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Environment

Pollution kills nine million people each year and sickens many more, mostly in poorer nations. The global health effects of climate change are not well quantified today and are likely to increase in the future, with lower-income countries again bearing the brunt of greater food insecurity, increased rates of chronic respiratory illnesses, and shifts in vector-borne diseases. This section explores the global health nexus between climate change and pollution and the possibilities for a more coherent policy approach to these issues.

Environment

75 Percent

In Minnesota and Saudi Arabia mask use is 76 percent and 75 percent, respectively

Mask Use in MN and Saudi Arabia Mask Use in MN and Saudi Arabia

9M

Premature deaths caused by pollution, in 2015

Premature deaths caused by pollution, in 2015 Premature deaths caused by pollution, in 2015

8

Of the hottest years on record were in last decade

Of the hottest years on record were in last decade Of the hottest years on record were in last decade

118.4

Temperature (°F) in New Delhi amid 2019 heat wave

Temperature (°F) in New Delhi amid 2019 heat wave Temperature (°F) in New Delhi amid 2019 heat wave

$5.7

Health costs from ambient air pollution, trillions

Health costs from ambient air pollution, trillions Health costs from ambient air pollution, trillions

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Environment
A man wearing a face mask rides a bicycle on a bridge in front of the financial district of Pudong covered in smog during a polluted day in Shanghai, China on November 22, 2017.

How Does China's Pollution Control Shed Light on Its Pathogen Control?

by Yanzhong Huang - January 28, 2021

The zealous pursuit of pollution or pathogen control is built into a top-down, state dominated policy structure

Environment
Residents walk along a house on a flooded street heading to a shelter ahead of the expected landfall of the "super cyclone" Amphan, in the Dacope of Khulna district, Bangladesh, on May 20, 2020. Photo shows two people walking and hanging on to a building as they navigate the flooded streets. AFP/Munir uz Zaman via Getty Images

Family Affair: Coronavirus and the Climate Crisis

by Gaurab Basu, Samir Chaudhuri

In the Bay of Bengal, where Cyclone Amphan collided with COVID-19, a glimpse of why we need environmental sustainability

Environment
Factories emit smoke in Jilin province, China, across the Songhua River from where an elderly man exercises on the morning of Feb 24, 2013, after Chinese authorities announced plans to curb pollution. The photo shows the man in the foreground, back to the camera, with buildings on the other side of the river pouring out smoke. REUTERS/Stringer

What to do About Type 2

by Katherine Leach-Kemon, Theo Vos

Aging, obesity, and poor diet are driving the diabetes epidemic worldwide—and so is air pollution

Actors dressed as zombies or ghouls pose for a photograph before their performance at a drive-in haunted house show by Kowagarasetai (Scare Squad), for people inside a car in order to maintain social distancing amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at a garage in Tokyo, Japan July 3, 2020.
Environment

The "Zombie Apocalypse" Bond

by Robin Blades

Generosity in the pandemic

A man wearing a face mask rides a bicycle on a bridge in front of the financial district of Pudong covered in smog during a polluted day in Shanghai, China on November 22, 2017.
Environment

How Does China's Pollution Control Shed Light on Its Pathogen Control?

by Yanzhong Huang

The zealous pursuit of pollution or pathogen control is built into a top-down, state dominated policy structure

A child flies a kite inside a giant inflatable plastic bubble during a performance of the artistic group Cirk La Putyka called "Isolation" in a park, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Prague, Czech Republic
Environment

The Psychological Toll of the Pandemic: What Isolation Does to the Brain

by Robin Blades

The worldwide increase in isolation during COVID-19 is sure to exact a psychological toll on people across the globe

U.S. school systems are stuck between two bad choices. A classroom chair rests between two dismantled water fountains at Edmondson Westside High School in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 28, 2020. The photo shows a red chair in a beige-colorored hallway where two porticos feature white porcelain basins now dry for the pandemic. REUTERS/Tom Brenner
Environment

