Protecting Health from Climate Change: World Health Day 2008

A message from Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization, about climate change and its effect on human health.

Paul Epstein

Climate change has multiple direct and indirect consequences for human health. Heat waves affect health directly and are projected to take an increasing toll in developed and underdeveloped nations. The 2003 summer heatwave in Europe -- an event six standard deviations from the mean -- led to 21-35,000 excess deaths in five nations, extensive wildfires, crop failures, nuclear plant shutdowns and melted 10% of the Alpine glacial mass. This event and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 demonstrate that climate change and its impacts may be surprisingly non-linear.