Health and Human Services creating new office focused on reducing illness and healthcare costs associated with changing weather

Miami, Florida – According to experts, says global warming is impacting the health of all Americans. On Monday the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it’ll create an office focused the on health implications of heatwaves, droughts, heavy rainfall, and stronger hurricanes.

Fire officials ordered more evacuations Monday around California’s Lake Tahoe.

“I’m thinking of moving actually because you can’t go outside all summer long, you can’t go on vacation anywhere,” said one resident. “You can’t let your dogs out. You can’t let your kids play outside. It’s too much and it’s bad for people with asthma-like me.”

Meanwhile, in Louisiana, many people became submerged in their cars while trying to escape Hurricane Ida.

“You had people fainting out there. And some people just haven’t seen anything like that before. So, yeah, people are just crying and people out there doing CPR. It was a chaotic scene,” said hurricane survivor Joseph Durant.

According to climate specialist Jeff Beradelli, health risks associated with changing weather are increasing.

“The atmosphere is hotter, we have more energy in the system. The heatwaves are worse,” he said.

The new HHS office will focus on reducing illness and healthcare costs associated with changing weather.

“The alarm bells are ringing and we can’t afford to ignore them any longer,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.

The office within the department is expected to be small but work in partnership with other federal departments and President Biden’s Climate Change task force. The office says it will work with its state offices to find local solutions.

HHS also wants to push hospitals and healthcare facilities to reduce their carbon footprint, which accounts for between 8 to 10% of U.S. emissions.

“Make no mistake, if we have authority to move we will do everything within our authority to make things happen,” said Becerra.

That could mean new regulations for hospitals already worn with the COVID-19 pandemic.