Health

Climate change has an effect on the social and environmental factors that shape our health, including clean air, clean water, sufficient food and safe housing. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause an additional 250,000 deaths each year due to malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress. Adaptation measures are therefore essential to reducing the vulnerability of the populations most affected by climate change. Among such measures are the implementation of health management practices to limit the risk of climate change-related diseases and scale up the capacity of communities to cope with climate risks. Another measure involves implementing early warning systems and improving health infrastructure to cope with the related impacts of climate change. Countries are urged to support research to gather evidence of the impact of climate change on health as a way to inform decision-making and develop more effective mitigation and adaptation strategies (World Health Organization).