Climate and Health

Heat and extreme weather are affecting our health.

Our health is linked to the world around us, and today’s climate and health challenges are impacting us all. In communities across the country, extreme weather is causing health threats, including worsening air quality, food insecurity and added stress and anxiety that affects our mental health.

Existing health threats are likely to intensify, and new health threats may emerge. These changes not only impact the health of our communities but also the strength of our nation. The direct damage costs to health are estimated to be between USD $2 billion–$4 billion per year by 2030, according to the World Health Organization. Though all of us will be impacted, not everyone is equally at risk. Marginalized communities—those that have experienced historical and current disinvestment and have inadequate health and economic infrastructure—are the least prepared to protect people from climate-related health impacts, such as extreme heat, wildfires and flooding.

Supporting Communities in Finding Local Solutions for Local Challenges

There are steps communities can take to prepare for potential health challenges caused by extreme weather and disasters. Through our work with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the public health system as well as with academic, business and community leadership across the United States, we are working together to support and implement readiness strategies that protect health. Our goal is to promote community preparedness and sustainability plans that can evolve to address community specific issues.

Building a National Response Framework

Thanks to the support of partners and engaged individuals, the CDC Foundation is working with CDC to address today’s climate-related health challenges, including:

Building community preparedness

Communities across America—including those in coastal and rural agricultural areas, urban heat islands and communities of color—are under-resourced and under-prepared to address the health effects resulting from our changing climate. Support and resources for communities as they develop and implement evidence-based climate health strategies are critical to prevent and respond to local health effects. In recent years, more than 325 community-based organizations joined the CDC Foundation in identifying public health priorities and providing effective local responses. The CDC Foundation is applying this proven approach of collaboration and coordination with communities as we address the local health impacts of our evolving climate. We work hand-in-hand to offer evidenced-based approaches to support grantees as well as guidance on implementing the CDC’s framework.

Developing a national climate health workforce

The public health workforce across all levels—federal, state, local, tribal and territorial—continues to be understaffed and underfunded, creating gaps and delays in responding to emerging issues like the climate and health challenge. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC Foundation helped to develop the nation’s public health workforce by hiring, deploying and managing more than 4,000 frontline staff assigned to local health departments and communities in every U.S. state and territory. Building on this experience, the CDC Foundation seeks to create subject matter expertise in the public health workforce and help drive innovative responses to climate risks to health, with an emphasis on under-resourced communities. These opportunities for partnership will cultivate climate and health expertise in a cadre of mid-level career public health practitioners and bolster climate-focused public health practitioners nationally as well as create a network of climate and health leaders across the United States who can engage in regional level, peer-to-peer problem solving.

Leading through collaboration

The CDC Foundation collaborated with young adults and youth-focused organizations to raise awareness of climate-related health impacts and help communities take steps to prepare for and mitigate the effects. We supported young leaders’ work to accelerate the capacity, preparedness and sustainability of communities across the country. Read more on the CDC Foundation’s Youth Council on Climate and Health.

Inspiring Hope through climate and health communications

Negatively-framed stories related to climate disasters have contributed to mental health distress, especially among young people who are eager to champion solutions. Research has shown that positively-framed content that emphasizes what can be done to tackle climate issues builds support and engagement. The CDC Foundation is seeking resources to develop, coordinate and share positively framed information that focuses on the actionable steps communities can take to be prepared for and resilient during today’s climate and health challenges. Such resources would target environmental health practitioners, clinicians, people in communities most affected by the health effects of our changing climate and the general public. We aim to develop an online resource showcasing shared positive climate and health impacts of evidence-based interventions.

Learn More About What We Do:

Our Work In Action

How You Can Help

The CDC Foundation is actively seeking partners to join with us to make an impact. Help us move health to the forefront of the climate conversation and help people understand the risks to their wellbeing and inspire action. Learn more: Contact Advancement at the CDC Foundation: advancement@cdcfoundation.org, 404.653.0790.

If you would like to have an immediate impact, give today to help us accelerate our nation's capacity, preparedness and resilience to extreme weather events, changing air quality and other national and local health challenges brought on by our changing climate. Donate Now.