However, climate-mediated disasters are only one of the myriad health hazards from fossil fuels and industrialization. Pollution and environmental degradation from the same sources that cause climate instability compound harms. Although isolated exposure to air pollution or extreme heat can be lethal, mortality due to the combination is 3 times greater than the sum of the individual effects (3). As the climate crisis worsens, such coexposures will be the norm. Health care providers must prepare to meet these converging and exponential environmental health threats.
Pollution and climate mediated pathogenesis has been linked to virtually every organ and body system, worsening cardiopulmonary disease, allergies, asthma, infectious diseases, renal disease, maternal fetal outcomes, neurologic conditions, mental health, trauma, and cancer risk.