Global warming means more, and hotter, heat waves which means more heat strokes and heat-related illness. The very young and very old are more likely to suffer the effects. Heat waves during the last decade killed more Americans than natural disasters combined including floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and tsunamis. The death toll will increase with more severe heat waves. Malnutrition, floods, malaria and diarrhea all affect new areas due to climate change.

Air pollution becomes worse as heat increases leading to more ozone smog and pollutants. The number of people with respiratory problems and cardiovascular disease will increase. Asthma cases among children and older people will increase. Ground-level ozone represents a serious threat in cities across the US. Because of the shift in climate, diseases that threatened tropical areas now threaten places never before confronted with menaces like mosquitoes carrying malaria.

Crop production is affected by global warming. Droughts in new areas, coupled with too much rain and floods in others, can kill crops while also increasing the number of pests that attack crops. Food prices rising as a result of climate change create more competition for resources promoting regional instability and instability within nations. Water will be highly sought after. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as many as 250 million additional people in Africa will have no drinking water due to climate change and drought.

More fires and more severe fires are yet another effect of global warming. Rising sea levels wipe away land and make coastlines more likely to be flooded and hit by storm surges. Millions are displaced each year by increased transmission of deadly diseases also accompanying the tragedies. Hundreds of thousands of deaths occur annually due to the effects of global warming and climate change, according to the World Health Organization.