Some 22 groups representing health and medical professionals in Australia have issued a joint call to act on a “public health emergency” caused by smoke from the catastrophic bushfire season in New South Wales. In Sydney and others areas of NSW communities have been exposed to air pollution up to 11 times worse than “hazardous” levels. The group has produced a joint statement calling for political leadership while repeating a call for a national strategy to combat the health impacts of climate change. Dr Kate Charlesworth, a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, which signed the statement, said: “Climate-related health effects are having the most impact on our most vulnerable: babies, children, the elderly and people with pre-existing disease. There is no safe level of air pollution.” Australian Medical Association declares climate change a health emergency Read more “To protect health, we need to shift rapidly away […]