WHO directors call to add climate- and heat-related diseases to COP28 agenda

Heat-related effects of climate change are more and more manifest – along with their human toll in terms of deaths and diseases. WHO Directors for Non-communicable Diseases and Environment, Climate Change and Health, Bente Mikkelsen and Maria Neira, call to set prevention of climate- and heat-related diseases on the formal COP 28 negotiating agenda – "not just on the sidelines”.

July 2023 was globally the hottest month ever recorded, with far reaching impacts on human health. Extreme heat can lead to sudden organ failure and death. Chronic heat stress can also trigger or exacerbate several non-communicable diseases (NDCs) such as kidney disorders, hypertension and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases – leading to more premature deaths. Next to heat, extreme weather events such as floods and storms also pose risks for people living with NCDs when routine healthcare services and access to life–saving medication are disrupted. Displacement and trauma after extreme weather can also exacerbate mental health conditions. Still, NCDs, like those resulting from heat and climate-related stresses, have not yet a place on the agenda of the 28th United Nations climate conference (COP28), scheduled to open on 30 November in Dubai, while its hosts had pledged to elevate health issues at the top. WHO Directors for Non-communicable Diseases and Environment, Climate Change and Health, Bente Mikkelsen and Maria Neira, now urge to set prevention of non-communicable diseases resulting from heat and other climate-related events on the formal COP 28 negotiating agenda.

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