Climate and Health

By 2050 climate change will place immense strain on global healthcare systems, causing 14.5 million deaths and $12.5 trillion in economic losses (World Economic Forum); displace over 4.5 billion people (World Bank, 2023) and affect children in many different ways through heatwaves, wildfires, floods, droughts and cyclones (UNDRR).

Climate and health

Climate can affect our health directly and indirectly both in the short-term and long-term.

Climate change can impact health directly through disease and mental health issues disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities. Climate change intensifies global health risks, causing higher morbidity and mortality.

Event driven health effects

Heat Risks

Flooding and disease

Flooding and mental health

Mobility

Climate change can have knock on effects resulting in increased mobility.

Seasonal social effects

Due to mobility as a result of seasonal changes, diseases can be found popping up in different and sometimes unexpected geographic locations. In some cases these are event driven and include travel due to school holidays, seasonal labour, religious events, seasonal holidays or out of necessity due to a disaster event.

Seasonal climate effects

Due to set environmental characteristics needed for certain diseases, there are seasonal effects associated with a variety of infectious diseases (e.g. dry and wet season).

Access to critical infrastructure

Due to climate change, access to critical infrastructure and basic needs may change including health care, energy, water, and food.

Sources

Book - Chapter 9. Geographic Information for Planetary Health in Blanford, J.I. (2024) Geographic information, geospatial technologies and spatial data science for health. Pp376. CRC Taylor & Francis.

Book - Chapter 4. Disaster Epidemiology. Health Emergencies and Hazard Considerations: surveillance to communication in Blanford, J.I. (2024) Geographic information, geospatial technologies and spatial data science for health. Pp376. CRC Taylor & Francis.

Book - Chapter 8. Geohealth considerations for disaster risk management and resilience. In Glade, T. (ed) Civil Protection, Disaster Risk Management, and Resilience Series: Technological Innovations in Disaster Management – Concepts, Applications and Future Trends. (in prep)

Extreme Heat - health and warning systems

Marghidan, C. P., Nairn, J., Blanford, J. I., van Aalst, M. and Mistry, M. (2025) Untangling the fragmented landscape of extreme heat services and warning systems. Environmental Research - Letter
Marghidan, C. P., Inlamea, O., Tamale, G., Notico, P., Inguana, P., Jose, A., Gudo, E. S, Inlamea, O., de Perez, E. C., Blanford, J.I., van Aalst, M., Marrufo, T. (2026) Heat-health risk knowledge, perceptions, adaption and challenges in Mozambique: insights from community members and health professionals. Climate Risk Management. 51:100786
Marghidan, C. P., van Aalst, M., Blanford, J.I., Guigma, K., Maure, G., Pinto, I., Arrighi, J., and Marrufo, T. (2023) Assessing the spatio-temporal distribution of extreme heat events in Mozambique using the CHIRTS temperature dataset for 1983-2016. Weather & Climate Extremes. 40,100565. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2023.100565
Marghidan, C. P., van Aalst, M., Blanford, J.I., Marrufo, T. and Maure, G. (2023) Extreme heat alerts and impacts across Mozambique 2016 - 2022: gathering evidence from media articles. AGILE GIScience Ser., 4, 11, https://doi.org/10.5194/agile-giss-4-11-2023. Reproducible AGILE badge
Vuillermoz, J., Blanford, J.I., Haeri, M.A., Beerlage-de Jong N., van Rompay, T. (2026) A Geospatial Approach to Neighbourhood Prioritisation for Urban Greening Under Climate–Health Risk. Environmental Research Communications. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2515-7620/ae5d9a

Flooding and health impacts - Mental health and Leptospirosis; change in accessibility to health services

Song, C., Atun, F., Blanford, J.I., Anthonj, C. (2026) Germany Ahr Valley Flood 2021: a social and mental health perspective of older adults (65+) experiences. Wellbeing, Space & Society. 10:100332.
Song, C., Atun, F., Blanford, J.I., Anthonj, C. (2025) Impact of flooding on mental and social health of older adults – A scoping review. Water Security. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468312425000045
Ifejube, J., Kuriakosa, S.L., Anish,T.S., van Westen, C., Blanford, J.I. (2024) Analysing the outbreaks of leptospirosis after floods in Kerala, India. International Journal of Health Geographics. 23. 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12942-024-00372-9
Vuillermoz, J., Blanford, J.I., Haeri, M.A., Beerlage-de Jong N., van Rompay, T. (2026) A Geospatial Approach to Neighbourhood Prioritisation for Urban Greening Under Climate–Health Risk. Environmental Research Communications. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2515-7620/ae5d9a
Logan, J., Jolly, A., and Blanford, J.I. (2016) The Sociospatial Network: Risk and the role of place in the transmission of infectious diseases. PLoS One 11(2):e0146915

Dry season and health impacts - Mental Health, infectious diseases such as measles

Aurit, M., Peterson, R.O., Blanford J.I. (2013) A GIS analysis of the relationship between sinkholes, dry-well complaints and groundwater pumping for frost-freeze protection of winter strawberry production in Florida. PLoS One. 8(1).
Tomaszewski, B., Blanford, J.I., Ross, K., Pezanowski, S. & MacEachren A.M. (2011) Supporting Geographically-aware WebDocument Foraging and Sensemaking. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems.35:192-207
Sznajder, K., Eshak, T., Biney, A., Dodoo, N., Wang, M., Toprah, T., Blanford, J.I., Jensen, L., Dodoo, F. N-A. (2024) Adverse childhood experiences are associated with HIV risk factors in Agbogbloshie, Ghana. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies. 19(3), 593–608. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450128.2024.2354378
Robert, B.N., Cherono, A., Mumo, E., Mwandawiro, C., Collins, O., Gichuki, P., Blanford, J.I., Snow, R.W., Okiro, E.A. (2023) Spatial variation and clustering of anaemia prevalence in school-aged children in Western Kenya PLoS ONE. 18(11): e0282382 10.1371/journal.pone.0282382

Seasonal effects due to variations in temperature

Kioko, C. and Blanford, J.I. (2025) Malaria survey data and geospatial suitability mapping for understanding spatial and temporal variations of risk across Kenya. Parasite Epidemiology and Control. 28: e00399. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405673124000631
Kioko, K. and Blanford, J.I. (2023) Malaria in Kenya during 2020: malaria indicator survey and suitability mapping for understanding spatial variations in prevalence, intervention and risk. AGILE GIScience Ser., 4, 31, https://doi.org/10.5194/agile-giss-4-31-2023
Taber, E.D., Hutchinson, M.L., Smithwick, E.A.H. & Blanford, J.I. (2017) A Decade of Colonization: The spread of the Asian Tiger Mosquito in Pennsylvania and implications for disease risk. Journal of Vector Ecology 42 (1): 3-12.
Blanford, J.I., Blanford, S., Paaijmans, K., Schreiber, K., Crane, R., Mann, M., Thomas, M.B. (2013) Implications of temperature variation for malaria parasite development across Africa. Scientific Reports.

Ebi, K. L., A. Capon, P. Berry, C. Broderick, R. de Dear, et al. (2021) Hot weather and heat extremes: health risks. The lancet, 398, 698-708.
Haines, A. & K. Ebi (2019) The imperative for climate action to protect health. New England Journal of Medicine, 380, 263-273.
World Economic Forum (2024) - https://www.weforum.org/publications/quantifying-the-impact-of-climate-change-on-human-health/

Google Sites

Report abuse