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The World Bank report ‘Urban Overheating & Adaptation Measures’ explores adaptation strategies employed across the EU to reduce the health and societal impacts of urban heat. The measures include policies, initiatives and practices spanning various governance levels from the EU over the national to the city level. The report outlines the current state of play, highlights exemplary cases of innovation and resilience, and identifies pathways for enhancement and collaboration

Ensuring high job quality is a prerogative of the EU. The issue becomes particularly salient in the context of climate change. Workers will experience the effects of climate change in many ways: job insecurity, changes to their work tasks and responsibilities and changes in their workplaces. Eurofound’s report on job quality and climate change outlines this complex relationship, including risks created by heat and infectious diseases, as well as the implication of green tasks in selected sectors. Not less than about 40% of workers in the EU will experience profound changes in their job tasks as our economies adapt to climate change and implement climate mitigation strategies.

The LIFE RESYSTAL project is gathering information about cases where hospitals have changed their physical infrastructures to adapt to the physical risks that climate change brings to their region. If your organisation has made any structural interventions to adapt to the impacts of climate change, fill out our survey until September 2024 and help strengthen the database on climate change adaptation in European healthcare.

EEA calls individual experts to express their interest to assist in performing preparatory work in support of EEA’s activities with a focus on the areas of - among others - Climate, and Health and environment. Experts included in the list could be asked to carry out diverse tasks related to dedicated topical work, e.g. draft chapters of reports, perform data analysis, provide opinions on drafting tender specifications, etc.

EEA's new briefing 'Preparing society for climate risks in Europe' presents lessons from Climate-ADAPT and Observatory case studies, which is a diverse set of examples of adaptation measures implemented across Europe. The briefing shows how the case studies inspire and help societies to better prepare for climate change, while also highlighting the need to scale up adaptation measures and actions across all policy sectors and governance levels to address escalating climate risks.

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has become official partner of the European Climate and Health Observatory. Among EU-OSHA's activities on climate and health is a foresight study on climate change impacts, anticipating future climate change-related developments and disruptions, and its occupational safety and health (OSH) risks. From 2025 onwards, EU-OSHA will also develop an OSH overview assessing the consequences of climate change on workers’ health and safety.

The EU PolicyWatch Database collects information on measures of governments and social partners to cushion current social and economic strains. Given the challenges climate change is creating, the database also maps how policy makers address the effects of extreme weather events on businesses, workers and citizens with 65 specific measures. The aim is to inform both governments and social partners on the different practices to mitigate the socioeconomic impact of climate change, while maintaining economic competitiveness and livability of local areas.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reports an upward trend in the number of cases of dengue imported from dengue-endemic regions, as well as an increasing number of local outbreaks of both West Nile virus and dengue in the past two years. Increased temperature across Europe, as well as an increase in rainfall and humidity create favourable conditions for mosquitos that are a vector for the diseases (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus). Climate change is expected to increase the spread of mosquitos across Europe as the climate shifts to create more favourable conditions.

In a recent policy brief "Integrating Human Health in Climate Change Policies", the European Climate-Health Cluster – a Horizon Europe cooperation between 6 European research and innovation projects for the integration of human health issues in climate policies and programs – demands urgent, transformative actions on climate and health from European policymakers.

The 11 smallest countries in the European Region (including among others the EEA member and cooperating countries Cyprus, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro and Slovenia) have jointly committed to stronger action to improve the health of their populations. The countries signed the Cyprus Declaration, which sets out a way forward to jointly act on health priorities, including via the resilience of health systems against climate change.

The LIFE project TreeCheck wins the 2024 LIFE Award in the Climate Action category, for assisting Central European cities in minimising urban heat island effect and its health impacts with the use of green infrastructure. LIFE TreeCheck developed among others software for easier urban planning and an app for the public to recognize trees and raise awareness on the heat reducing potential. The project also brings together knowledge and expertise for new measures, procedures and technologies to help cities cope with extreme temperatures.

