Climate change-associated health impacts: a way forward

Abstract

Immune-mediated disease caused by climate change-associated environmental hazards: mitigation and adaptation Key points• Climate change is inextricably linked with worsening planetary and human health, necessitating a global multidisciplinary effort to identify the cumulative human health risks to help predict, prevent, and manage future impacts. • The development of climate change mitigation strategies with cohealth benefits will require many technological and policy changes across multiple sectors, with the public health and healthcare delivery sectors playing a major role. • Evidence-based climate mitigation strategies that are equitable, adoptable, sustainable, and economically feasible are urgently needed to reduce the impact of climate change on health. Introduction: climate change threats to human healthClimate change is the greatest threat to human health and well-being that humanity has ever faced. Human activities are driving increases in the levels of atmospheric heat-trapping greenhouse gases (GHGs, i.e., carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons), resulting in substantial increases in global temperatures. The rise of global temperatures is already causing widespread ecological changes, including increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events (heatwaves, wildfires, floods, and droughts), rising sea levels, and seasonal shifts in plant and animal geographic ranges and growing seasons that disrupt and endanger the health and lives of many (1). Left unchecked, climate change-related ecological impacts will worsen and threaten the very existence of humankind by affecting the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. Thus, it is imperative that we take steps to prevent further loss of life associated with fossil fuel-related emissions.