How will global warming affect the world's population?

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How will global warming affect the world's population?
How will global warming affect the world's population?
Anonim

Global warming is one of the most discussed natural phenomena in the scientific community. Since 1850, every decade the average air temperature on our planet has been increasing. This leads to the melting of glaciers, which causes the ocean level to rise. Many species of plants and animals cannot get used to the new environment and are dying out. There are more deserts on the surface of the planet, and in general the Earth is becoming not such a pleasant place to live. The consequences of global warming are many, and with each scientific study, they are increasing. Scientists recently looked at the results of 70 scientific papers and found that summer heat can significantly affect fertility. If the development of global warming is not stopped, the population of the Earth can significantly decrease.

Impact of global warming on childbirth

The results of the meta-analysis were published in the scientific journal BMJ. The term meta-analysis is usually understood as the combination of the results of several scientific works in order to search for coincidences and put forward new hypotheses. In the hands of scientists were the results of 15 thousand scientific papers, of which they selected 70. These studies were conducted in 27 countries and dealt with the impact of air temperature on the incidence of preterm birth, stillbirth and birth with low weight. It was believed that if global warming increases the frequency of these phenomena, then in the future the population of planet Earth may decrease due to the small number of newborns.

Premature birth

First, the researchers looked at how the rise in average air temperature affects the rate of preterm birth. We are talking about childbirth that occurred before the full 37 weeks of pregnancy. If a baby is born earlier, it may not develop enough important organs, which can adversely affect its health and life. According to the World Health Organization, about 15 million children are born prematurely every year, that is, one in ten children in the world. At the same time, they have complications that can cause death up to 5 years.

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Premature birth can badly affect the health of babies

Scientists found evidence of the negative impact of global warming on preterm birth rates in 40 studies. With an increase in air temperature by 1 degree Celsius, the likelihood of a premature birth of a child increases by 5%. And if the baby is born in the summer with "abnormal heat", the likelihood of premature birth increases by as much as 16%. It turns out that in the future, many children will be born prematurely, that is, more people will suffer from health problems.

Stillbirth

Another negative consequence of global warming may be an increase in the number of stillbirths. According to the World Health Organization, in 2009 there were 2.6 million stillbirths. Eight studies have shown that a 1 ° C increase in temperature increases the risk of stillbirth by 5%. It is especially dangerous to give birth to women in the last month of pregnancy. An increase in the number of stillbirths could reduce the world's population.

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According to data for 2018, about 7.5 billion people live on Earth

Low weight babies

Global warming can also affect infant weight. The normal weight of a child at birth is considered to be from 2.5 to 4.5 kilograms. A small birth weight is not a death sentence and with proper care it will grow up healthy. However, scientists have analyzed and found that air temperature can increase the risk of underweight in infants. But the impact turned out to be small and it is not even clear whether it should be taken seriously.

Future population of the Earth

Ultimately, we can say that global warming can indeed reduce the population of our planet. But this is due not only to how healthy children will be born. On our channel in Yandex. Zen there is material about which food products can disappear due to the heat on Earth. Consequently, the population of our planet can also decline due to hunger. In addition, scientists did not take into account the effects of air pollution - it can affect the health of both infants and adults.

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