header background

Environment

The global health effects of climate change are not well quantified today and are likely to increase in the future, with lower-income countries 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

32,200

Agricultural burning accounted for approximately 32,200 premature deaths in 2019

Deaths related to the use of fire to clear land Deaths related to the use of fire to clear land

25 Percent

The U.S. makes up 5 percent of the global population, but produces 25 percent of the world's CO2 emissions

The United States and CO2 emissions The United States and CO2 emissions

4 Million

In 2019, outdoor air pollution was linked to more than 4 million deaths

Air pollution-linked deaths Air pollution-linked deaths

One-Third

The one-third of Earth under the guardianship of Indigenous peoples boasts ~80 percent of global biodiversity

Indigenous Land Guardianship Around the World Indigenous Land Guardianship Around the World

5 Percent

In India, health care contributes to 5 percent of the national carbon footprint

Carbon footprint of India's health-care industry Carbon footprint of India's health-care industry

700,000

Indonesia dumps close to 700,000 tons of plastic into the ocean each year

Indonesia and plastic waste Indonesia and plastic waste

62,000

In 2018, China reported 62,000 heat-related deaths in people over age 65

Aging and heat Aging and heat

Featured

Environment
View of a COP27 sign on the road leading to the conference area in Egypt's Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh as the city prepares to host the COP27 climate summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on October 20, 2022.

Protecting Mental Health in the Era of a Warming Planet
by Renzo R. Guinto, John Jamir Benzon R. Aruta - November 2, 2022

It's often forgotten that mental health is influenced by climate change

Environment
A young woman with long blond hair cools herself by pouring water on her face from an orange water bottle near the Bosco Verticale housing development, a building covered with green plants to insulate it from the heat.

Building for Heat

by Alice C. Hill

Heat waves are taking lives, draining rivers, parching crops, and motivating efforts to adapt to climate change

Environment
A female delegate wearing a long sleeved black dress a blue surgical mask looks at a 30-foot sculpture made out of plastic bottles resembling a faucet, outside the UN Environment Programme Headquarters, in Nairobi, Kenya

The Emerging Health Crisis of Microplastic Debris

by Dick Vethaak, Concepción Martínez-Gómez

Microplastics are everywhere, including our bodies

Sumi Mehta
Environment

Air Quality, Health, and Climate Conversations

by Sumi Mehta

More than 90 percent of the world breathes polluted air

The conference created a "loss and damage" fund but failed on mitigation and adaptation
Environment

COP27 Produced a Triple Burden for Climate Policy—And That's Bad News for Global Health

by David P. Fidler

The conference created a "loss and damage" fund but failed on mitigation and adaptation

A woman feeds gulls along the Hudson River shore during a winter storm in Nyack, New York, on January 29, 2022.
Environment

Flu: When Spillovers Spill Over

by Ellen P. Carlin, Claire J. Standley, Erin M. Sorrell

The high risk of H5 influenza in North America this fall

A man wades through knee-deep water in his home, carrying damaged furniture in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, on September 20, 2022. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo
Environment

Puerto Rico—Still Waiting for Power After Hurricane Fiona

A fragile health system, vulnerable elderly, and food insecurity worry University of Puerto Rico's Carmen Vélez Vega

Concrete nuclear reactor towers bellowing pillars of white smoke stand against a blue sky. In the foreground a bee flits between bright yellow flowers atop leafy green stems
Environment

Fallout

by Lillian Posner

A photographic view of the fallout from past nuclear incidents for health

A woman sits next to Po's dry riverbed, as parts of Italy's longest river have dried up due to the worst drought in the last 70 years, in Turin, Italy
Environment

Italy's Po River

by Serena Giacomin

How a recent heat wave is affecting Italy's longest river

A black and white cow stands on caked and cracked mud before a small patch of muddy, gray water at a dam near Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on January 18, 2020.
Environment

In Parched Zimbabwe, Climate Change Pushes Tsetse to New Areas

by Andrew Mambondiyani

Health experts will monitor tsetse-caused sleeping sickness to stem its spread

A woman wearing a black blouse and slacks is pictured walking down a cleared pathway in a lush, green jungle in Fiji.
Environment

From Scalpels to Security

by Callum Forbes, Abbie Naus, Elizabeth McLeod, Craig D. McClain

Examining the intersection of global surgery, climate change, and human security

Giant fish made with plastic bottles are exhibited at Botafogo beach, in Rio de Janeiro June 19, 2012.
Environment

Bringing New Life to Plastics

by Caroline Kantis

A look at how plastics are being reduced, reused, and recycled

A brown bird with a pale chest stands in a foam patch of polluted water in Santa Monica, California, on March 23, 2021.
Environment

Plastics Are Just the Tip of the Iceberg

by Matthew Savoca

Living in a world swimming in synthetic chemicals

CDC biologists a and Congolese scientist wear blue surgical gowns and respirators, as they examine animals caught in the jungle who may carry the MonkeyPox virus, in Manfuette, Republic of Congo on August 29, 2017
Environment

Monkeypox Timeline

by Lillian Posner, Isabella Turilli

A frequently updated tracker of emerging developments from the beginning of the 2022 monkeypox outbreak

A close-up photo of the face of Hu Hushen, a 78-year-old former miner, who breathes with the help of extra oxygen at Yangjia Hospital in Zhejiang Province, China, on October 19, 2015.
Environment

China's Attack on a Top Industrial Health Hazard

by Yaming You

How China is bringing the devastating lung disease pneumoconiosis to its knees