The Climate Crisis: A Global Health Emergency

The climate crisis sits at the intersection of multiple interacting environmental crises. Global heating, biodiversity loss, air pollution, ocean acidification, extreme weather events, drought, wildfires, vector-borne disease, and climate-related migration and conflict, all pose a direct threat to health and wellbeing.

Respiratory health is at the heart of this crisis. Air pollution alone contributes to millions of premature deaths each year. Rising temperatures, degraded indoor air quality, allergen exposure, and wildfire smoke all exacerbate respiratory disease. These environmental changes disproportionately affect the most vulnerable, including lower-income communities and people with pre-existing respiratory conditions.