As I sit at my kitchen table 7 months pregnant watching the finches flutter outside in a nearby tree, I long to throw open the windows and listen to their birdsong. Unfortunately, the temperature is 90 degrees and rising.
As a primary care physician, I know that pregnant women who are exposed to excess heat are more likely to deliver babies too early, too small, or even have stillbirths. Human-caused climate change has led the last 9 years to be the hottest 9 years in recorded history. A global problem with local impacts.
San Diego's emergency rooms have been overwhelmed with patients sick with heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke, dehydration, and kidney damage. In response, healthcare providers from medical groups across San Diego are meeting this summer to discuss what we can do to prevent heat-related illnesses and develop strategies so that our hospitals won't be overwhelmed again as temperatures continue to rise due to climate change.
Nearly 25% of all birders in the United States are over the age of 55, placing them at higher risk of illness due to extreme heat while hiking and birding. Birders with illnesses such as heart disease or diabetes are at even higher risk, and many of our most common medications, such as aspirin, allergy medication and blood pressure medication raise that risk further.
It is only going to get hotter for us and our feathered friends. Fortunately, it is not too late to take action to limit the effects of climate change. Supporting the restoration of vital habitats that act as refuges for birds and simultaneously trap carbon, such as wetlands, can help mitigate climate change and extreme heat. San Diego Audubon has led the way with ReWild Mission Bay, an effort to help restore wetlands on the northeast corner of Mission Bay.
This summer, as things continue to heat up, take care of yourself as you venture outside to admire the beautiful, diverse ecosystems that San Diego has to offer and consider joining the San Diego Audubon to help restore our wetlands.
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Sources:
Hottest years and months: Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Birding population: USFWS 2016 Birding in the US Report
Medications: AFP heat exhaustion article
