The guard of the eye stands unable to do the job it used to do for thousands of years, in front of the flood of climate changes that destroys human sensors a day after another. Extreme heat, extreme cold, storms, floods and hurricanes; all of them are phenomena that affect one's health condition, but a growing list of warnings has recently appeared about the dangers surrounding the sense of sight.
A study conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in collaboration with Sightsavers, an NGO dedicated to combating blindness, revealed a relationship between high temperatures, low rainfall, and active trachoma infection, which is one of the main causes of vision loss.
The “PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases” journal published a study that monitored how the bacterial disease is transmitted on the African continent. It revealed that the flies that transmit the infection are active when the temperature rises and rainfall decreases.
Trachoma infection causes 1.9 million people in the world to suffer from various degrees of visual impairment, including irreversible vision loss, while Africa tops the list of continents affected by the disease. 111 million people live in areas at risk, and those numbers were revealed by the World Health Organization.
Those affected suffer from eye pain, swollen eyelids, and discharge containing pus, in addition to sensitivity to light. The loss of biodiversity also affects the future of eye health.
Trachoma infection causes 1.9 million people worldwide to suffer from various degrees of visual impairment, including blindness.
“Dr. Malik Kahok”, Professor of Ophthalmology and Head of the Glaucoma Department at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, says that the organisms that transmit diseases are affected by a decrease in number of host organisms (or family), and thus the possibility of them biting humans increases, and the spread of the disease increases.
According to “Kahok”, changes in the ecosystem can affect the sources of access to water and food for these vectors, in addition to affecting the areas in which they live and breed. This ultimately leads to changing its behavior and increasing its risk.
Trachoma is not the only danger linked to climate change that threatens human eyes, as several studies have monitored the association of hot weather with the spread of cataracts, or what is known as white water, according to Link Springer, a website specialized in publishing scientific papers.
How is it related to the Ozone layer?
Depletion of the ozone layer, linked to greenhouse gas emissions which in turn contributes to the development of a number of eye-related diseases, including cataracts. But, concerns are also related to the faster deterioration of the affected condition due to exposure to more harmful UV rays that are blocked by the layer.
In 2003, In 2003, the World Health Organization estimated that 20% of cataract cases were a direct result of exposure to harmful UV rays. These rays are expected to cause an additional 200,000 cases of the disease beyond the estimated number associated with aging by 2050, according to the ophthalmology breaking news website.
Eyes did not escape the harsh winter that struck different regions around the world. “Dr. Paula Olivera” says, in an interview with the British Express website, that low temperatures lead to shrinkage of blood vessels, and then the amount of blood that reaches the eye decreases leading to a feeling of blurred or double vision, but these symptoms are often temporary.
But the biggest damage is the long-term impact of cold weather. A Chinese study published by the US National Library of Medicine revealed that eye pressure increases during the winter, thus increasing the risk of developing glaucoma.
Eyes food
Among other things besieging the human eyes, climate changes appear to threaten the future of food in the world. It is related to the extent of the ability to maintain eye health, due to deprivation of the necessary nutrients.
In a study published by the US National Library of Medicine in 2021, researchers revealed the results of several studies that found that malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency are one of the causes of dry eye disease, which also leads to vision loss in children under the age of 5 years.
Dry conjunctiva also increases the possibility of developing cataracts or glaucoma in adults, in addition to macular degeneration disorder, which leads to decreased and impaired vision.
According to the UN Food Program, malnutrition rates will rise by 20% by 2050 if the world fails to mitigate the impact of climate change.
Newborns and children remain the most affected group in terms of eye health. “Dr. Saif Al-Din Al-Riyalat”, a researcher in ophthalmology at the University of Jordan, warns that children who spend more time during their early stages of development in areas affected by climate change are the groups most affected.
The Jordanian researcher believes that the harms of high temperatures outweigh the effects of low temperatures due to the number of diseases that hot weather may exacerbate, while it may take an extreme drop in temperature for the effects of cold weather to appear on the eye.
Farmers and builders are more vulnerable to damage from the effects of extreme weather on eyes safety
Workers in certain professions, such as farmers and builders, may be exposed to greater risks. “Dr. Malik Kahok” points out the need for employers to educate employees about the effects of extreme weather, provide the necessary protective tools, such as protective glasses, and provide time for frequent breaks.
Natural disasters
Exposure to natural disasters resulting from climate change increases the likelihood of eye injuries, prevents people with various diseases from accessing necessary health care, or discourages them from seeking treatment during periods of extreme weather.
One study conducted in the Chinese city of Hefei revealed that the number of visits to hospitals by people with cataracts decreased when temperatures were extremely high, by 4% for every degree Celsius, according to Springer Link.
The rate of temperature rise in the Middle East exceeds the rest of the world by a margin of nearly double. This raises questions about what should be done to avoid the expected health effects.
“Kahok” identifies a set of measures that must be taken to mitigate the risks, such as enhancing access to health care, which includes regular eye examinations in order to identify problems at an early stage, thus reducing the risk of vision loss, and trying to reduce the spread of diseases by paying attention to environmental and personal hygiene.
Protecting the eyes from the sun and the dangers of UV rays is no less important than all means of reducing eye exposure by wearing sunglasses, providing shade areas, and encouraging their use during heat waves.
Warnings are increasing to developing countries that the exacerbation of eye diseases due to climate change will represent a heavy burden on those countries due to limited access to medical care, in addition to the financial cost that individuals and health systems will incur in confronting these diseases.
