News & Media News Dr Kimberly Humphrey: How Climate Change Is Directly Impacting Australia’s Health

Dr Kimberly Humphrey: How Climate Change Is Directly Impacting Australia’s Health

Dr Kimberly Humphrey: How Climate Change Is Directly Impacting Australia’s Health

Ahead of this week’s federal election, Radio programme Radiotherapy on 3RRR interviewed Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) Deputy Chair Dr Kimberly Humphrey to talk about the impact that climate change is already having on Australia’s health.

The emergency physician describes global warming as the greatest health challenge we face and explains how it is impacting us in ways you might not anticipate.

Humphrey outlines how climate change is changing our health outcomes on every level and discuses, in particular, the increase of eco-anxiety or eco-grief in young people who are presenting in significant numbers to both GPs and at emergency wards. She also outlines what action that DEA would like to see from politicians and encourages listeners to vote with the environment in mind come Saturday.

“A lot of the impacts are quite hidden – the fact that, for example, during a heatwave mental health presentations go up quite significantly, and suicides go up,” she tells the team.

“We know elderly people will have higher health impacts. And it’s not always the obvious stuff. It can be links between dehydration and medication [during heatwaves] … there is a lot we are not seeing that is caused by climate change. If you pick any kind of health problem – climate change can worsen that.” ~ Dr Kimberly Humphrey.

Listen to the full interview below.

DEA’s doctors in Adelaide recently handed over signed postcards demanding the federal government take action on climate and health

Dr Kate Wylie (GP and founder of Climate Medicine), Dr Graeme McLeay (retired Anaesthetist), Dr Pam White (GP), Dr Kate Katambi (GP) and Dr Trevor Collinson (Surgeon) explain DEA’s five policy asks for the federal election and why doctors in Adelaide want climate action now.

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