Experts have warned that higher summer temperatures caused by the climate crisis will fuel an increase in cases of potentially deadly skin cancers such as melanoma.
According to reports, the UK recorded its highest ever temperature of 40.2C last month. This is as climate scientists stressed that the heatwave was not a one-off and high temperatures were likely to become more frequent.
Now, medics are also warning that the changing climate will cast a long shadow should people spend more time in the sun and have greater exposure to UV radiation.
Sarah Danson, a professor of medical oncology at the University of Sheffield, said “as a clinician treating patients with melanoma, I am definitely concerned that a sustained trend in hotter summers will lead to more cases of melanoma and more deaths from melanoma”.
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A clinician-scientist leading the melanoma research group at the University of Leeds, Julia Newton-Bishop also said, “Melanoma is caused essentially by sunburn, and this weather is so extreme that I am concerned that sunburns will increase and later so will the incidence of melanoma.”
Data from Cancer Research UK shows that skin cancer death rates among men in the UK have more than tripled since the 1970s, with increases also recorded among women.
It is thought the rise may be down to several factors including greater sun exposure due to package holidays, with Michelle Mitchell, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK, warning that getting sunburn just once every two years can triple the risk of skin cancer.
On his part, an expert in climate science at the University of Bristol, Prof Dann Mitchell, also noted that the relationship between warmer weather and health could be indirect.
“One of the clearest signals of climate change is hotter temperatures, not just in summer, but all year around,” he said. “This shift in temperatures also shifts behavioural patterns, and people in the UK tend to go outside more when the temperatures are warm. This leads to more exposure to sunlight throughout the year, and crucially more exposure to the UV part of that sunlight, which is a known risk factor for skin cancer.”
Story was adapted from The Guardian.
