An unprecedented challenge demands an unprecedented response.
Our 2019 Report tracks the relationship between health and climate change across five key domains and 41 indicators. See an overview of the 2019 key findings below, or download the full report.
Download the reportKey Message
The life of every child born today will be profoundly affected by climate change, with populations around the world increasingly facing extremes of weather, food and water insecurity, changing patterns of infectious disease, and a less certain future. Without accelerated intervention, this new era will come to define the health of people at every stage of their lives.
Key Message
A second path – which limits the global average temperature rise to “well below 2ºC” – is possible, and would transform the health of a child born today for the better, throughout their lives. Placing health at the centre of the coming transition will yield enormous dividends for the public and the economy, with cleaner air, safer cities, and healthier diets.
Key Message
Bold new approaches to policy making, research, and business are needed in order to change course. An unprecedented challenge demands an unprecedented response. It will take the work of the 7.5 billion people currently alive to ensure that the health of a child born today is not defined by a changing climate.
Explore key findings of this year’s report
Climate Change Impacts, Exposures and Vulnerability
Climate Change Impacts, Exposure and Vulnerability
A changing climate has profound implications for human health, with more frequent heatwaves and extreme weather events, changing patterns of infectious disease, and the exacerbation of existing health challenges around the world. Indicators in this section track how these impact on human health.
Adaptation, Planning, and Resilience for Health
Adaptation, Planning, and Resilience for Health
Indicators in this section track how communities, health systems, and governments are understanding the health risks of climate change, the strategies and resources they are deploying, and how adaptation and resilience measures are being implemented globally.
Mitigation Actions and Health Co-Benefits
THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF THE RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
Tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century. Many of the interventions required to mitigate and adapt bring enormous benefits for human health and wellbeing in the form of cleaner air, healthier diets, and more liveable cities. Indicators in this section track the world’s efforts to mitigate climate change, and the health benefits of this response.
Economics and Finance
Economics and Finance
The data here works to track the financial and economic dimensions of the effects of climate change, and of mitigation efforts required to respond to these changes. Indicators here monitor the economic costs of climate change and its drivers, as well as the investments and economic tools being deployed to transition to a low-carbon economy.
Public and Political Engagement
Public and Political Engagement
Public and political engagement underpins the foundations of the world’s collective response to climate change, with reductions in global emissions at the speed required by the Paris Agreement depending on engagement from all sectors of society. The indicators in this section track the links between health and climate change in the media, national governments, the corporate sector, and the broader public.
1.1.3 Heat-Related Mortality
From 2000 to 2018, heat-related mortality in people older than 65 years increased by 53.7% and, in 2018, reached 296,000 deaths, the majority of which occurred in Japan, eastern China, northern India, and central Europe.
1.2.1 Wildfires
In 114 countries, there was an increase in the number of days people were exposed to very high or extremely high risk of danger from fire in 2016-19 compared with 2001-04. This increased risk translated into an increase in population exposure to wildfires in 128 countries.
1.3.1 Climate Suitability for Infectious Disease Transmission
Changing climatic conditions are increasingly suitable for the transmission of numerous infectious diseases. From 1950 to 2018, the global climate suitability for the transmission of dengue increased by 8.9% for Aedes aegypti and 15.0% for Aaedes albopictus.
1.4.1 Terrestrial Food Security and Undernutrition
From 1981 to 2019, crop yield potential for maize, winter wheat, soybean, and rice has followed a consistently downward trend, with reductions relative to baseline of 5.6% for maize, 2.1% for winter wheat, 4.8% for soybean, and 1.8% for rice.
2.1.1 National Adaptation Plans for Health/2.1.2 National Assessments of Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation for Health
50% of the 101 respondents report having a national health and climate change plan in place.
2.1.3 City-Level Climate Change Risk Assessments
In 2019, 77% of 789 global cities that responded to the survey had either already completed or were actively undertaking climate change risk assessments, a substantial increase both in number of responding cities as well as in their undertaking of risk assessments from 2018.
2.3.3 Urban Green Space
Urban green space is an important measure to reduce population exposure to heat; 9% of global urban centres had a very high or exceptionally high degree of greenness in 2019, and more than 156 million people were living in urban centres with concerningly low levels of urban green space.
2.4 Spending on Adaptation for Health and Health-Related Activities
In 2019, global spending on health adaptation has increased to $18.4 billion, reaching 5.3% of total spending on adaptation.
3.1.2 Coal Phase-Out
In 2018, global energy supply from coal was 1.2% higher than in 2017 and 74% higher than in 1990.
3.2 Clean Household Energy
Primary reliance on healthy fuels and technology for household cooking has continued to rise, reaching 63% of the global population in 2018. However, total consumption of zero-emission energy for all household needs remained low at 26%.
3.5.2 Diet and Health Co-Benefits
The global number of deaths due to excess red meat consumption rose to 990,000 deaths in 2017, a 72% increase since 1990.
3.6 Mitigation in the Healthcare Sector
The health-care sector was responsible for approximately 4.6% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2017.
4.1.2 Economics of Heat-Related Mortality
The monetised value of global heat-related mortality increased from 0.23% of gross world product in 2000 to 0.37% in 2018. Europe was the worst affected in 2018, with costs equal to the average income of 11 million of its citizens and 1.2% of regional gross national income.
4.1.3 Loss of Earnings from Heat-Related Labour Capacity Loss
By 2015, heat-related reduction in labour capacity resulted in earnings losses equivalent to an estimated 3.9-5.9% of GDP in the lower-middle-income countries tracked.
4.1.4 Economics of the Health Impacts of Air Pollution
Across Europe, ambient PM2.5 pollution from human activity reduced between 2015 and 2018. If held constant, this improvement alone would lead to an annual average reduction in years of life lost to the current population worth $8.8 billion.
4.2.5 Net Value of Fossil Fuel Subsidies and Carbon Prices
58 of the 75 countries reviewed were operating with a net negative carbon price in 2017. The resulting net loss of revenue was, in many cases, equivalent to substantial proportions of the national health budget.
5.1 Media Coverage of Health and Climate Change
Although total coverage of climate change increased substantially from 2018 to 2019, the rise was even greater for coverage of health and climate change, which increased by 96% during this period and has considerably increased from 2007 to 2019.
5.3 Coverage of Health and Climate Change in Scientific Journals
Between 2007 and 2019, original research on health and climate change increased by a factor of nine, a trend driven by research led by scientists in high-income countries.
5.4 Government Engagement in Health and Climate Change
National governments are increasingly paying attention to health and climate change. Small island developing states are leading this trend at the UN General Debate, and poorer and more climate-vulnerable countries were more likely to reference health in their NDCs, with 95% of least developed countries making these references.
5.5 Corporate Sector Engagement in Health and Climate Change
In 2019, engagement in health and climate change increased to 24% among health-care companies in the UN Global Compact, although this engagement continues to lag behind that of other sectors.
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