Around 3.5 million people in the Western Pacific die each year as a result of environmental causes, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) data released on Thursday.

In a virtual news conference, Takeshi Kasai, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, said extreme weather events such as droughts, heatwaves, typhoons, floods, and wildfires affected people’s health in various parts of the region.

According to the WHO data, every 14 seconds, a person dies from air pollution in the Western Pacific.

The WHO also warned that rising sea levels and increasing tropical storms reduced access to fresh water, degraded beaches and reefs, and threatened the people’s lives and livelihoods in the Pacific islands.

Increases in vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria, food and safe drinking water insecurity, land degradation, and extreme weather events would further strain these health systems and disproportionately impact the most vulnerable.

“Today, pollution and plastics are found at the bottom of our deepest oceans and the highest mountains and have made their way into our food chain,” said the WHO in a statement entitled ‘Health and the environment’.

“It is very clear, the time to act is now,’’ said the WHO official. He warned that “if we did not take action today, we are risking our health in the future.’’ 

(Xinhua/NAN)