Climate change poses serious challenges for humans around the ;Global warming is perceived as one of the biggest global health risks of the twentieth century which has a range of effects on human health. Global warming has an impact on vector-borne disease, water-related disease, heat- and cold-related deaths, allergies, air pollution, mental and urban health, malnutrition. The projected increases in more extreme weather, such as more frequent and more intense heatwaves, flooding, droughts, wildfires, and storms due to climate change, also have wide-ranging direct and indirect effects on health.

Although the effect of climate change will be experienced worldwide, its impact will not be evenly distributed among populations. In low-income countries, climate change is believed to further exacerbate existing vulnerability to disease and food security risks, as their populations are, for instance, more reliant on agriculture, more vulnerable to droughts and have a lower adaptive capacity. As climate change can be seen as an amplifier of existing and emerging health risks, it might increase health inequalities and is likely to widen the health gap between rich and poor.

Join us for our second Fireplace Talks evening on the challenges of global warming. UM Academic and the founding director of the Maastricht University Graduate School of Sustainability Science, Pim Martens, together with Vlatka Matkovic, Senior Health and Energy Officer at Health and Environmental Alliance (HEAL) will discuss how climate change posses challenges for humans around the world.