A BC Woman Was Diagnosed With Suffering From 'Climate Change' & It Could Be A World First

A B.C. woman in her 70s has been diagnosed as suffering from "climate change," according to a report.

The woman was diagnosed during the extreme heat and wildfires the province experienced in late June when she entered the ER department at Kootenay Lake Hospital in Nelson struggling to breathe.

"She has diabetes. She has some heart failure. ... She lives in a trailer, no air conditioning. All of her health problems have all been worsened. And she's really struggling to stay hydrated," Dr. Kyle Merrit, head of the ER department, told Stefan Labbé of North Shore News.

North Shore News reported that Merritt wrote the words "climate change" on the woman's patient chart — the first time he had done this in his 10 years as a physician.

He said he knew that wildfire smoke, which had plagued much of the province for several days, had exacerbated the woman's asthma.

Data released by the BC Coroners Service on November 1 said that 595 people died in B.C. during the extreme heat wave over the summer.