How does climate change affect our bodies?

We hear a lot about the impact of climate change on the ice-caps, and polar bears. But what about us? How will a changing climate impact our physiology? From increases in global temperatures affecting our thermorgulation, to the harmful effects of pollution on our cardiovascular system and the effect of a more plant-based diet on our bodies, this animation explores what a changing climate means for us!

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Produced by Orinoco Communications
Animation: Hayley Evenett
Illustration: Alex Scarfe
Sound Design/Music: Alexander Bradley
Narration: Elisa Canas
Director: Peter Barker
Scientific advisors: Hannah Pallubinsky (Maastrict University, The Netherlands), Mark Miller (University of Edinburgh, UK) and Oliver Witard (King's College London, UK)
Producer at The Physiological Society: Emily Wylde

Transcript and references:
We hear a lot about the impact of climate change on the ice-caps, and polar bears. But what about us? How will a changing climate impact our physiology?

Our planet is heating up, with temperatures set to rise further in the decades to come. Humans are tropical animals, so we’ve evolved to withstand pretty warm conditions. And when things get hotter - like during a heatwave - a process called ‘acclimatisation’ kicks in after a few days. Our core body temperature drops and heat travels out to our extremities…where it’s released, ensuring that we don’t overheat (Pallubinsky et al, 2017, Temperature, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23328940.2017.... But it turns out that some of us can adapt better to the heat than others. In the late 90s a group of American scientists wanted to test whether a person’s age would affect their ability to withstand hotter daily temperatures (Minson et al, 1998, J Appl Physiol, DOI: 10.1152/jappl.1998.84.4.1323). They put young and older adults in special suits and pumped hot water inside to increase skin temperatures. They found that in the older men, blood flow to their skin was less efficient than in their younger counterparts. That suggests older people can’t lose heat as quickly in hot conditions, which could cause problems like heat stroke and even increase the risk of death from heart attacks. And it’s not just the heat we have to worry about.

Air pollutants like carbon dioxide are causing the planet to heat up, and there are many other pollutants in the air that have harmful effects on the body. The most dangerous air pollutants for our health are particles. Particles can be made of different substances and have different sizes. It’s actually the smallest, invisible, ultrafine particles commonly found in vehicle emissions - that are the most harmful. These particles are small enough to travel deep into our lungs and even into our blood stream. There, they play havoc with the cardiovascular system, changing the rhythm of the heart, thickening the blood, making arteries more stiff and even leading to cardiovascular disease (Schraufnagel et al, 2019, CHEST Journal, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2018..... So, reducing emissions will improve the health of the planet and us.

But what about other measures to tackle global warming? Our dietary demands also produce air pollution from agriculture. And the loss of trees that absorb the gases that cause global warming.