Cancer etiology is multifactorial, with climate change and environmental factors such as extreme weather events and ozone layer…
Earth & Environment
Climate Change and Human Health
As the world’s climate negotiators convene for COP29, a key theme to be addressed is the impact of climate change on human health and evidence-based solutions and adaptation actions. To help build a strong and openly accessible evidence base for decision-making, this collection from PLOS Climate and PLOS Global Public Health shows aspects of the intersection between climate and health, from the changing burden of communicable and non-communicable disease to the impacts of extreme events on health systems, as well as research that assesses potential adaptations to build healthier and more resilient societies.
Image Credit: Person holding baby's hand by Vitor Monthay, Unsplash
PLOS Climate
-
PLOS Climate Climate factors associated with cancer incidence: An ecological study covering 33 cancers from population-based registries in 37 countries
-
PLOS Climate Safety awareness and adaptation strategies of Nigerian construction workers in extreme heat conditions
The nature of most construction activities exposes workers to health and safety risks associated with extreme hot weather conditions…
-
PLOS Climate Impact of climate and land use/land cover changes on malaria incidence in the Ecuadorian Amazon
Malaria transmission is influenced by climate and land use/land cover change (LULC). This study examines the impact of climate and LULC on…
-
PLOS Climate Exploring the human dimensions of harmful algal blooms through a well-being framework to increase resilience in a changing world
Climate change is expected to alter harmful algal bloom (HAB) dynamics in marine and freshwater systems around the world, with some…
-
PLOS Climate Mapping geographic and demographic shifts for container breeding mosquito-borne disease transmission suitability in Central and South America in a warming world
The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report (IPCC-AR6) brought into sharp relief the potential health…
-
PLOS Climate Extreme heat & public perception in Portland, Oregon: Evidence of a compounding vulnerability effect for climate hazards
Extreme heat events are a global public health threat, and the frequency of these events are projected to increase significantly in the…
-
PLOS Climate Climate Change, Environment, and Health: The implementation and initial evaluation of a longitudinal, integrated curricular theme and novel competency framework at Harvard Medical School
Climate change, air pollution, and ecological degradation impact health through numerous, complex mechanisms. To train future physicians…
-
PLOS Climate Research on the health impact of climate must consider distributive justice and environmental sustainability
Climate and justice are interconnected. However, simply raising ethical issues associated with the links between climate change,…
-
PLOS Climate Preventing heat-related deaths: The urgent need for a global early warning system for heat
Heatwaves are the deadliest weather hazard and people and societies across the world continue to suffer from heat-related impacts. Future…
-
PLOS Climate Household survey on climate change and human health in a low-income country: Associations between increased health emergencies and extreme changes in climate in Liberia
Liberia and other low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Yet, data on perceived risks of…
-
PLOS Climate Impacts of climate change on human health in humanitarian settings: Evidence gaps and future research needs
This mixed-methods study focuses on the evidence of the health impacts of climate change on populations affected by humanitarian crises,…
-
PLOS Climate Crowded and warmer: Unequal dengue risk at high spatial resolution across a megacity of India
The role of climate factors on transmission of mosquito-borne infections within urban landscapes must be considered in the context of the…
-
PLOS Climate “Am I going to have to run to get out of this place?” A qualitative study exploring HIV clinical and service provider experiences from California regions heavily impacted by climate disaster
Maintaining continuity of HIV care and prevention resources is critical to the health, wellbeing, and at times survival of individuals who…
-
PLOS Climate Climate change, mental health, and reproductive decision-making: A systematic review
The impact of climate change on reproductive decision-making is becoming a significant issue, with anecdotal evidence indicating a growing…
-
PLOS Climate The seasonality of nutrition status in Shawi Indigenous children in the Peruvian Amazon
Research on the impact of seasonal and climatic variability on childhood nutritional status in the Amazon is limited. We examined how the…
-
PLOS Climate Mental health during wildfires in Southcentral Alaska: An assessment of community-derived mental health categories, interventions, and implementation considerations
Previous studies have linked wildfires to a range of adverse mental health outcomes, but there has been limited research on the mental…
-
PLOS Climate Human migration on a heating planet: A scoping review
Whilst people’s migration outcomes may be influenced by climate change, the interaction of heat with migration and migrants is little…
-
PLOS Climate The mortality burden of extreme heat in Connecticut: A time series analysis
Local epidemiological evidence is imperative for making state and regional policy decisions addressing climate change, especially…
-
PLOS Climate Climate variability and water-related infectious diseases in Pacific Island Countries and Territories, a systematic review
Background: Climate induced changes in water-related infectious disease (WRID) transmission are a growing public health concern. The…
-
PLOS Climate Preventing Lyme disease through identification of key beliefs
