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Warmer climate will mean thousands more deaths from skin cancer
Last updated at 23:07pm on 04.05.07
A temperature rise of just 2C could lead to skin cancer rates going up by more than 20 per cent
Deaths from skin cancer and heatstroke could soar and Britain could be blighted by malaria, salmonella and a host of other heat-loving diseases as global warming takes its toll, officials have warned.
Government experts have warned that climate could have huge implications for health, with a temperature rise of just 2C leading to skin cancer rates going up by more than 20 per cent.
The disease already affects more than 70,000 Britons a year and claims 2,000 lives.
Long, hot summers will bring also bring with them the risk of heatstroke, malaria and food poisoning, the Department of Health and Health Protection Agency have warned.
A severe heatwave - where temperatures hit 27C for at least nine days - could quickly kill 3,000 Britons.
While there is a one in 40 chance of such extreme temperatures in the south east of England by 2012, such heatwaves will become more frequent, and more severe, in the second half of the century.
Malaria could gain a foothold in the UK, with rising temperatures allowing malaria-carrying mosquitoes to thrive in the UK.
Once here, the shallow pools in riverbeds dried out by the sun could provide ideal breeding conditions.
The 111-page report, Health Effects of Climate Change in the UK, also warns: "There will also be greater exposure to mosquitoes as people stay outdoors in warmer summer evenings, or sleep with the windows open."
It notes, however, that malaria outbreaks are likely to be rare - and kept in check by modern medicine.
A switch towards outdoor living would also increase of infections spread by ticks, such as Lyme disease, which, in rare cases, can cause serious heart problems.
Research has shown that other bugs more usually associated with the tropics are spreading to Europe.
Among the most dangerous is the warm-water dwelling Vibrio vulnificus.
Picked up in open wounds while swimming or from eating shellfish, the flesh-eating bacteria is fatal in 50 per cent of cases.
Usually confined to the warmer coastal areas of the US, there have been several recent cases in Europe and at least one death.
Creepy crawlies were are already familiar with may also pose more of a problem as temperatures rise, with midges and fleas both thriving in warm weather.
Allergic reactions from bee and wasp stings and from caterpillar hairs may also get worse.
The report also warns of the "buffet factor", in which flies thriving on rising temperatures will increasingly spread food poisoning bugs.
At the moment, an estimated one in five Britons is struck down with sickness and diarrhoea each year after eating contaminated meat, fish, eggs, milk and other dairy products.
However, some microbiologists fear cases of food poisoning could soar to ten times their current level.
Among the bugs likely to benefit from a warmer climate are salmonella and campylobacter, which are often caught from eating undercooked chicken.
Water polluted during storms could also spread disease rising levels of air pollution will exacerbate asthma and other respiratory diseases.
Global warming is expected to lead to a 3C rise in Britain's temperatures by the end of the century and cause extremes in weather from hotter and more frequent heatwaves to more severe storms and floods.
Britain is already feeling the effects of climate change, with last summer the hottest on record.
This year is already shaping-up to be another record-breaker, with last month the hottest April for at least 150 years.
Health Minister Caroline Flint said it was important that hospitals and nursing homes adapted to ensure they were resilient to the effects of heat, gales and floods.
Professor Robert Maynard, of the Health Protection Agency, said: "The present scientific consensus is that climate is changing and that human activity is contributing significantly to this.
"We have to prepare for the consequences and consider the possible health impacts.
"Some aspects are positive, for example, there are likely to be fewer deaths due to cold weather, but others are potentially negative, including increases in food poisoning and dangers from both floods and droughts."
