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Climate change is impacting almost every aspect of a child’s health and well-being. Direct exposure to climate events, as well as indirect exposure through news and social media about subjects like environmental devastation and government inaction, can further increase stress leading to anxiety, depression and a lack of hope for the future.

The Global Health Resilience group in the Earth Sciences Department at the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC) has three new position available:

The WHO European Centre for Environment and Health (ECEH) in Bonn, Germany is seeking examples of interventions to protect and promote mental health in the face of climate change in the WHO European Region.

The DESTINY project, which aims to which aims to develop AI-driven tools to make evidence synthesis of climate and health research faster, cheaper, and more useful, is hiring for three positions.

Faculty, academics, and course coordinators at public health institutions are invited to participate in a brief 5-15 minute survey assessing climate and health education in public health training.

According to the latest Joint Research Centre (JRC) report on Forest Fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa 2023, the 2023 wildfire season ranks among the EU's worst in over two decades, fuelled by climate change. Fires devastated vast areas, threatening ecosystems, human health, lives and livelihoods. As fire risks rise, Europe must prevent and prepare for intensifying wildfire seasons.

The EEA briefing 'Impacts of heat on health' gives a first EEA state of play on national surveillance for heat-related health impacts. In terms of preparedness, 21 EEA member countries have heat-health action plans in place, and another four National Public Health Institutes are developing such plans.

November 18th was Health Day at COP29 Azerbaijan. In the last few years, the topic of health has gained momentum as a driving force for climate action. In COP29, health is being framed as the human face of climate change and one of the main arguments for urgently acting on climate.

On November 15th, 2024, the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) released independent policy recommendations to shape One Health governance in the European Union. One Health recognizes that human health, animal health, and the health of the environment are interconnected and form a single system that must be treated as a whole.

The COP29 Special Report on Climate Change and Health outlines priority actions from the global health community for governments, policy-makers, and other sectors to place health at the heart of climate solutions. Developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) with over 100 organizations and 300 experts, this report emphasizes health as the definitive argument for climate action across people, place and planet. Fundamental to these actions is the urgent need to end fossil fuel reliance and ensure people-centred adaptation and resilience.

The prevalence of Vibrio in seafood is expected to increase both globally and in Europe because of climate change, especially in low-salinity or brackish waters, according to EFSA’s latest assessment. Additionally, resistance to last-resort antibiotics is increasingly found in some Vibrio species.

In August 2022 Eurocigua II - An integrated approach to assess the human health risks of ciguatoxins in Europe – was launched. This project builds on the success of the EuroCigua project and the CLEFSA project (which identified ciguatoxins as key emerging risks linked to climate change). Eurocigua II comprises eleven international organisations, five Member States, EFSA, ECDC, EEA, the European Commission, FAO and IOC-UNESCO. The objectives of this project include: environmental data collection and modelling, predicting, and mapping the emergence of ciguatoxins in fish in Canary Island hotspots under climate change. The Eurociqua II project will run until October 2025, with the project's final workshop planned for Fall 2025.

Data from the 2024 Lancet countdown report on health and climate change shows that people all around the world are facing record-breaking threats to their wellbeing, health, and survival from the rapidly changing climate. Of the 15 indicators monitoring climate change-related health hazards, exposures, and impacts, ten reached concerning new records in 2024.

Excessively high or low temperatures presently cause 407,000 fatalities a year. Heat-related deaths, now six times more frequent in southern than in northern Europe, will occur 9.3 times more frequently in the south than in the north by 2100.

This report highlights the escalating health risks climate change poses to children and adolescents in Europe, a population especially vulnerable due to physiological and developmental factors. Rising temperatures and extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and flooding, are already leading to severe health consequences, including increased cases of heat exhaustion, respiratory illnesses, and mental health issues like anxiety and eco-anxiety. Additionally, the spread of vector-borne diseases is widening, placing children at risk for infections previously confined to warmer regions, while air pollution and allergens are exacerbating respiratory and allergy-related conditions. Nutritional risks are also rising, as climate-related disruptions impact food security and affordability, hindering children’s physical and cognitive development. Projections indicate that today’s youth will face four times more extreme events in their lifetime, underscoring the urgent need for child-focused health and support measures. This report provides essential insights for policymakers, healthcare providers, and educators addressing climate impacts on Europe’s young populations.

Over 75 technical partners met from September 10th-11th at the World Metalogical Organization's (WMO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss the integration of climate and health data. The meeting brought together funders and leading experts in health information systems, digital health, climate data, and climate-health research and policy, as well as representatives from health ministries. The purpose of the meeting was to advance the technical and policy agenda for the use of weather and climate information for health decision making, as outlined in the WHO-WMO Implementation Plan for Climate, Environment, and Health, the WHO resolution on Climate Change and Health, and the COP28 Health Declaration.

The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) has opened a call for Second National Expert (SNE). The purpose of the SNE position is to enhance and develop the relationship between national institutions throughout the EU Member States while remaining in the service of their employer. The ECDC is particularly seeking candidates with expertise in climate change and environmental determinants to contribute to its Disease Programmes.

Vast areas of central Europe are experiencing what is being called the worst flooding in more than 20 years, triggered by slow-moving Storm Boris. Across Europe, floods are the most common natural hazard leading to emergencies. Floods cause extensive damage, disruption and adverse health effects, particularly given the potential for increased transmission of water- and vector-borne diseases.

West Nile Virus (WNV) is commonly found in Africa, the Middle East, North America and West Asia. Warm, wet weather is likely to increase breeding grounds for the mosquitoes that serve as the virus vector. In recent years, human cases and outbreaks of WNV have been reported by many countries in the WHO European Region, several of which are reporting cases for the first time.

Heat from standing or driving cars, together with sealed road and car park surfaces, contribute for up to 30% of urban heat generated by people, according to the Austrian mobility and transport organisation VCÖ. Hence, traffic in cities contributes substantially to increase heat-related health risks and reduces citizens’ quality of life. Fewer roads, shaded infrastructure and more green spaces to stimulate active mobility and more public transport can reduce urban heat stress and the associated health risks.

When temperatures rise by 3°C towards the end of the century, Europe can expect a three-fold increase in annual heat-related mortality - to 129 000 deaths per year - due to climatic changes and Europe’s ageing population, a new study finds. Already existing regional disparities in heat risk, are expected to widen, with up to 10 times more deaths in southern and eastern Europe, even though heat-related mortality will rise everywhere in Europe.

Europe counted 47,690 excess deaths due to heat in 2023, estimated a new study in Nature Medicine. This is the second highest heat-related mortality burden since 2015, only surpassed by 2022 (over 60,000 estimated deaths). Despite this being a high number of mostly avoidable deaths, the heat-related mortality burden would have been 80% higher in absence of present adaptation measures, especially for the elderly.

To enhance public health, the post-election European Union (EU) should prioritise long-term challenges such as climate change and the ageing population, as well as factors that influence our health, according to a consultation of the general public. The findings, derived from a seven-month public debate led by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, highlight a collective call for the EU to play a more significant role in health.

Earlier this summer, the UN called for action on extreme heat in response to deadly temperatures impacts that cause worldwide around 489 000 estimated heat-related deaths every year in recent decades. According to WHO, the WHO European Region accounts, on average, for 36% of these heat-related deaths, or more than 175 000 deaths yearly, making heat stress is the leading cause of climate-related deaths.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) published the report ‘Heat at Work: Implications for Safety and Health’. This global review of the related research findings, existing policies and useful practices offers an analysis of national legislation to address heat stress in selected European countries and diverse workplace level measures, supported by scientific evidence of impacts and actions.