Lyme disease and other vector-borne diseases are on the rise because of climate change. In the province of Quebec, Canada, Lyme disease…
-
PLOS Climate West Nile virus eco-epidemiology and climate change
West Nile virus (WNV) is an arbovirus with a wide geographical distribution. It is maintained in an enzootic bird-mosquito cycle and…
-
PLOS Climate Temperature impacts on dengue incidence are nonlinear and mediated by climatic and socioeconomic factors: A meta-analysis
Temperature can influence mosquito-borne diseases like dengue. These effects are expected to vary geographically and over time in both…
PLOS Global Public Health
-
PLOS Global Public Health Indigenous Peoples: Traditional knowledges, climate change, and health
Indigenous Peoples around the globe make up approximately six percent of the global population, yet they sustainably care for around…
-
PLOS Global Public Health Common patterns between dengue cases, climate, and local environmental variables in Costa Rica: A wavelet approach
Dengue transmission poses significant challenges for public health authorities worldwide due to its susceptibility to various factors,…
-
PLOS Global Public Health Facing the escalating burden of dengue: Challenges and perspectives
Dengue is the most rapidly emerging mosquito-borne infection and, due to climate change and unplanned urbanization, it is predicted that…
-
PLOS Global Public Health Seasonal variations in respiratory morbidity in primary care and its correlation with the quality of air in urban Odisha, India
Poor air quality, especially in urban regions among low-and middle-income countries such as India poses a significant healthcare…
-
PLOS Global Public Health Climate change, biodiversity loss, and Indigenous Peoples’ health and wellbeing: A systematic umbrella review
Indigenous Peoples worldwide are experiencing a cascade of impacts on their health and wellbeing as a result of climate change and…
-
PLOS Global Public Health Reflections from COP28: Resisting healthwashing in climate change negotiations
…
-
PLOS Global Public Health Prediction of edapho-climatic parameters in the incidence of Campylobacter spp. in northwestern Mexico
Campylobacter spp. is one of the main causes of enteric zoonotic infections worldwide. In Mexico, although a commonly detected pathogen in…
-
PLOS Global Public Health Climate change and women’s mental health in two vulnerable communities of Bangladesh: An ethnographic study
Climate change is one of the most significant challenges humanity faces in the 21st century, with its health impacts being profoundly felt…
-
PLOS Global Public Health The impact of social and environmental extremes on cholera time varying reproduction number in Nigeria
Nigeria currently reports the second highest number of cholera cases in Africa, with numerous socioeconomic and environmental risk…
-
PLOS Global Public Health Impact of higher-income countries on child health in lower-income countries from a climate change perspective. A case study of the UK and Malawi
Climate change is the number one threat to child health according to the World Health Organisation. It increases existing inequalities,…
-
PLOS Global Public Health Quantifying the relationship between climatic indicators and leptospirosis incidence in Fiji: A modelling study
Leptospirosis, a global zoonotic disease, is prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions, including Fiji where it’s endemic with…
-
PLOS Global Public Health Modeling the Lassa fever outbreak synchronously occurring with cholera and COVID-19 outbreaks in Nigeria 2021: A threat to Global Health Security
Nigeria struggles with seasonal outbreaks of Lassa fever (LF), with 70 to 100% of its states affected annually. Since 2018, the seasonal…
-
PLOS Global Public Health The interrelationship between food security, climate change, and gender-based violence: A scoping review with system dynamics modeling
Gender-based violence (GBV) is a global public health and human rights problem that is exacerbated by social and environmental stressors…
-
PLOS Global Public Health How much bilateral and multilateral climate adaptation finance is targeting the health sector? A scoping review of official development assistance data between 2009–2019
Climate change is adversely affecting human health. Rapid and wide-scale adaptation is urgently needed given the negative impact climate…
-
PLOS Global Public Health Understanding the links between human health, ecosystem health, and food systems in Small Island Developing States using stakeholder-informed causal loop diagrams
Globalized food systems are a major driver of climate change, biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, and the increasing prevalence…
-
PLOS Global Public Health Psycho-social factors associated with climate distress, hope and behavioural intentions in young UK residents
Although the UK has been relatively spared significant geophysical impacts of climate change, many people, youth in particular, are…
-
PLOS Global Public Health Breaking free from tunnel vision for climate change and health
Climate change is widely recognised as the greatest threat to public health this century, but ‘climate change and health’ often refers to…
-
PLOS Global Public Health Wildfire smoke knows no borders: Differential vulnerability to smoke effects on cardio-respiratory health in the San Diego-Tijuana region
Exposure to fine particles in wildfire smoke is deleterious for human health and can increase cases of cardio-respiratory illnesses and…
-
PLOS Global Public Health Combining aggregate and individual-level data to estimate individual-level associations between air pollution and COVID-19 mortality in the United States
Imposing stricter regulations for PM2.5 has the potential to mitigate damaging health and climate change effects. Recent evidence…
Guest Editors
-
Guest Editor Renzo Guinto
-
Guest Editor Anna Stewart-Ibarra
-
Guest Editor Tolu Oni