Mental Health Climate Change
Experiences of extreme weather and mental health in climate-vulnerable communities: Results from a large-scale survey of women living in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. Springer Nature Link.
• Research & Reports
WHAT IS PLANETARY HEALTH?
Climate Change
Increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, driven by human activity, negatively impacts global ecological systems and human health.
Human-driven emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and black carbon are primarily responsible for an unstable and changing climate, and most are produced by burning fossil fuels and altering natural habitats. Glacial melting, rising sea levels, increased global temperatures, more frequent extreme weather events, and changes in the abundance, distribution, and composition of species are all linked to the changing climate.
Globally, nearly twice as many natural disasters occurred between 2000 and 2019 and affected roughly 1 billion more people than the period spanning 1980 and 1999. Heat waves, droughts, fires, floods, tropical storms, and other extreme weather events pose both near- and long-term threats to human health and intergenerational equity. For example, particulate matter from fires reduces air quality and causes morbidity and mortality from cardiorespiratory disease; flooding leads to biological contamination of water supplies, displacement, injury, and trauma; and more intense coastal storms, combined with sea level rise and loss of coastal barrier systems (mangrove forests, vegetated dunes, coral reefs, and wetlands), generate a “triple threat” for inhabitants of low-lying coastal areas. Survivors of extreme weather events face long-term, serious physical and mental health impacts.
Climate change and ecosystem transformations are inextricably connected and often mutually exacerbated.
The field of Planetary Health uses a systems approach to connect the complexities of anthropogenic drivers of climate change to natural hazards. Understanding these relationships in terms of cause-and-effect is the first step in addressing climate change and its widespread effects on the planet’s ecosystems and well-being of its inhabitants.
We must take note of these causal relationships and advocate for living within planetary boundaries to preserve what climate stability we can for the safety of future generations and our biosphere.
Climate Change Resources
Noncommunicable Diseases Climate Change
Tropical Deforestation is Associated With Considerable Heat-Related Mortality. Nature.
Tropical deforestation causes local warming, exposing 345 million people to higher heat stress and contributing to 28,000 heat-related deaths annually. Mortality is highest in Southeast Asia, underscoring deforestation’s major role in climate-related health risks.
• Research & Reports
Infectious Diseases Biodiversity Loss
Pathogens, people, and the planet: a systematic review of biodiversity decline, zoonotic spillover, and climate-driven health vulnerabilities. Biodiversity.
• Research & Reports
Climate Change Governance and Policy
The ICJ Advisory Opinion: A Legal Mandate for Planetary Health. The Lancet.
The International Court of Justice delivered an Advisory Opinion affirming that states have legal obligations under international law to prevent and respond to climate change and its harmful impacts on health, human rights, and the environment.
• News
Climate Change Education
Planetary health learning objectives: Foundational knowledge for global health education in an era of climate change. The Lancet Planetary Health.
• Guides & Frameworks
News Related to Climate Change
European PHA Monthly Scientific Webinar Series Relaunch- Sam Myers
