Global Health Impacts of Climate Change

The document details how climate change causes direct health trauma through heat, wildfires, and storms, and indirect impacts via natural and human systems. It highlights WHO projections for increased deaths from heat and diarrhoeal diseases, the expansion of vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue, and the risk of widespread undernutrition. Additionally, it addresses the socio-economic drivers of health decline, including extreme poverty, forced migration, and increased conflict, while identifying highly vulnerable populations such as indigenous peoples and those in low-income countries.

• Direct health impacts of climate change include heat-related illness, trauma, and deaths from wildfires, floods, and storms. Heat exposure can lead to heat stroke and worsen heart, lung, and kidney conditions; in 2017, 157 million more people were exposed to heat waves compared to the 1986-2005 average. The World Health Organization (WHO) projects that without adaptation, climate change will cause over 92,000 additional deaths among people over 65 in 2030 and over 255,000 by 2050.
• Climate change increases the risk and geographic range of vector-borne and water-borne diseases. The WHO estimates that by 2030, malaria will cause an additional 60,000 deaths and by 2050, over 200 million more people will be at risk. By 2050, an additional 520 million people globally may be at risk from dengue fever. Additionally, diarrhoeal diseases are projected to cause 48,000 additional deaths per year in children aged 0-15 in 2030 and 33,000 in 2050.
• Undernutrition is expected to be the most severe global health impact of the 21st century. Climate change reduces yields of staple crops like wheat, rice, maize, and soybean, while increased CO2 levels lower the zinc and iron content in these crops. Fisheries and aquaculture are also threatened by ocean acidification, rising temperatures, and ecosystem degradation.
• Climate change drives systemic socio-economic instability that impacts health, including forcing 3 to 16 million people into extreme poverty and increasing the frequency of conflict by 14% for every further 1oC of warming or more extreme rainfall. It also causes forced migration; for example, at least 4,400 people have been forced to move due to sea-level rise and coastal erosion. If warming reaches 2oC above pre-industrial levels, population densities in the subtropics could increase by up to 300% as tropical populations migrate.

APA

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (n.d.). Global Health Impacts of Climate Change. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Module-2-Factsheet-ready-to-upload-FINAL.pdf#new_tab

Chicago

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. Global Health Impacts of Climate Change. n.d. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Module-2-Factsheet-ready-to-upload-FINAL.pdf#new_tab.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |title=Global Health Impacts of Climate Change |url=https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Module-2-Factsheet-ready-to-upload-FINAL.pdf#new_tab |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canadianassociationofphysiciansfortheenvironmentndglobal, author = {{Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}}, title = {{Global Health Impacts of Climate Change}}, institution = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, url = {https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Module-2-Factsheet-ready-to-upload-FINAL.pdf#new_tab}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }