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The climate influences the type of food we grow and eat; water availability; the way we cool our homes; and deciding where to build new accommodation for a growing and moving population. Cross-cutting all of these themes, linking climate change with food, water, sanitation, shelter and migration, is health. This month we have been exploring this theme through a series of blog posts.
Risks from a changing climate include an increase in heat-related illness, respiratory illness, mental health problems and vector-borne diseases, such as dengue or malaria. Whether a disease is passed through the air, water or carried by insects, the impacts of climate and extreme weather increase the risk. Our first blog post gives an overview of some of these risks with a comment from Professor Dann Mitchell, Professor of climate science at the University of Bristol.
 Living in a city can increase vulnerability to heat. Many deaths during heatwaves occur because of the combined effect of high temperatures and the urban micro-climate. In addition to background warming an additional factor facing city residents is the urban heat island effect. This blog post explores this further.
 Respiratory allergies are more common than ever, and recent studies in Europe have found that some pollen types are increasing in severity, season duration and seeing an earlier onset as a result of climate change. Dr Beverley Adams-Groom, senior pollen forecaster at the University of Worcester and lead author of a recent study tells us more about this research in this blog post.
The distinction between humid heat and dry heat is a relatively new area of research. This blog post shares some of the work being done by the Weather and Climate Science for Services Partnership (WCSSP) programme, supported by the UK Government’s Newton Fund.
Join us tomorrow, Thursday 26 January, at 4pm for a Twitter Spaces live conversation on this topic. Met Office meteorologist and presenter Alex Deakin will be speaking with colleagues and guests. Follow @metoffice to listen to their conversation which will also be available on-demand following the event.
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