NBC’s Dr. Vin Gupta: ‘Climate Change Is the Biggest Threat Multiplier on Human Health in Our Times’

EXCERPT:

GUPTA: "Well, Katty, good morning. I’m glad you’re bringing this up and platforming this. This is the issue of our time. Climate change is the biggest threat multiplier on human health in our times, and what we’re knowing now is this last five years have been enormous in terms of the data that we have accrued on the ways in which the heat is impacting us beyond just heatstroke. We know it’s having impacts on increasing aging, impacting our cognition, increasing, frankly, irritability and crime. We're characterizing this. I think it’s allowing us to tell a better story here that’s going to be able to reach more people. That’s why they had a health day, the first of its kind on December 3rd during the last COP28. We’re now talking about climate through the lens of health to allow us to reach more people. We’re talking about indoor air quality in a way, of course, prompted by the pandemic, but now everybody is thinking about, 'Well, gosh, do I have air filters?' Not just because there might be another respiratory pandemic down the road, but because we have indoor air quality issues across the country and not just on the West Coast. So now we’re having these conversations, we’re talking about this in a more meaningful way. I'm hoping that is going to help with the change aspect that you talked about."