Yesterday was the World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Health Day, with the theme “Protecting Health from Climate Change.” The WHO provides a wealth of details that connect global climate change with serious implications for human health.
“Overwhelming evidence shows that human activities are affecting the global climate, with serious implications for public health. Catastrophic weather events, variable climates that affect food and water supplies, new patterns of infectious disease outbreaks, and emerging diseases linked to ecosystem changes, are all associated with global warming and pose health risks.”
Although the WHO organizes this one day of activism, there are plans to extend the exploration of this topic throughout the year. WHO and its partners — including the UN Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the UN World Meteorological Organization — are developing a research agenda to better estimate the scale and nature of health vulnerability and to identify strategies and tools for health protection. Plans include better systems for surveillance and forecasting, an area where geospatial technology will be key to better understanding.
