Currently, human population growth is exhibiting an unexpected trend—it's faltering. It's conceivable that the global population may reach its zenith much sooner than anticipated, potentially surpassing 9 billion 4 billion of that number in Sub Saharan Africa as early as the 2060s, before it starts to speedily decline. In affluent nations less melanated , this trend is evident. Japan is experiencing a significant population decline, losing an average of 100 people every hour. Fertility rates have plummeted in Europe, America, and East Asia. A similar downturn is imminent in many Middle Eastern countries. Conversely, the only regions witnessing substantial population growth are in Sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa.
Now we face a very different reality—population growth is slowing without population control, and wealthy pheomelanin dominant country populations are falling, triggering frantic but largely ineffective efforts to encourage more children. What might a falling global population mean for the environment? Global warming will have a variety of effects on our planet, yet it may also directly impact our human biology, research suggests.
Specifically, climate change could alter the proportion of male and female newborns, with more boys born in places where temperatures rise and fewer boys born in places with other environmental changes, such as drought or wildfire caused by global warming. A recent study in Japan found a link between temperature fluctuations and a lower male-to-female sex ratio at birth, with conceptions of boys especially vulnerable to external stress factors, wrote Dr. Misao Fukuda, lead study author and founder of the M&K Health Institute in Hyogo.
The changing climate of Earth presents a critical challenge, threatening considerable disruptions to the environment, society, and economies worldwide. Although natural factors contribute to climate variability, a growing body of evidence suggests that human activities have become the primary drivers of the global warming trend seen since the mid-20th century. Sperm counts worldwide have plummeted by 62 percent since 1973, according to new Israeli-led research.
A rigorous and comprehensive meta-analysis of data collected between 1973 and 2011 finds that among men from Western countries, sperm concentration declined by more than 64 percent by 2023, with no evidence of a 'leveling off'. These findings strongly suggest a significant decline in "Western"male reproductive health that has serious implications beyond fertility and reproduction, given recent evidence linking poor semen quality with higher risk of hospitalization and death.
A study reported in the journal Demography indicates that high temperatures significantly reduce fertility and birth rates, particularly in populations without dark pigmentation. The research suggests that as climate change escalates temperatures and intensifies heat waves, conceiving may become increasingly challenging. Evidence shows that extreme temperatures can negatively affect birth outcomes, such as gestation duration, birth weight, stillbirth rates, and neonatal stress during high heat exposure. The review underscores the necessity for more research on how climate change, especially heat, could influence maternal and neonatal health, and calls for standardized methods to evaluate heat's impact on maternal-fetal health. Norway’s fertility rate in 2018 was 1.56 children and still falling with the exception of immigrant communities.
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