Climate Change and Global Health

Climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. Its impacts on health are mediated by complex ecological, environmental, and social processes, while the impacts vary in the magnitude, scale, and duration as a function of the local environmental conditions and the vulnerability of the human population. The impacts on health are direct through extreme heat, cold, drought, or storms, or indirect by changes in environmental and social conditions, air quality, water availability, food provision and quality, and other stressors. There is growing evidence that climate change is already affecting health in various ways, including causing death and illness from increasingly frequent extreme weather events, disruption of food systems, increases in zoonoses, and food-, water-, and vector-borne diseases, as well as mental health issues. Furthermore, climate change is undermining many social determinants for good health, such as equality and access to healthcare and social support structures, while the most vulnerable populations are at higher risk. According to climate scenarios and modeled pathway predictions, global warming will continue to increase in the coming decades. As a result, multiple changes in climatic impact-drivers are predicted, including increased risks to health. Therefore, adaptation, preparation, and prevention actions, including reshaping of the health systems, are of crucial importance. Without such actions, the changing climate will continue to increase the risks for human health worldwide.