氣候變化或導致更多傷亡
Climate change could lead to more injuries and deaths
氣候變化或導致更多傷亡
Injuries like drownings, and assaults could kill up to an additional 2,135 people each year in the US as climate change continues to cause unusual temperature swings. The findings by researchers from Imperial College London, Columbia, and Harvard were published today in the journal Nature Medicine. The connection between swings in temperature — unusual spells of heat or cold — and injuries still can't be explained, but researchers say that their estimates could help spur efforts to prevent those deaths.
氣候變化導致溫度波動異常，而溺水和襲擊造成的傷害案件或導致美國每年新增2135人死亡。倫敦帝國理工學院，哥倫比亞大學和哈佛大學的研究人員於今日將研究結果發表在《自然醫學》雜誌上。溫度的波動（異常的高溫或低溫）與受傷之間的聯繫尚無法解釋，但研究人員表示，他們的預測或有助於刺激大家爲預防此類傷亡而做出努力。
Looking at injuries associated with climate change has been a blind spot in research, authors of the study published today say. Previous studies have looked into how climate change could drive more deaths from things like heat illness or diseases spread by mosquitoes. Between 2030 and 2050, about 250,000 people could die each year because of malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat stress made worse by climate change, according to the World Health Organization.
研究作者表示，關於與氣候變化相關的受傷事故調查一直都是研究盲點。先前的研究調查了氣候變化導致因諸如熱病或由蚊子傳播的疾病而去世的人數增多的原因。世界衛生組織表示，2030至2050年間，每年將約有25萬人死於因氣候變化加劇導致的營養不良、瘧疾、腹瀉和中暑。
But 5 million people die from injuries across the globe each year, making up nearly one in ten of all deaths. Many of those injuries can be prevented, which is why the authors say they ought to be considered as part of efforts to better prepare for a future with potentially catastrophic climate change.
但全球每年有500萬人因受傷離世，約佔總死亡率的十分之一。此類受傷事故中，很多都是可預防的，因此研究作者認爲應採取相應措施，以更好的應對未來可能發生的災難性氣候變化。
Some of the injuries they looked at are unintentional, including deaths from drownings, falls, and car accidents. The study also looked at intentionally inflicted injuries from assaults and suicide, which could point to how important it is to address mental health as people adapt to a changing planet. Another study found that suicide rates in the US and Mexico rose along with higher average monthly temperatures.
一部分的受傷事件都是無意行爲，包括溺水、摔倒和交通事故造成的死亡。研究也關注了襲擊和自殺造成的故意傷害，間接表明在面對氣候變化時，解決心理健康十分重要。另一項研究發現：美國和墨西哥的自殺率隨着每月平均氣溫的升高而上升。
"[The study] highlights how important mental health is as a hidden burden of not just climate change, but environmental exposures in general," Robbie Parks, a lead author of the study and postdoctoral research fellow at Columbia, tells The Verge. He believes there should be more research on mental health and rising temperatures. "Our results show that there may well be something there, particularly in younger people," Parks says.
該研究的主要作者、哥倫比亞大學的博士後研究員羅比·帕克斯（Robbie Parks）對The Verge雜誌說道：“（這項研究）凸顯了心理健康作爲氣候變化和環境暴露的隱性負擔的重要性。”他認爲應該就精神健康和氣溫上升的關係開展更多研究。帕克斯說道：“我們的結果表明兩者之間存在一定聯繫，尤其是對於年輕人而言。”