At the World Health Assembly in Geneva last week, World Health Organization (WHO) member states adopted a resolution on Climate Change and Health. The Resolution clearly identifies climate change as a major threat to public health, and sets out a framework to build climate-resilient and sustainable health systems. Among various proposed measures were multi-sectoral cooperation, awareness raising on the interdependence between climate change and health, and decarbonization to tackle the root cause of climate change. The adoption demonstrates a political commitment by governments and WHO to scale up climate action as a public health priority to protect people from the growing health impacts of climate change.

The new portal from Santé publique France provides public guidance on coping with heat, including specific advice for staying cool indoors and during sporting events.

The new factsheet by the World Health Organisation highlights the increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves, their health impacts for the general population and vulnerable groups specifically, and health interventions and policies that can prevent and reduce risks and impacts.

Scientists from Climate Central, World Weather Attribution and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre identify in a new report human-caused climate change as a key driver for record-breaking global temperatures and dangerous extreme heat in the past 12 months. The high temperatures during among others heat waves in Southern Europe in the summer of 2023 would never have occurred without human-induced climate change.

In its General Programme of Work 2025-2028, the World Health Organization (WHO) prioritizes climate change and health, thereby underscoring the critical need to respond to the escalating threat to health posed by climate change. WHO aims to safeguard health amidst climate challenges by strengthening climate-resilient health systems, fostering synergies between climate resilience and mitigation efforts, and prioritizing vulnerable populations.

The first European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA), launched in March 2024, provides a comprehensive assessment of the major climate risks facing Europe now and in the future. Human health is one of the major risks areas. Supplementary interactive viewers of EUCRA's comprehensive risk table and of the risk impact drivers are now available, together with the final version of the report, FAQ and more resources on EUCRA's webpage.

The Observatory portal now provides more insight in how climate change affects health through changes in the water cycle, with additional evidence on the health effects of droughts and water scarcity, landslides, permafrost thaw, and water- and foodborne diseases.

The European Climate and Health Observatory includes nine new case studies that showcase diverse responses to the health threats of climate change, implemented across Europe. The case studies, spanning nature-based solutions, financial incentives, governance options and more, aim to inspire climate action to prevent and reduce climate impacts on human health and well-being.

The LIFE RESYSTAL project has designed an adaptive Capacity Assessment Matrix (or checklist), that enables hospitals to assess their climate readiness and take targeted action, preparing ahead of any climate-related extreme weather events. The assessment produces a ‘climate resilience profile’ for each hospital, which provides a clear and current depiction of their ability to withstand climate-related weather events, and this across three dimensions:  infrastructure, governance and leadership, and crisis management.

The Observatory features now a page describing the specific risks and impacts of climate change for children and youth, today and in the future. You get informed about child-specific vulnerability and exposure, as well as potential responses to prevent and reduce impacts.

With the new logo for the European Climate and Health Observatory, we want to emphasize the relation between climate - with leaves symbolising the natural environment - and human health - with the heart shape symbolising health and the dot symbolising a head to introduce the human dimension.

As the world faces deadly heat, Arsht-Rock and Minecraft are challenging players to overcome the threat of global warming virtually and in real-life. Through in-game scenarios, players of the Minecraft Extreme Heat Series learn in an engaging, innovative way to recognize the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. As they play, they can also can take away real-world heat resilience responses, including simple solutions like fans and hydration as well as urban climate policy solutions.

The EEA report 'Responding to climate change impacts on human health in Europe: focus on floods, droughts and water quality’ draws attention to the worsening water-related impacts of climate change on health and well-being that are already felt across Europe. Fast-tracking implementation and better coordination of efforts by governments, water authorities and healthcare providers are urgently needed to prevent and reduce health impacts. The EEA report seeks to inspire action by showing various examples of practical solutions implemented in the EEA member and collaborating countries.  

Published in The Lancet Public Health, the 2024 Europe Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change highlights with updated indicators the negative impacts of climate change on human health, and how these tend to be unevenly distributed; the delayed action to mitigate and adapt to climate change; and some missed opportunities to protect and improve health.