Climate Change Is Making Chronic Illness Patients Sicker
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Chicago recorded an air quality index of 753 from Canadian wildfire smoke in July, earning an "extremely hazardous" warning; the author reports headaches, sore throat, burning eyes, and worsening arthritis pain even with windows closed and two air purifiers running
- Research on particulate matter from wildfire smoke links it to new rheumatoid arthritis cases, worsened lupus symptoms, RA-associated interstitial lung disease, and potentially multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, and asthma
- Floods generate mold spores that can worsen long Covid and myalgic encephalomyelitis, while flood remediation exposes residents to lead paint (linked to kidney and cardiovascular damage) and asbestos (linked to lung disease and cancer)
- Extreme heat in Europe killed an estimated 10,000 people this June, with chronic conditions including heart disease, diabetes, and thyroid disease — plus medications like beta blockers and some antidepressants — raising heat illness risk
- Warming temperatures are expanding tick and mosquito ranges, spreading West Nile virus, Lyme disease, dengue, chikungunya, and alpha-gal syndrome into new regions where detection often comes too late to prevent lasting symptoms
- The cyclosporiasis outbreak may be climate-linked: the parasite matures faster in warmer temperatures, and higher humidity enables salmonella survival on lettuce, suggesting rising pathogen prevalence through combined heat-and-moisture effects
- Author Lorraine Boissoneault argues the U.S. should invest in rather than defund the CDC, FDA, and NOAA, and pursue universal healthcare and infrastructure upgrades to build resilience against extreme weather
Why it matters: Roughly 60% of U.S. adults live with at least one chronic condition, and for them climate-driven exposures — wildfire smoke, heat waves, flood mold, vector expansion — are already triggering acute symptom flares and new diagnoses. The author's call to fund rather than cut the CDC, FDA, and NOAA points to a surveillance gap: without these agencies tracking weather patterns and pathogen spread, the next outbreak reaches clinicians after patients already do.
Ask SkimNews
