South Africa: Climate change expected to have "huge" impact on human health
By Sheree Bega
South Africa should consider using shopping malls, schools, retirement homes and community centres as freely available cooling centres to safeguard public health during heatwaves, which are predicted to become more frequent from climate change.
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[Juanette John, environmental health scientist at CSIR] said the potential health impacts of climate change may result from direct exposure to an increase in temperatures and extreme weather events or from indirect exposure, such as changes in air quality and agricultural impacts.
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Yet simple solutions such as access to drinking water are not always available. "One of the things municipalities can do is raise the level of awareness in communities and make sure people have access to water, even if it's a central position so that people can access water.
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Urbanised areas are usually warmer than surrounding rural areas. To mitigate this, cities could plant more trees and vegetation, get green roofing or make more use of walls and pavements.
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