Air Pollution
Rising heat worsens smog. Burning coal and oil emits carbon and particle pollution; plants produce more allergenic pollen, affecting respiratory health threats like asthma.
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Climate Change Threatens Health
Serious Threats Where You Live and What To Do About Them
Climate change is one of the most serious public health threats facing the nation, but few people are aware of how it can affect them. Children, the elderly, and communities living in poverty are among the most vulnerable. Click on a state on the map for more information on climate-health threats, actions being taken to prepare communities, and what you can do.
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VIDEO: Climate Change Threatens Health
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Issue Papers and Reports
- Climate and Your Health (2011)
Addressing the Most Serious Health Effects of Climate Change - Climate Change, Water, and Risk (2010)
Current Water Demands Are Not Sustainable - Tides of Trouble (2010)
Increased Threats to Human Health and Ecosystems from Harmful Algal Blooms - The Worst Summer Ever? (2010)
A report on record setting night-time temperatures - Fever Pitch (2009)
Mosquito-Borne Dengue Fever Threat Spreading in the Americas - Boosting the Benefits (2008)
Improving Air Quality and Health by Reducing Global Warming Pollution in California - Preparing for Global Warming (2008)
A Framework for Protecting Community Health and the Environment in a Warmer World - Sneezing and Wheezing (2007)
How Global Warming Could Increase Ragweed Allergies, Air Pollution and Asthma
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- Climate and health briefer for Ohio
- NRDC Senior Scientist Kim Knowlton discusses climate health impacts with an emphasis on Ohio (audio briefing)
- Climate and health briefer for Pennsylvania
- NRDC Senior Scientist Kim Knowlton discusses climate health impacts with an emphasis on Pennsylvania (audio briefing)
Six Ways Climate Change Threatens Health
Extreme Heat
Heat waves send thousands to emergency rooms and cost health care systems millions of dollars; climate change brings longer, more intense heat waves.
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Infectious Diseases
Hotter summers can make disease-carrying insects more active, for longer seasons; illnesses like dengue, West Nile, and Lyme can spread into new areas.
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Drought
Hotter days and nights, and changing rainfall patterns reduce water supply quantity and quality, and diminish food security.
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Flooding
Climate change intensifies rainfall; heavy rains increase risk of drinking water contamination and illness; floods can force communities to relocate.
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Extreme Weather
In 2011, thousands of record-breaking extreme weather events harmed communities and health in the US. Climate change is contributing to more intense and frequent extreme weather events.
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Climate and Health blog posts from
- EPA Report Confirms Oil and Gas Sector is Among Nation's Worst Climate Polluters
- posted by Meleah Geertsma, 4/30/13
- A new report issued by EPA in late April – an update to the national emissions inventory ...
- Ahmedabad, India Launches Pioneering Heat-Health Action Plan
- posted by Kim Knowlton, 4/16/13
- Today is hot in Ahmedabad, India, at 40⁰Celsius (about 104⁰F) --but more than that, it’s an historic ...
- Fighting Climate Effects: The Media Boosts Heat Wave Science into Action in Ahmedabad
- posted by Kim Knowlton, 3/21/13
- This week, I’m in the western Indian City of Ahmedabad on a long-awaited trip. It’s over ...
- NRDC Maps Record-Breaking 2012 Weather, In Your Backyard
- posted by Kim Knowlton, 1/15/13
- This fall, when Superstorm Sandy hit New York City, where I live, I was in San Francisco, at the 2012 ...
