four lives in four countries. We'll start in the

world's most populous country, India. Think of an Indian construction worker earning his living, supporting his family, doing demanding physical work outside and crucially breathing in the air. And in India, the air itself is toxic. 74 of the world's 100 most polluted cities are in India. We're talking about air so toxic that you can smell, taste, and see it. And air pollution isn't just an inconvenience, it's claiming lives. Air pollution deaths in India reached a staggering 1. 7 million in 2022 and this figure is headed in the wrong direction, increasing by over a third in just 12 years. A construction worker isn't a hypothetical. There are millions like him. Take Raju Kumar, who happens to be my age, 38. But unlike me, he's been forced to work in air so toxic that his voice is now raspy and he has a persistent violent cough. UCLA News quotes him, "I have to go to work even when my chest burns. If I stay home, we don't eat. " Now, the molecules causing air pollution are generally different to greenhouse gases, but there's huge overlap between the two issues. Both are largely caused by burning fossil fuels. Toxic air adds to the danger that extreme heat poses and both affect the most vulnerable the most severely, the very old, the very young, and those who have to work or live outside. But India can clean up its act, protecting the lives of people like Raju, by shifting away from coal and restricting more polluting vehicles, cooking methods, and waste burning. This isn't hypothetical. Countries like China have made huge strides in turning around the air pollution crisis in just a single decade. Now, let's move our attention to

another Asian nation that's also suffering under climate change, but whose economy and population make up a notably different to India's. We meet an elderly man struggling to stay cool, to stay safe in Japan. Last summer, Japan suffered through a blistering heatwave, smashing records. In fact, the record for hottest temperature measured in the country was broken twice in one single day. That record was set all the way back in in the week before. And look, you don't need to be a climate scientist to understand that heating up the planet would turn up the dial on heatwaves. Around the world, we're seeing climate change increasing the intensity and frequency of extreme heat. And heatwaves are deadly, especially for the elderly. That means for people like 84-year-old Toshiaki Moriyoka, he lives on his own and tries to stay hydrated during oppressive extreme heat. Heatstroke can be deadly for older people. The body can no longer keep itself cool and the internal organs literally overheat. And so, as CNN reports, Toshiaki carries a safety device everywhere, which measures how hot it is and can call for help. In Japan, so many people are at risk because the country has the most extremely aging population in the world. Almost 30% are aged 65 or older. One in 10 people are now aged 80 or older. Almost 100,000 people are 100 years or older. I mean, however you look at it, Japan has an old population. And many elderly people like Toshiaki are isolated. Being on your own means there's no one to watch out for you, no one to call for help if there is an emergency. The country is already seeing the consequences. Every year, thousands died due to the heat and last year, over 10,000 ended up in the hospital due to heat-related illnesses in one single week. Countries like Japan can take steps to protect people like Toshiaki. Education is vital so that the most vulnerable know the risks and know what to do to minimize them. Staying in the shade, staying hydrated, and staying as cool as possible. Already, volunteers are going door-to-door checking in and giving advice. And cooling spots provide an escape from the heat in air-conditioned spaces. But it's not

just the very old who are at profound risk of climate change. In South Africa, children are also severely threatened by what we're doing to our planet. Children like a 10-year-old girl who passed out in class because she had nothing to eat that day. South Africa has faced a range of water crises. Drought has brought several locations, including the iconic Cape Town, perilously close to day zero, the day when the taps run dry. The BBC quotes township resident Kaniswa Seyiwula, "You cannot live without water, but we're often left without it for days at a time. " At the same time, paradoxically, South Africa is also struggling under the inverse threat, with devastating floods recently hitting the country over the New Year. And research shows climate change played a key role in upping the threat and intensity of this flooding. Drought and flood can make it harder to access clean water and together with heatwaves, they make it harder to grow enough food, leading to food insecurity and rocketing food prices. One study indicated that the staple maize had become a third more expensive in South Africa due to extreme heat. And for families in poverty, this can mean malnutrition for children. Food insecurity and malnutrition are such technical weasel words, which conceal just how devastating what we're talking about is. We're talking about kids who aren't able to get enough of the right kinds of food to grow up healthy. Thousands of children die of hunger every year in South Africa. And for those that survived, the physical and mental complications can last a lifetime. That kid who passed out in class, IOL reports that she hadn't eaten because it was her sister's turn. The family couldn't afford for both of them to eat every day. And — [snorts] — educators in South Africa report that this kind of scene is an everyday occurrence. This isn't the only climate threat that kids in South Africa are facing. They're also sweltering under ever more extreme heat and falling sick as climate change spreads life-threatening diseases, from cholera to malaria. But there's masses that could be done. Drought is not exclusively driven by climate change. So, better management of water, addressing South Africa's aging water systems, is a huge factor. And it could help ensure food and water are available so that kids have what they need to grow up healthy. Protecting kids also means doing what we can to lift families out of poverty and limit the spread of preventable diseases. Sadly, though, the richest man in the world oversaw cuts in the richest country in the world to exactly these kinds of actions. And this could have deadly consequences for millions. It's hard for me to overstate just how senseless and how heartbreaking I find

