Climate change has long ceased to be just an environmental problem - it is also affecting our health. Extreme temperatures, polluted air, deteriorated conditions for agriculture, torrential storms and floods, the spread of infectious diseases: all of this has a direct impact on the physical and mental health of billions of people.

Current facts and impacts

• According to WHO, approximately 3.6 billion people already lives in areas highly sensitive to climate change. They coincide with regions with weak health capacities. (World Health Organization)
• Between the years 2030 and 2050 It is estimated that climate change will cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year only due to malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress. (World Health Organization)
• Thousands of people die every year in Europe due to heat. In 2022 alone, there were more than 60,000 people, and in 2023, around 47,000. (climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu)
• Heat not only directly causes death (heat stress, heat stroke), but also worsens chronic diseases - cardiac, respiratory, neurological. The risk is much higher for older people, children, pregnant women and those working outdoors. (climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu)
• In addition to physical illnesses, there are also significant psychological and mental effects: climate anxiety, stress, trauma after natural disasters (floods, fires) are becoming more common. (World healthcare organization)

How the climate crisis affects health: mechanisms

1. Direct effects
   • Heat: heatstroke, dehydration, failure of the body's thermoregulation
   • Extreme weather: floods, storms, injuries, traumatization
2. Indirect effects
   • Deterioration of air quality – more ozone, dust particles (e.g. from fires, smog) → respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
   • Lack of water, food - nutritional problems, hunger, malnutrition.
   • Spread of infectious diseases – for example, by water or vectors (mosquitoes, ticks) in areas that become more favorable for their reproduction.
3. Vulnerable groups
   • Elderly people, children, chronically ill people, pregnant women
   • People on low incomes, without access to healthcare or safe housing
   • Communities in areas with inadequate infrastructure (e.g. lack of air conditioning, shade, water)

Why is it getting worse?

• The atmosphere is warming → the air holds more water vapor → extreme precipitation and more intense storms.
• More frequent, longer and more intense heat waves. For example, the study predicts that the so-called oppressive heatwaves (high temperature + high humidity) may be up to five to eight times more frequent by the end of the century if warming occurs according to worse emission scenarios.
• Climatic conditions are changing in such a way that diseases are spreading to new areas that were not previously at risk.

What the world must do

• Integrating health into climate policy – legislation, strategies and investments focused on protecting human health must be a priority.
• Health systems preparedness – schools, hospitals, public institutions should have plans for managing heat, floods, and the spread of diseases.
• Warning systems – early warnings of heat waves, smog emissions, allergen seasons, and support for household adaptation (shade, ventilation, drinking water).
• Emission reduction – the most basic step. Less fossil fuels, transition to renewable sources, green transport. Every ton of CO₂ less means less health losses.
• Promoting justice – the most vulnerable, who contribute the least to emissions, suffer the most. Equality in access to healthcare, protection and adaptation.

Why should we care?

• Climate change is no longer in the distant future – the impacts are here and now. Every year, thousands of people die from heat or air pollution, and millions suffer from diseases that could be mitigated.
• Healthcare costs are rising: treatment, hospitalizations, lost productivity. This affects not only individuals, but also society and the economy.
• Investing today in measures that reduce emissions and increase adaptation is in many cases cheaper and more effective than dealing with the consequences.

The climate crisis is a health crisis – it’s not a metaphor, it’s a reality that manifests itself in every hot summer, every storm, every curling smog. Protecting the Planet means protecting human lives. Protecting health means acting now. JRi