Five Environmental Factors that Affect Health

Five environmental factors that affect health are air pollution, water pollution, deforestation, global warming, and climate change. “Environment” describes the conditions that support life. It includes all elements natural, and manmade, that contribute to the physical, chemical, biological, and social aspects that affect people’s lives individually, in groups, and in ecosystems. In this article, we will learn about the type of environment, diseases related to environmental change, and different environmental factors that affect human health.

Types of Environment

The two primary components of the environment are usually classified as follows:

• Natural Environment: This consists of environmental components including soil, water, air, and vegetation. Life itself derives from the natural environment, which also supports biodiversity through ecological processes.
• Abiotic Environment: This describes environments that are created by humans, often known as anthropogenic environments, and include structures, cities, infrastructure, and industrial endeavours. Human activity shapes the built environment, which in turn may greatly influence the environment.

What are Environmental Factors?

The environment, including the air, water, and all living things, has the power to alter the way that humans, animals, and plants exist. These elements are referred to as “environmental factors.” These elements may originate from the natural world or from humans (such as pollution). To have a better understanding of them, we may divide them into many groups.

Physical Factors

• Climate: Temperature, humidity, wind.
• Topography: Mountains, Valleys, Plains.
• Geology: The minerals available in soil and its composition are influenced by the structure and composition of the Earth’s crust.

Chemical Factors

• Water Quality: It includes, pH, BOD, pollutants.
• Soil Composition: It includes, nutrients, organic compounds and pollutants.

Biological Factors

• Flora and Fauna: The diversity, quantity, and interactions of the local plant and animal species all contribute to the overall balance of the ecosystem.
• Biodiversity: It consists of different species in an ecosystem.

Anthropological Factors

• Man-Made: It includes, urbanization, industries and agricultural practices.
• Pollution: It includes, air, soil, water, noise and radioactive pollution.

Social Factors

• Human Behaviour: The way people interact with their surroundings is influenced by cultural customs, lifestyle decisions, and social standards.
• Population: The number of humans in a specific region, impacting resource utilization and environmental effect.

Five Environmental Factors that Affect Health

Environmental factors comprise a wide range of elements and conditions found in the surrounding environment that can impact human activities, ecosystems, and living organisms.

Air Pollution

The air we breathe is one significant environmental factor that has an impact on human health. It’s crucial for our lungs in particular. Understanding the health risks associated with breathing in polluted air, researching programmes that purify the air, and knowing how air pollution affects our lungs are all necessary to maintain everyone’s health.

• Effect of Air Pollution on Human beings
  • Inflammation: Numerous air pollutants can irritate and inflame the respiratory system, including nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), ozone (O³), and particulate matter (PM).
  • Decrease Respiratory Function: A gradual deterioration in lung function has been associated with extended exposure to certain pollutants, particularly fine particulate matter (PM2.5).
  • Aggravation of Lung Diseases: Air pollution can have a more negative impact on people who already have respiratory diseases such asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
  • Heart Issues: In addition to respiratory problems, air pollution has been linked to cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks and strokes.
• Diseases Caused by Air Pollution
  • Asthma
  • Bronchitis
  • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases
  • Allergies

Climate Change

Due to human activity and changes in the environment, climate change is a serious issue that can lead to illness. In order to address the health effects of climate change, we must examine factors such as extreme weather, explain how it impacts human health, and devise strategies for adaptation, mitigation, and resilience-building.

• Effect of Climate Change on Human beings
  • Health problems related to climate change: Increased temperatures can increase heat-related ailments including heat exhaustion and heatstroke, particularly among susceptible groups.
  • Vector borne diseases: Changes in climatic patterns impact the spread of disease carrying vectors, such as mosquitoes and ticks, increasing the global range of illnesses including malaria, dengue fever, and Lyme disease.
  • Food and Water Security: The amount of food we can grow might vary depending on the weather, such as how hot or how humid it is. Food insecurity, or the lack of enough food, can result from this, as can hunger. Our health is not improved by this.
  • Degradation of Air Quality: The frequency and intensity of wildfires are increasing due to climate change, worsening already bad air quality and increasing preexisting diseases including respiratory issues.

Water Pollution

Water that is safe and clean is essential to life. It’s not merely something we require rather, it’s essential to our survival. For people’s health and the safety of their communities, the quality of this water is crucial. We must ensure that the water we drink is safe for our health. This entails investigating the health effects of water, understanding the ailments caused by contaminated water, and devising strategies to guarantee that clean water is available to all people worldwide.

