How Climate Change Affects Our Daily Lives?
by Rafif Prayitno
Climate change is not a problem in the future; it is still in the future, yet it affects our daily lives, particularly in the city of Surabaya. Due to climate change becoming ever more acutely felt worldwide, the city is periodically experiencing more severe heat waves that impact the climate and the population's health. Sleep disturbances are already a familiar phenomenon during acute heat, and they deteriorate health.
Altena et al. (2022) also highlighted, "Several approaches to managing sleep disturbances in the context of heatwaves are proposed here, which are based on CBTI but provide selected information for groups at special risk. This is because it is reasoned that some of the other general health impacts of heatwaves may be mitigated by new methods of coping with sleep disruptions during heatwaves."
The city of Surabaya is one of the large cities in Indonesia that has registered a sharp increase in average temperature in recent years.
A scientific study conducted in 2023 on Climate Change confirmed that Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, faces increased and longer heat waves mainly caused by global warming. These prolonged periods of heat impact physiologic function and every aspect of people's lives.
Heatwaves have, therefore, become a public health menace for many people in Surabaya. The primary effects of high temperatures involve heat stress diseases like heat exhaustion and heat stroke, which affect people with sensitive organs, such as the elderly, children, and the sick.
These are key findings because hospitals have discovered that during these heat waves, the hospital admissions of people who require treatment for dehydration and associated effects have been on the rise.
Hence, in an interview with a public health expert, Dr. Lestari from Surabaya, she said that, during heatwaves, more people suffer from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Due to heat, air quality reduces, and situations become worse, making heat illness conditions more severe.
Besides health impacts, heat waves interfere with what people do and how they go about their business. People must give up some of their daily activities to avoid getting midday sun, which is usually the worst thing regarding the weather.