Marine heat waves are becoming more frequent, longer lasting, and more intense as the climate warms. And new research suggests their impacts extend far beyond dying coral reefs and declining fish populations.
According to researchers from the University of Adelaide in Australia and the University of Hong Kong, marine heat waves are increasingly becoming a human health issue. In a new paper recently published in Nature Sustainability, the research team calls for marine heat waves to be recognized as a major public health issue, arguing that their impacts on people have been largely overlooked.
The paper outlines how prolonged periods of unusually high ocean temperatures can trigger a cascade of effects that ultimately affect human health. Extreme ocean temperatures can intensify storms and atmospheric heatwaves, increasing the risks of injury, flooding, and displacement. They can also contribute to harmful algal blooms that contaminate seafood and cause respiratory problems.
Declining fish stocks and disruptions to fisheries can threaten food security and the livelihoods of coastal communities. For billions of people around the world, seafood is an important source of food and income.
And the impacts aren't only physical. The loss of marine ecosystems can cause grief, anxiety, and depression, particularly among people whose livelihoods, culture, and identity are closely connected to the ocean.
The researchers say marine heat waves should be treated much like land-based heat waves with forecasts incorporated into public health planning and coastal management.
As our oceans continue to warm, the researchers say that protecting ocean health will increasingly mean protecting human health as well.
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References:
Marine heatwaves pose hidden threat to human health
