Healthy Alps, healthy people
What risks and side effects does the climate crisis have for our health? How can we best treat the symptoms? These are the questions explored in AlpsInsight no. 111, published in June 2024.
Hot summers, rockslides, diseases: the effects of the climate crisis are increasingly threatening our health. The Alpine region is particularly hard hit by global warming: the consequences range from cardiovascular problems, allergies and infectious diseases to anxiety and depression. At the same time, the Alpine region with its unique natural landscapes and varying altitudes offers enormous potential for health. There are also numerous synergies between health promotion and climate protection that need to be utilised.
When the climate makes you ill
How healthy are the Alps? Climate researcher Veruska Muccione explains the connection between ecological and hydrological changes in the Alpine region and their impact on people’s health. Environmental physician Heinz Fuchsig explains why valleys can become heat traps and how, owing to changing climatic conditions, heart disease, asthma, allergies and, in the worst cases, premature death are no longer the exception.
Mountains as therapy
Confronting climate and biodiversity crises puts a strain on our mental health, which is why environmental psychologist Anna Pribil calls for a greater sense of community. It is also important to stand up for the protection of nature and the wonderful mountain world. More and more people are seeking balance in nature, seeing forests and mountains as places of retreat and therapy for body and mind, as Marco Battain emphasises in his essay. “The vast majority of people have a desire for the future”, says Bea Albermann, doctor and co-founder of Health for Future Switzerland. In an interview with AlpsInsight, she points out ways towards effective involvement in our own environment.
From heat island to sponge city
Localising heat islands, creating “sponge cities”; eating healthy and climate-friendly food; informing people and giving them a say: the themed issue of AlpsInsight presents good examples from the Alpine region, contains “climate experiences” of those affected and a portrait of “climate senior” Pia Hollenstein. AlpsInsight no. 111 “Healthy Alps, healthy people – risks and side effects of the climate crisis” can be obtained free of charge and accessed online: www.cipra.org/szenealpen (de, fr, it, sl)