Why is climate change a public health issue?
The climate emergency is a health emergency. Climate change and air pollution threaten health and create inequality. The World Health Organization estimates that over 13 million deaths are attributed to modifiable environmental risks each year.
The 2022 Joint Public Health Conference, Healthy Planet, Healthy People, highlighted the impacts of climate change on population health in Ireland and Northern Ireland and the need to put health at the heart of our climate response. Climate change impacts health directly through the impact of extreme weather events. Extreme heat, flooding and storms are becoming increasingly frequent. It also impacts health indirectly through food and water insecurity, increasing transmission of infectious diseases, disruption of the health care systems, displacement of communities and negative impacts on mental health.
Read the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and find key facts from the World Health Organization on the impact of climate change on health. The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change is also dedicated to research and evidence on the impacts of climate change on health.
