   | 
• Climate in the Gulf
• The Report
• For Teachers
• Overview
• Slow the Change
• Speed our Response
• Overview
• Water Resources
• Sea-Level Change
• Human Perspectives
| | Louisiana
Human Health
Health concerns related to climate change result from a complex set of interacting human and environmental factors. These concerns are particularly serious for the elderly and other vulnerable populations (the very young, the poor, and those whose health is already compromised). Air and water quality, seafood safety, and storm-related risks are of great concern for all residents and visitors of Louisiana. Specific health concerns related to climate change include:
- More heat-related illnesses and deaths. The July heat index is projected to increase most in the southern United States. Metropolitan areas such as Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Shreveport are particularly vulnerable to more heat waves.
 Decreased air quality. Higher temperatures also lead to increased production of ground-level ozone and smog. When combined with higher concentrations of air pollutants and higher pollen counts, this could seriously compromise air quality. Cities, such as Baton Rouge, already in non-compliance with federal air quality standards, are likely to face even greater problems in the future.
- Increased risk of illness from contaminated shellfish. Along Louisiana's coast, viral and bacterial contamination of shellfish has repeatedly caused illness, such as neurotoxic poisoning, and closed important fisheries. Climate change is likely to produce conditions that would increase incidences of shellfish contamination. For example, prevalence of the protozoan Perkinsus marinus, the most important pathogen threatening the Gulf's significant oyster industry, has been related to salinity and temperature, with low temperatures and low salinities usually limiting infection and higher temperatures and higher salinities typically increasing it.
Photo Credits:
Brown Pelican - South Florida Water Management District.
Baton Rouge - US Army Corps of Engineers photo, M. Maples. | |
• Overview
• Alabama
• Florida
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• Texas
• Overview
• Apalachicola Bay
• Big Thicket
• Everglades
• Laguna Madre
• Mississippi Delta
|
|
|
|
| | | | |
© Union of Concerned Scientists
Page Last Revised: 06/24/08 |
|
|
