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Health Experts: Drought Poses Health Risks

  •  Pauline Bartolone 
Monday, January 27, 2014 | Sacramento, CA
  

Dry conditions are linked to more frequent and severe dust storms and wildfires.

Dr. Linda Rudolph from the non-profit Public Health Institute says the associated particulate matter is bad news for people with lung problems and heart disease.

"There might be an increased risk of pneumonia for people who are exposed to a lot of dust. In fact in the dust bowl in the 30’s, there were hundreds to thousands of deaths from what people called ‘dust pneumonia.'"

~Dr. Linda Rudolph, Public Health Institute

Rudolph says drought can dry up well water and increase water contamination in areas already struggling to get access to clean water.

She also says drought affects agricultural production, which rolls into problems with food prices and unemployment.

And those circumstances add more obstacles to staying healthy.

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    Experts say the current drought is hotter and drier than previous ones, meaning water is evaporating faster.


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    More about drought

  • State Of Drought

    Reservoir levels are at historic lows, municipalities are ordering mandatory conservation and farmers are bracing for water shortages. CapRadio is following how Californians are being impacted by the drought.

    Related Stories

  • State Of Drought

    Reservoir levels are at historic lows, municipalities are ordering mandatory conservation and farmers are bracing for water shortages. CapRadio has coverage on how Californians are being impacted by the drought.

 droughtenvironmenthealthcarehealthcarehealthcarewater

Pauline Bartolone

Former Editor-at-Large

Pauline’s been a journalist for two decades, covering health care, education and the many disparities that exist in California.  Read Full Bio 

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