• Effect of Water Pollution on Human Health
  • Waterborne Diseases: Waterborne illnesses such as cholera, dysentery, and typhoid fever can be brought on by bacteria, viruses, or parasites found in polluted water sources.
  • Childhood morality: Children in underdeveloped countries are disproportionately affected by waterborne illnesses, which greatly raise the risk of childhood mortality.
  • Gastrointestinal and Respiratory issues: Waterborne pathogens can cause respiratory infections and gastrointestinal problems including diarrhoea when contaminated water is consumed.

Global Warming

An abundance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere causes the Earth to warm, which has a negative impact on human health, the environment, and wildlife. These problems have an impact on our emotional and physical health. Let’s discuss some of the major ways that global warming may impact human health.

• Effect of Global Warming on Human Health
  • Heat Stroke: Heat-related problems like heatstroke and heat exhaustion are more likely to occur when temperatures rise because heatwaves occur more frequently and with greater intensity.
  • Vector Borne Diseases: When the weather changes, it affects bugs like ticks and mosquitoes that can make us sick. Diseases like Zika, malaria, dengue fever, and Lyme disease might end up in new places because of these changes.
  • Respiratory Issues: The air may become less healthy for humans as the Earth warms. As a result, airborne particles and ground-level ozone are increased. Inhaling this type of air can increase the frequency of respiratory illnesses and asthma episodes.
  • Water Borne Diseases: Water quality and the frequency of waterborne illnesses are impacted by variations in temperature and precipitation patterns. Diseases include cholera, dysentery, and other gastrointestinal ailments can spread as a result of contaminated water supplies.
  • Infectious Diseases: Infectious illness geographic distribution can be affected by alterations in climate. Global health trends may be impacted by the warming of some places, which might lead to more favourable conditions for disease transmission.

Deforestation

Deforestation is the term used to describe the widespread removal of trees that harms both the environment and humans. It upsets the natural equilibrium and has several negative effects on human health. Deforestation harms not just the environment and biodiversity (the variety of living things), but also many facets of human health.

• Effect of Deforestation on Human Health
  • Respiratory Issues: Forests are essential for the photosynthesis that produces oxygen. Reduced atmospheric oxygen levels due to deforestation may have an impact on respiratory health.
  • Loss of Carbon Sink: Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is absorbed from the atmosphere by forests, which function as carbon sinks. Deforestation contributes to global warming by releasing carbon that has been stored. In turn, heatwaves, harsh weather, and the growth of vector-borne illnesses are some of the ways that climate change affects health.
  • Water Borne Disease: Trees preserve water purity and stop soil erosion. Waterborne illness transmission can be aided by deforestation as it can cause increased soil erosion, sedimentation of bodies of water, and pollution of water supplies.

Other Factors Affecting Health

Some other factors that affect health are:

• Chemical Hazard: Modern civilization exposes us to numerous chemicals and poisons in our products, water, and air. To protect environmental health, it’s crucial to understand exposure sources, health risks, and regulatory measures.
• Solid Waste: The health of people can be seriously harmed by solid waste, which comprises many kinds of commercial, industrial, and domestic garbage. Improper disposal, insufficient waste management procedures, and the buildup of solid waste lead to a range of health concerns. Among the main effects of solid waste on health includes, respiratory, waterborne and vector borne diseases.

Conclusion – Five Environmental Factors that Affect Health

People’s living conditions have a significant impact on their health, both individually and collectively. All five of these factors, air quality, water quality, chemicals and other potentially dangerous substances we may be exposed to, weather patterns, and built environment have an impact on people’s health. Each of these factors adds up to have an impact on our health in a different way, from breathing problems brought on by contaminated air to being sick from contaminated water to the effects of climate change on health.

FAQS- Five Environmental Factors that Affect Health

What are environmental factors that impact health?

Multiple factors, including air pollution, inadequate water, severe weather events, and harmful chemical exposure, contribute to environmental challenges affecting human health.

What are the effect of environment on health?

Environmental pollutants pose health risks, causing respiratory diseases, heart conditions, and cancer.

What are the 5 major environmental problems explain?

These encompass pollution, overpopulation, waste disposal, climate change, global warming, the greenhouse effect, and more.

What are the three types of environmental health?

As of 2016, according to the World Health Organization’s”Environmental health involves all the external factors like physical, chemical, and biological elements.

What are the four types of environmental health hazards?

Hazards come in four types: chemical, physical, biological, and psychological.

What are the 5 environmental determinants of health?

Clean air, stable climate, adequate water, sanitation and hygiene, safe use of chemicals are the 5 environmental determinants of health.

Why is the environmental health important?

Environmental health is important because it ensures everyone has a safe place to live, learn, work and play.