by Key facts
- Climate change is harming people’s health, including mental health, and leading to deaths and illnesses due to extreme weather events, disruptions to the food system and the spread of disease.
- An estimated 3.6 billion people – 44% of the world’s population – live in areas that are highly sensitive to climate change.
- Unless urgent action is taken, climate change will add five million people to the global death toll between 2030 and 2050 from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress.
- Many countries and areas in the Western Pacific are at high risk from climate change and climate-related disasters.
- Health impacts vary depending on the vulnerability and resilience of communities. Because healthcare facilities are the primary point of care, building resilience in facilities must be a priority to address vulnerability to the health impacts of climate change.
Climate change affects health in many ways, including by leading to deaths and diseases due to increasingly common extreme weather events such as heat, storms and floods, the disruption of food systems and the increase in diseases spread by animals, insects, food and water. Climate change also impacts mental health.
Climate change undermines social determinants of good health, such as livelihoods, equality and access to healthcare and social support structures. Groups at risk of vulnerability and disadvantage, such as women, children, minorities, poor people, migrants, the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions, are most affected by climate change.
The short- to medium-term impacts of climate change depend on the level of risk and resilience in communities. In the longer term, impacts will increasingly depend on actions taken now to increase resilience and tackle the root causes of climate change, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
WHO response
WHO is working with countries and territories to build and strengthen climate resilience in healthcare facilities. These efforts help reduce vulnerabilities in the most disadvantaged communities.
WHO supports Member States in monitoring progress in protecting health from climate change. WHO also supports countries and territories in conducting vulnerability and adaptation assessments, implementing climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable healthcare initiatives, and developing and/or updating national adaptation plans for the healthcare sector.
WHO is working to build climate resilience in healthcare facilities in the Western Pacific in four areas:
- Advocacy and Partnerships: Work with United Nations partners, ensure health is represented on climate agendas, and share information on threats and opportunities to climate health.
- Monitoring, science and evidence: Coordinate the assessment of scientific evidence on climate change and health links; monitor the implementation of adaptation actions and mitigation obligations;
- Integrated climate-informed early warning and monitoring: supporting countries and territories to improve integrated monitoring and implement climate-informed early warning systems.
- Supporting countries and territories: Strengthen capacities to improve the resilience and adaptation of healthcare systems, reduce healthcare vulnerability to climate change and promote health while reducing carbon emissions
