WHO Urged to Recognise Climate Change as a Global Health Emergency

Health experts are calling on the World Health Organization to formally declare climate change a global health emergency, arguing that rising temperatures and increasingly severe weather are already causing widespread illness and avoidable deaths.

The health effects extend far beyond heat-related conditions. Climate change is increasing exposure to air pollution, disrupting food and clean-water supplies, widening the geographical reach of some infectious diseases and placing additional pressure on healthcare systems following floods, wildfires, storms and droughts.

Supporters believe a formal declaration would strengthen the international response by making the health consequences more prominent in government planning and encouraging greater investment in resilient hospitals, disease surveillance and emergency preparedness. It could also increase pressure on countries to treat climate policy as an immediate public health issue rather than a distant environmental concern.

The WHO already identifies climate change as a major threat to human health, but it has not formally classified the crisis in the way campaigners are now seeking. Any declaration would need to be accompanied by practical action, experts argue, particularly for lower-income countries and vulnerable communities already experiencing the greatest health effects despite contributing least to global emissions.

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