Saudi Arabia will join the rest of the world Monday in observing the World Health Day. This year's day will be under the aptly selected motto “Protection of Health from Climate Change.” Dr. Tawfeek Ahmad Khoja, Director General of the Executive Bureau of the GCC's Council of Health Ministers, said the world is experiencing some drastic climate changes. He added that these changes have definite impacts on the health of humans, as well as their environment. Khoja said that these changes are manifested in unprecedented heat waves, sometimes in unlikely places, and the oscillation of weather between extreme cold and extreme heat in other places. He added that these weather irregularities result in increases in microbial pollution, changes in the patterns of transmission of infections, and shifts in socioeconomic and demographic conditions. Khoja further said the health effects of climate change can be seen in the corresponding rise of mortality rates mainly linked to intense heat, as well as rising rates of communicable diseases resulting from air pollution. Scientists and researchers believe that climate change exposes the world more to diseases, as the increase in temperatures provides a more appropriate environment for viruses and harmful bacteria to thrive, said Khoja, adding that these results, compiled over two years, shocked scientists, because they found that climate change has disrupted natural ecological systems. Studies showed that in 2010, temperatures may increase between 4.1 and 8.5 degrees Celsius, and are likely to increase more at night than in daytime. It is also expected that temperatures may increase more in winter than in summer. If that happens, says Khoja, insects would be able to transmit diseases from equatorial areas to further away around the world. He said this makes it more necessary than ever to work for all national and international health sectors to work together to reduce the impacts of the climate change and come up with measures to stabilize global climate so that the world's inhabitants can adjust to these changes.Khoja underlined the noble gesture made by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz seen in the allocation of $300 million he ordered to finance scientific research on climate change. He added that the GCC Health Ministers Council has been giving the issue due attention, manifested in the decision to recognize the growing dangers resulting from environmental pollution and the importance of working hard to contain them. __
