The World Health Organization has warned of the multiple health repercussions of the 'El Niño' phenomenon, a natural climate phenomenon that leads to increased temperatures of the surface waters of the tropical Pacific Ocean, causing changes in weather patterns in different parts of the world, posing a threat to public health.
The organization explained that the health risks arising from the phenomenon include severe heatwaves that may exacerbate certain diseases, a decline in air quality due to fires, as well as worsening malnutrition and the spread of cholera due to drought and flooding, and an increase in the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria, dengue fever, and chikungunya, due to the climatic conditions that favor heavy rainfall and flooding.
Teresa Zakaria, Director of the Risk Reduction, Humanitarian Operations, and Climate Change Unit at the World Health Organization, said during a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday that "The health consequences of the El Niño phenomenon can be anticipated, and there is an opportunity to act now, before these risks turn into a crisis," calling on governments, partners, and communities to prepare and take proactive measures to save lives and maintain healthcare services.
Zakaria expected to observe health repercussions in various parts of the world, noting that the most severe would appear when "climate shocks intersect with the fragility of health systems, poor access to care, food insecurity, population displacement, and humanitarian crises"
The current 'El Niño' wave, which could become the strongest ever, has already caused extreme weather conditions in different parts of the world.
The World Meteorological Organization of the United Nations had warned in early September that the current 'El Niño' wave could be the 'strongest' since the measurement of this climatic phenomenon began four decades ago, and the organization is scheduled to release its next report on it at the end of November.
