As global climate change proliferates, so too do the health risks associated with the changing world around us. Called for in the President’s Climate Action Plan and put together by experts from eight different Federal agencies, The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health: A Scientific Assessment is a comprehensive report on these evolving health risks, including: Temperature-related death and illness Air quality deterioration Impacts of extreme events on human health Vector-borne diseases Climate impacts on water-related Illness Food safety, nutrition, and distribution Mental health and well-being This report summarizes scientific data in a concise and accessible fashion for the general public, providing executive summaries, key takeaways, and full-color diagrams and charts. Learn what health risks face you and your family as a result of global climate change and start preparing now with The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health.

This book contains a set of papers which explore the links among climate change, health, and hazards and demonstrate how they interact. It emphasizes the urgency of immediate and more ambitious action to address climate risks. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), human-induced climate change is known to be causing dangerous and widespread disruptions in nature and is affecting the lives of billions of people around the world, despite efforts to reduce the risks. Climate change is also negatively influencing health and is mounting threat to our wellbeing and a healthy planet. The world is also facing significant climate hazards over the next two decades, with global warming expected to soon reach 1.5°C. Even temporarily exceeding this warming level will result in additional severe impacts, some of which may be irreversible. There is therefore a perceived need for publications which may foster a greater understanding of how climate change connects to human health and the role played by hazards in this context. It is against this background that this book is being prepared.

Global climate change represents one of the most important public health challenges facing the world today. Climate change causes a wide range of adverse health effects including heat-related disorders, infectious diseases, respiratory and allergic disorders, and malnutrition. Further mitigation and adaptation efforts are necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve both human and planetary health alike. Climate Change and Public Health offers a clear guide to the health consequences of climate change and the available preventative measures. Written by leading scholars and practitioners in the fields of climate science and medicine, this comprehensive volume introduces the health impacts of climate change with chapters covering topics such as heat-related disorders, food insecurity, mental health impacts, and climate-related violence. It describes the relevant policymaking processes and features policies intended to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions across sectors including energy and transportation. Further chapters highlight modern adaptation measures for the consequences of climate change and offer evolving methods for adaptation and mitigation new to this second edition. Most importantly, Climate Change and Public Health promotes a climate justice framework with crucial insights for strengthening the public and political will to address climate change. Now updated with key developments in mitigation and adaptation from the last decade, this second edition of Climate Change and Public Health offers an engaging overview of climate change and its health consequences alongside evolving methods for climate resilience.

This publication, prepared jointly by the WHO, the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme, considers the public health challenges arising from global climate change and options for policy responses, with particular focus on the health sector. Aspects discussed include: an overview of historical developments and recent scientific assessments; weather and climate change; population vulnerability and the adaptive capacity of public health systems; the IPCC Third Assessment report; tasks for public health scientists; the health impacts of climate extremes; climate change, infectious diseases and the level of disease burdens; ozone depletion, ultraviolet radiation and health; and methodological issues in monitoring health effects of climate change.

Many of us have concerns about the effects of climate change on Earth, but we often overlook the essential issue of human health. This book addresses that oversight and enlightens readers about the most important aspect of one of the greatest challenges of our time. The global environment is under massive stress from centuries of human industrialization. The projections regarding climate change for the next century and beyond are grim. The impact this will have on human health is tremendous, and we are only just now discovering what the long-term outcomes may be. By weighing in from a physician’s perspective, Jay Lemery and Paul Auerbach clarify the science, dispel the myths, and help readers understand the threats of climate change to human health. No better argument exists for persuading people to care about climate change than a close look at its impacts on our physical and emotional well-being. The need has never been greater for a grounded, informative, and accessible discussion about this topic. In this groundbreaking book, the authors not only sound the alarm but address the health issues likely to arise in the coming years.