Climate change is having direct and indirect impacts on the health of people. More extreme weather events, heat waves, spread of infectious diseases and detrimental impacts on air and water quality are having impacts on our health.

Research is underway to assess those most susceptible to climate change.

Researchers are working to:

• Identify and characterize communities and people at greatest risk to climate change and air pollution.
• Assess the individual and synergistic impacts of climate change and air quality on human health.
• Develop approaches to assess the likelihood and effects of extreme events on human health.
• Identify potential societal and behavioral responses to human health risks from climate change.

Related Resources

• Clean Cookstove Research
• Climate Impacts on Human Health
• National Climate Assessment - EPA is a member of the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s Interagency National Climate Assessment Working Group, which has published three National Climate Assessments.
• Research on Health and Environmental Effects of Air Quality
• Special Report on Climate & Health: Analyses of the Effects of Global Change on Human Health and Welfare and Human Systems – The implementation of the Global Change Research Act of 1990 is under the U.S. Global Change Research Program. EPA is a partner agency and took the lead in developing this report.