The Kids Are (Not) Alright

by Kevin O’Rourke, Katherine Leach-Kemon, Theo Vos

Analyzing the evidence against—and in support of—reopening schools during COVID-19

A tattered U.S. flag damaged in Hurricane Harvey, flies in Conroe, Texas, on August 29, 2017. The photo shows a torn U.S. flag blowing against a dark grey sky. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Environment

Hurricanes, Pandemics, Floods, Frail Systems, and Failed Responses

by Hannah Todd, Justin Onwenu

Imagining a post-Harvey, post-Irma, post-Hanna, post-COVID-19 world of pandemics, natural disasters, and U.S. resiliency

Residents walk along a house on a flooded street heading to a shelter ahead of the expected landfall of the "super cyclone" Amphan, in the Dacope of Khulna district, Bangladesh, on May 20, 2020. Photo shows two people walking and hanging on to a building as they navigate the flooded streets. AFP/Munir uz Zaman via Getty Images
Environment

Family Affair: Coronavirus and the Climate Crisis

by Gaurab Basu, Samir Chaudhuri

In the Bay of Bengal, where Cyclone Amphan collided with COVID-19, a glimpse of why we need environmental sustainability

A mural warns residents of the danger of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak on the Navajo reservation, in Shiprock, New Mexico, U.S., April 8, 2020. Picture shows an amazing mural of a man wearing a mask painted on the side of a wall. REUTERS/Andrew Hay
Environment

Coronavirus in the Navajo Nation—From Charity to Solidarity

by Jack Fukushima, Abhi Kole, Sangeeta Tripathi, Cristina Rivera Carpenter, Sriram Shamasunder 

Why we need to re-center the narrative around working with indigenous peoples in the Navajo Nation and other communities

Migrant workers, who were stranded in the western state of Gujarat due to a government lockdown, inside a train as they leave for their homes in Ahmedabad, India, on May 2, 2020. The image shows a bright red train with people inside and a woman walking by the train outside. REUTERS/Amit Dave
Environment

The Trillion-Dollar Question With COVID-19

by Luke Shors, Michael Ferrari

How significant is climate on coronavirus transmission?

A Samoan beach before the coronavirus crisis—pictured on June 2, 2017 in Saleapaga, Samoa after New Zealand Prime Minister announced a $5.15 million aid package to help boost Samoa's tourism industry. The picture shows a tropical beach in Somoa with gorgeous palm trees and grass huts. GETTY Images/Phil Walter
Environment

Coronavirus in Samoa

by Nicola Hawley

Serendipitous twist of a tragic 2019 measles outbreak may have left small island nation unusually prepared for COVID-19

This is a striking photo of the torsos, waists and thighs of two women wearing brilliant red dresses standing at attention.
Environment

Setting Expectations for the Return to "Normal"

by Christopher Thomas

As the China epicenter slowly returns to new normal, it's a world of facemasks, location scanning apps and travel rules

Traditional healer Bi Mwanahija Mzee folds root medicine in a piece of paper to give to a mother who complains of her child's constipation in Zanzibar City, Tanzania on January 31, 2019. The photo shows the healer facing the camera and sitting between two other women and a child. REUTERS/Nicky Woo
Environment

A Wake-Up Call for Healthier Design

by Etta Madete

Good design principles and simple measures to prevent the spread COVID-19 inspired by African traditional health centers

Kidney disease increases are concentrated among farm workers in hot, humid conditions, including sugarcane fields in Central America, similar to this one in Jacarezinho, Brazil on January 1, 2019. Picture is taken at the edge of a field on a sugar plantation on a spectacularly clear day. The earth is brown, the growing canes are green, and the deep blue sky has little fluffy clouds rolling in. REUTERS/Marcelo Texeira
Environment

Climate Change, the Kidney Killer

by Alton Lu

Is chronic kidney disease the canary in the coal mine in terms of feeling the health impacts of climate change?