Will heat stroke caused by extreme heat waves become more common in your community because of climate change? A newly released survey found that 57 percent of Americans think so, up from 37 percent just six years ago.

That was one of a number of problems and risks that respondents believe will be on the rise over the next 10 years if nothing is done to address global warming. The rate of increase was eye-opening, strongly suggesting that Americans not only acknowledge that our climate is changing but realize that our health will suffer as a result.

Another: Bodily harm from wildfires, including damage caused by smoke inhalation, up from 26 to 54 percent.

A third concern: Bodily harm from severe storms and/or hurricanes, up from 34 to 57 percent.

The study was conducted by Yale and George Mason University researchers who study public opinion on climate, working with the pollster Ipsos. They compared the results of a survey taken in April with the results of one undertaken back in October 2014. More than 1,000 people took part, and the margin of error is plus-or-minus 3 percent.

Other findings included:

Asthma and/or other lung diseases: Up from 37 to 54 percent.

Diseases caused by insects: Up from 33 to 54 percent.

Bodily harm from flooding: Up from 27 to 52 percent.

Illness caused by food/water containing bacteria/viruses: Up from 32 to 51 percent.

Pollen-related allergies: Up from 38 to 51 percent.

Severe anxiety: Up from 27 to 44 percent.

It’s little wonder that our fellow citizens are increasingly concerned. The World Health Organization believes that the changing climate’s wide-ranging impacts contribute to at least 150,000 deaths around the globe every year. Climate change, WHO fears, could “undermine decades of progress in global health.”

In the United States, heat caused at least 10,000 deaths between 1999 and 2016. As of June 20, the mercury in Phoenix had soared above 100 degrees on 16 days, hitting 112 degrees on June 4. Yearly heat-related deaths have more than doubled in Arizona in the last decade, reaching 283.

A new review of 68 studies has found that pregnant women exposed to air pollution and high temperatures are more likely to give birth to preterm, stillborn or underweight children. The review, published in JAMA Network Open and summarized by The Hill’s Abigail MiHaly, examined more than 32 million births and found an association between climate change effects such as heat, ozone and fine particulate matter, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Researchers also found that minority women, particularly black mothers, were affected the most.

Another recent report on climate change and human health was issued by Columbia Journalism Investigations and the Center for Public Integrity and co-published in partnership with The Guardian. It observed: “In contrast to a viral pandemic, like the one caused by the novel coronavirus, this is a quiet, insidious threat with no end point.”

Many states, cities, and businesses are taking steps to counter climate change. The federal government, however, is lagging. Congress needs to take this problem seriously, and one important part of the solution is an honest price on carbon emissions. That is the fastest, cheapest, and most efficient way to combat climate change. Please urge your senators and representative to support such action.