Impacts of Climate C...

Climate change remains the “biggest threat to global health in the twenty-first century,” and its impact is already manifesting in various ways. The review focuses on identifying and analyzing climate change's impact on the healthcare industry. One of the significant outcomes of climate change is the increase in average temperature across the globe, and the review identifies heat waves as the resulting impact. Heat waves can cause dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, coma, and death. Furthermore, heat waves can affect the productivity of health workers through effects such as chronic dehydration. Weather-related events such as hurricanes and floods as negatively impacting accessibility to healthcare during such events and the supply chain of their facilities. These events are not limited to the inaccessibility of healthcare facilities; they could destroy the infrastructure, eventually affecting productivity. Climate change events can aggravate mental-related conditions through direct and indirect exposure. It was observed that the impacts of climate change on healthcare have been established among scholars; however, there is a need for more empirical findings to align the effect on patients and the means to prevent the impact.