As the reality of a changing climate unfolds across the globe in record-breaking heat, extreme storms and wildfires, droughts, floods, and the spread of vector-borne diseases, the need to understand the effects of these changes on human health is increasingly urgent. NIEHS brings to this challenge decades of research on the impacts of factors in the environment on human health. Such research is being leveraged to uncover the myriad ways in which climate change is fundamentally altering the systems humans rely on for air, water, food, shelter, and other essentials and the resulting outcomes for health and life. NIEHS has continued to expand its efforts in this area through leadership of the NIH Climate Change and Health Initiative and the NIH Disaster Research Response Program, as well as new engagements in research, translation, capacity, and training efforts across federal and global spheres. Topics include impacts of heat on health, oceans and human health, climate-related disasters, children’s health and climate change, and many others. Such research will utilize new approaches for using and integrating climate and health data to inform the identification of trends, prediction of risks, and adoption of actions to prevent and respond to negative health outcomes. This area of emphasis recognizes the disparate health impacts of climate change on diverse and under-resourced communities, and prioritizes efforts to understand these impacts and empower communities to adapt and build resilience against climate change threats.
Translational Goal
Catalyze research and translation of climate change effects on human health to reduce related health threats and impacts, especially among those most at-risk, and build health resilience to climate change impacts among individuals, communities, and nations around the world.
Priority Approaches
- Provide leadership, guidance, technical assistance, coordination, and other resources to spur environmental health research and support the NIH Climate Change and Health Initiative.
- Conduct and support collaborative research with other NIH institutes, centers, and offices that use a climate changeframework to fill gaps in our understanding of human health and the causes of diseases and health conditions.
- Build partnerships that facilitate the translation of research across many sectors to provide the evidence base for health-protective policy and decision-making on climate change and health.
- Develop and sustain research, communication, resources, decision support tools, and knowledge bases to support global action on climate change and health, disaster research response, and related areas.
