Human Health and Climate Change Research

Climate change is having direct and indirect impacts on the health and well-being of people. More frequent heat waves, wildfires, flooding and other extreme events driven by climate change are causing new or worsening health conditions and even death. People who live in areas prone to changes in climate and those who are more vulnerable because of their age, health or socio-economic position may be at greater health risk.

Research is needed to further understand the human health implications of the changing climate. The information can be used by individuals to protect their health and by medical and public professionals to develop plans and strategies to prevent or minimize public health impacts from climate change.

On this page:

• Research on the Health Effects of Air Pollution
• Research on the Impacts of Extreme Events on Human Health
• Research on Long-Term Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health  
• Research on Ecosystem-Mediated Effects on Human Health and Well-being
• Research to Build Environmental Health Literacy to Inform Health Decision Making
• Related Links

Research on the Health Effects of Air Pollution

Research is being conducted to examine whether changes in climate may exacerbate or reduce the response to air pollution in healthy and susceptible individuals. As part of this work, researchers are evaluating the cumulative effects and impacts of air pollution in combinations with climate change related stressors, and psychosocial stressors over acute, intermittent, and chronic exposure durations. Research is also being conducted to quantify and characterize the spatial distribution of the public health impacts of projected worsening of air quality in many parts of the U.S., including in communities with environmental justice concerns.

The research goals are to:

• Evaluate how changes in temperature, temperature patterns, humidity, and aeroallergens may have on the cardiopulmonary system when healthy and susceptible individuals are exposed to air pollution.
• Study how different climate conditions impact a person’s biochemistry and how that affects their response to air pollution exposure.  
• Investigate the biological mechanisms that underlie the interaction of psychosocial stress, climate-change related stressors, air pollution exposure and increased risk of adverse effects.
• Investigate the role of rising temperatures on reproductive complications and explore interactions between temperature and air pollution on developmental outcomes.
• Evaluate the interactions between chemical stressors from air pollution and non-chemical stressors, such as social determinants of health, in worsening the health impacts from air pollution in communities with environmental justice and equity concerns.
• Assess future health impacts resulting from changes in indoor and outdoor air quality associated with projected changes in climate.

• Establish biomarkers for adverse health outcome pathways, including mental health, from changing climate conditions. 

Research on the Impacts of Extreme Events on Human Health

Understanding climate change impacts of wildfires, floods, heat waves and other extreme events on public health requires both rapid assessment techniques to evaluate health risks before and during events, as well as more forward-looking approaches to prepare for future events.

The research goals are to:

• Investigate the health effects of smoke from wildland fires including differences between smoke from prescribed fires and wildfires using toxicological, clinical and epidemiological methods.
• Study the health effects from wildfire smoke that results in burning of houses and buildings or hazardous waste sites.
• Improve understanding of the short-term health effects and chronic health effects related to extreme heat events.
• Investigate health effects and chronic effects from exposure to chemical and non-chemical flood-related contaminants. 

Research on Long-Term Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health  

Additional information is needed on how climate change impacts public health over the long term, including populations living in communities with environmental justice concerns, vector-borne disease that results from infection by mosquitoes or tick bites, for example, and mental health impacts.

The research goals are to:

• Investigate health effects from changes in disease vectors due to shifts in ecological regimes that bring large, abrupt and persistent changes in the structure and function of ecosystems and climate conditions.
• Understand the mental health effects from long-term changes in climate.
• Study the health effects from changes in the built environments resulting from long-term adaptation to changing climate conditions.
• Develop quantitative relationships between changes in climatic conditions and health metrics for key health effects associated with climate change and characterize the uncertainty in those relationships and their application at different spatial scales and in different locations.

Research on Ecosystem-Mediated Effects on Human Health and Well-being

Healthy ecosystems are important to supporting all life on the planet yet human actions--including those that are causing climate change--are causing declines in ecosystem health. Understanding how ecosystem processes undergo change under different climate conditions and various land management practices can provide information on the health impacts to people.

The research goals are to:

• Evaluate the effects of climate change on ecosystem structure and functioning and how it affects human health.
• Identify processes and species composition of ecosystems that influence air and water pollution from wildland and prescribed fires.
• Evaluate how different types of land management approaches impact air and water quality.
• Examine how climate change impacts the effectiveness of forests and water buffer zones in filtering toxic compounds from air and water.

Research to Build Environmental Health Literacy to Inform Health Decision Making

Despite the increasing evidence and availability of information about adverse impacts of climate change to our health, overall awareness and action to mitigate these effects remains low among individuals, health care providers, organizations and communities. Innovative tools and approaches are needed to increase environmental health awareness. Examples include educational games and virtual reality experiences for individuals to learn about how to protect their health and application of electronic health record data to engage health care providers in decision making.   

The research goals are to:   

• Develop innovative approaches to increase environmental health literacy.
• Explore the application and use of these approaches to support decision making about exposure to air pollution and other impacts of climate-change-related health effects.

• Evaluate the impact of these approaches on learning and decision making.
• Integrate citizen participatory science approaches that enhance or expand environmental awareness.

Related Links

• National Climate Assessment - EPA contributes to the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s development of the National Climate Assessment, including chapters on the impacts of climate on air quality. The Fifth National Climate Assessment was published in November 2023.
• Climate Change and Human Health -- Climate change affects the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the places that provide us with shelter. Climate change can also impact people’s health and well-being by altering the frequency or intensity of extreme weather events and spread of certain pests and diseases.
• The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment  -- This is a 2016 report from the U.S. Global Change Research Program, developed by 100 scientists across 7 agencies, including EPA.
• Clean Cookstove Research -- The majority of cookstoves used in developing countries emit black carbon, an air pollutant that contributes to warming of the atmosphere.
• Wildland Fire Science Research -- EPA is using its expertise in air quality research to fill the gaps in scientific information and to develop tools to prevent and reduce the impact of smoke from wildfires and controlled or prescribed burns.
• Publications, Presentations, and Other Research Products in Science Inventory