Health
The Global Climate Risks Platform's Health Risks section explores how climate change intensifies health threats worldwide.
Climate Change and Public Health Risks
Polar Climate Change: a Hidden Driver of Health Risk
Climate change in the polar regions may sound like a distant crisis, but a review of research led by researchers from Arctic Basecamp and the University of Exeter (Naik et al., 2025) shows that changing polar regions are an under-recognised driver of global health risks, with consequences reaching far beyond the Arctic and Antarctic.
The polar regions are warming at an average rate of up to 4x faster than the global average. This accelerated change is likely to trigger feedback loops and tipping cascades, reshaping global health risks in complicated and interlinked ways.
As rising temperatures weaken the jetstream and disrupt ocean currents, extreme weather is expected to drive up rates of severe injury, fatalities, and mental health disorders. A seasonally ice-free Arctic could worsen heatwaves – particularly in tropical areas – which could drive up rates of chronic diseases including kidney and cardiovascular disease.
The study finds that warmer polar regions could also drive malnutrition-related disease, drive the spread of waterborne diseases like cholera and typhoid, and drive insect and animal-borne diseases into regions previously unaffected. You can access the full article here.
Urban Climate-Health Risks and Solutions
Climate hazards are hitting 83% of cities worldwide. As Prof. Gail Whiteman, Executive Director of Arctic Basecamp, and Annika Green, outline in a recent blog for the World Economic Forum, four cities are already making changes- and their results are measurable.
Ahmedabad faced lethal heat every summer. It introduced cool roofs, hydration stations, and SMS early warning systems — and cut heat-related mortality by 25% within three years. London introduced low-emission zones to tackle climate-warming traffic pollution. Cardiovascular emergency admissions fell 9%, and the policy now generates over £37 million in annual health and productivity savings.
Philadelphia faced worsening floods and rising waterborne health risks. Its green infrastructure programme now diverts 3 billion gallons of stormwater annually, cooling nearby streets by up to 5°C. Medellín was one of Latin America's most intense urban heat islands. A $16.3 million investment in green corridors dropped city temperatures by 2°C, cut air pollutants by 8%, and reduced acute respiratory infections by over 40% within three years.
The pattern is clear: the solutions exist, the returns are real, and the playbook is available to any city willing to use it.
Rise in Climate Change Driven Diseases
Climate change is expanding the range of vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue fever due to favorable conditions for mosquitoes and ticks (Fouque & Reeder, 2019).Vector-borne diseases are a consequence of not just long-term temperature increase, but also extremes in temperature and precipitation associated with global warming; flooding provides breeding habitat for mosquitoes that carry diseases like dengue and malaria. Drought can also contribute to mosquito reproduction as people increase their storage of still water in reservoirs.
Nevertheless, stagnant water following heavy rainfall and flooding is the biggest contributor to increased transmission of mosquito-borne disease. Warming also extends the mosquito breeding season, allows mosquitoes to expand their range, and increases the likelihood that a bite from an infected mosquito will transmit disease. Similarly, ticks in North America and Europe are able to reproduce more efficiently and expand habitats with longer shoulder seasons.
With regional increases in temperature projected in the range of 2-4°C, vector-borne diseases are expected to sharply increase in the absence of vector control management, disease surveillance, early warning systems, and vaccine development.
Moreover, in Africa, flood exposure was linked to 3.42 infant deaths per 1,000 births, 1.7 times higher than deaths from lifetime exposure (Zhu et al., 2024). Melting ice sheets, such as the West Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheet, contribute to destabilising shorelines and displacing communities (Cazenave & Cozannet, 2013). This disrupts agriculture and drinking water supplies, leading to health problems like dehydration, kidney issues, and waterborne diseases such as cholera, hepatitis, and leptospirosis (UN Press, 2023).
Furthermore, changing environments increase the likelihood of animal-human disease spread, the spread of disease across geographies, the growth of toxic algae blooms that damage water access, and the spread of moulds that can damage the lungs and brain.
Rising Temperatures, Extreme Weather and Humanitarian Crises
A 2024 study from CICERO and the University of Reading predicts that without significant action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 70% of the global population will face temperature extremes above 40°C and a 7% rise in extreme daily rainfall within the next 20 years (Iles et al., 2024; World Meteorological Organization (WMO), 2023). Similarly, Trancoso et al. (2024) projects that one to two-thirds of the global population will experience markedly wetter or drier conditions. These extremes are evident through increased flooding in Europe and Africa, heavy rainfall in South Asia, and heatwaves in Brazil, Asia, and Africa. Unprecedented drought in Africa, Afghanistan, and India has resulted in acute malnutrition, food shortage and humanitarian crises. These events drive the mass displacement of people, who are often forced into crowded and/or unhygienic conditions which facilitate the spread of disease.
Air Pollution and Human Health
Mental Health Challenges
The mental health impacts of climate change are significant. Extreme weather and prolonged heat exposure are linked to increased incidences of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and acute psychological trauma (Ebi, 2021).
A recent systematic review and meta-analysis of 49 studies across 25 countries found that around 23% of people experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 28% experienced depression, 31% experienced anxiety, and 32% experienced psychological stress following climate-related hazards. The study also identified women, Indigenous peoples, low-income populations, and climate-dependent livelihood groups as particularly vulnerable to adverse mental health outcomes (Niazi et al., 2026).
Inadequate healthcare infrastructure due to extreme weather further reduces the capacity to address these concerns. Rising sea levels and displacement of communities worsen mental health outcomes by creating overcrowded conditions and increasing vulnerability to diseases.
The mental health impacts of climate change extend beyond individual well-being and create significant economic costs. Mental health conditions account for an estimated EUR 76 billion in annual healthcare costs across the European Union (around 6% of total health spending), while poor mental health is projected to reduce GDP by an average of 1.7% annually between 2025 and 2050 due to losses in productivity and workforce participation (OECD, 2026). As climate-related hazards increase the prevalence of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and psychological stress, they may further amplify these social and economic burdens.
Contaminants and Antimicrobial Resistance
Bridging Gaps in Health Risk Assessments
Latest Health Stories
- Latest News
Caption Text Europe’s Climate Change Bill Is Growing
Climate change is already creating a growing financial burden across Europe. Between 1980 and 2024, weather and climate related... - Latest News
Caption Text By 2030, Most Families in Ethiopia, Malawi, and Nigeria Won’t Be Able to Afford a Healthy Meal
By 2030, more than 90% of people in Malawi and Nigeria, and 75% in Ethiopia, won’t be able to... - Latest News
Caption Text Global Rivers Are Losing Oxygen as the Climate Warms
Rivers around the world are losing dissolved oxygen, an essential condition for healthy freshwater ecosystems. A 2026 study published in Science Advances analysed 21,439...
Climate Risks Daily
See Today’s Climate Risks in Real Time
Find daily climate risk stories where YOU are. Developed by scientists, powered by AI. Your daily dose of climate news.
Spin the globe, toggle risk layers (extreme weather, polar change, and health), and uncover impacts in your region. Sourced daily from credible outlets in 100+ different languages.