this. More on what we can do in a moment, but first, let's turn our attention to Brazil. The country has also experienced extreme weather devastation. Brazil has faced drought, including, incredibly, in the Amazon rainforest. Huge swathes of the Amazon have been caught up in fires and this year has already seen southern states struggle with extreme heat. These events aren't just impacting physical safety, but also mental well-being. The stress, anxiety, and trauma of experiencing events like these, whether that's people losing the land connected to their identities or families battling debt after the floodwaters have subsided. Farmers like Massia Hiver, Dialogue Earth reports Massia sharing, "We run the risk not only of losing our production, but of losing our lives. " Often when we talk about the mental health impacts of climate change, we imagine young people. And certainly, young people are heavily impacted. In Brazil, fears center around deforestation and concerns about indigenous peoples. But adults are also suffering. One study from a couple of years ago found 88% were worried about climate change, with feelings like people have failed to take care of the planet, the future is frightening, and my family's security will be threatened. And so, improving our resilience to climate disasters isn't just a matter of protecting ourselves from what's coming or helping people physically recover after disaster strikes. It's also a question of providing emotional and mental support for those who are on the front lines of climate change. Now, in

this video, we've spoken about specific people in specific countries, but people all over the world are facing these same issues. The examples of lives upended, lives lost are exactly that, examples of widespread patterns that we're seeing. But, a new report from the Climate Opinion Research Exchange details that in certain regions, people are especially concerned about certain impacts of climate change. That's why I spoke about heat waves affecting the elderly in Japan, malnutrition's impacts on children in South Africa, the mental health toll in Brazil, and toxic air in India. When we talk about climate change, it can often be big, abstract, hard to get a handle on. We talk about ice sheets and global average temperature and shifting patterns of weather. This report helps us understand how we can and must make climate change more local, more personal, connect it with the crises that people are experiencing, and so connect it with their lives. But, while the report highlighted that we have different priorities in different places, it might not surprise you to learn we also all care about a lot of the same stuff. We all care about our kids being safe, how vulnerable our parents and our grandparents are, and how our changing climate might undermine our most basic needs, access to food and safe water, safety from disasters and diseases. As

I've made clear, there's loads we can do in every country and every context to make ourselves as safe as possible. But, as long as we keep heating the planet, the fundamental problem keeps getting worse. Extreme weather intensifies, supplies of food and water become scarcer, and I know that sounds like bad news. But, the good news is that we have the scientific understanding and the tools to move away from fossil fuels, to stop the problem getting worse. We're

already seeing progress towards that goal. I don't say this to sugarcoat things, but because it's true. And the way out of this is to recognize that progress and recognize we need to dial it up. We're seeing renewables accelerated across the world in ways we never saw possible. China's emissions have been stable or dropping for 21 months straight. Yes, emissions dropping in China. Volunteers are coming together everywhere from Japan to the US to check up on and support the most vulnerable, and communities are joining forces to rebuild after disaster, as we saw in Valencia after the devastation of flooding. But, as much as I love to look

to these wins, we need to be real. It's not enough to protect us. Global emissions are now flatlining. That's great and all, but they need to be falling and falling fast if we're to limit heating to relatively safe levels. Climate action across the world is falling short. And while some of our leaders are ramping things up, many are playing down the threat or actively attacking the solutions. If you don't get away from the green energy scam, your country is going to fail. This can feel overwhelming and anxiety-inducing. I don't say that in the abstract. It can feel overwhelming and anxiety-inducing for me. But, it's important that we know that when we take action for the climate, that doesn't just work to help us or those around us. That helps protect an old man in Japan, a construction worker in India, a schoolgirl in South Africa, and a farmer in Brazil, and millions more like them. People ask me constantly

what they can do for the climate, and there's no one-size-fits-all answer. I mean, I wish there were. It would make my life so much easier. But, I always think climate action can take three forms: pushing our leaders for structural change, reflecting on our own emissions, which is especially important if we're in relatively wealthy countries or we ourselves are relatively wealthy, and then finally, raising the volume of the conversation. Exactly what combination and what variation of those three are best depends on you and what you're capable of. And if this video has helped motivate you in any way to act, please do share that in the comments below. It reminds us, it reminds me that we're not doing this as individuals. We're a community of climates here. And go ahead and like, subscribe, and share this video so it can motivate others as well. And while we're talking about motivation to act, guilt can so often hold us back. Here's how we can maybe start to reframe that. Okay, until next time. Bye. Climbing changing climbing climate changing.