Highlights
Climate change affects health via natural disasters and socioeconomic pathways.
Benefit of climate change on health may exist in certain areas.
Socioeconomic and environmental factors may modify climate change-health pathways.
Certain mitigation and adaptation strategies are suggested against climate change.
Abstract: Global warming has been changing the planet’s climate pattern, leading to increasing frequency, intensity and duration of extreme weather events and natural disasters. These climate-changing events affect various health outcomes adversely through complicated pathways. This paper reviews the main signs of climate change so far, e.g., suboptimal ambient temperature, sea-level rise and other conditions, and depicts the interactive pathways between different climate-changing events such as suboptimal temperature, wildfires, and floods with a broad range of health outcomes. Meanwhile, modifying effect of socioeconomic, demographic and environmental factors on the pathways is summarised, such that the youth, elderly, females, poor and those living in coastal regions are particularly susceptible to climate change. Although Earth as a whole is expected to suffer from climate change, this paper discusses some potential benefits for certain regions, e.g., a more liveable environment and sufficient food supply. Finally, we summarise certain mitigation and adaptation strategies against climate change, and how these strategies benefit human health in other ways. This paper provides a comprehensive and concise introduction of the pathways between climate change and human health, and possible solutions, which may map directions for future research.
Keywords: Climate change; Human health; Pathway
DOI: 10.1016/j.eehl.2022.04.004
