MANILA - Two scientists on Thursday urged students to make the environment their career and use their knowledge for social change as the impact of climate change will become more prevalent in the next few years.

Dr. Rodel Lasco, scientific director of the Oscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management Foundation, Inc., said studies and information dissemination are important so people can learn how to adapt well to climate change.

The Philippines is currently one of the countries in the world at risk from climate change disasters, and with increased temperatures, tropical cyclones are now the leading cause of disasters in the country.

"If we don't do anything about it, we are going to hit the worst- case scenario and that means warming of 4 to 5 degrees...We see 2020, 2050, it will be warm everywhere," Lasco told students attending a forum hosted by the foundation.

He added, rainfall projections are "alarming," meaning dry seasons will be drier and rainy seasons will be wetter.

"Parang double whammy--the more we need water, the less we will have rainfall; and the more water we have during rainy season, lalo pa tayong magkaroon. That could exacerbate our problems," he said.

To mitigate climate change, Lasco said greenhouse gas emissions have to be reduced, more trees planted, and scientific data translated for communities.

Dr. CP David, executive director of the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development, said students and scientists must be more society-centric through effective dissemination of scientific findings on climate change, rather than just sharing their findings and research within the academic and scientific community.

"We didn't become scientists so we can talk to our fellow peers. It is good, but we must go beyond that. We must change our mindset. We became scientists so we can create a positive outcome in society," he said.

Former Department of Health Undersecretary Kenneth Hartigan-Go, who now heads the Stephen Zuellig School of Development Management at the Asian Institute of Management, said the indirect effect of climate change on health cannot be underscored further.

With rising temperatures due to climate change, it can trigger heat stroke, asthma, chronic lung disease, diarrhea, dengue, stress, and leptospirosis.

The economic impact of climate change can also contribute to malnutrition and stunted growth, he added.

"Air pollution has been really linked to higher risk heart failure because of the decrease in oxygen entering our body, our heart has to work more...This is where scientists and policy makers can come in to create environment for us for us to breathe better," he said.