Special Issue "Climate Change and Human Health"

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Jan C. Semenza
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Tomtebodavägen 11A, 171 83 Stockholm, Sweden
Website: http://www.ecdc.europa.eu
E-Mail: Jan.Semenza@ecdc.europa.eu

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future, even with immediate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. A multitude of climate change impacts have already been documented, particularly those on the hydrologic cycle, cryosphere, ecosystems, biodiversity, agriculture, forests, oceans, etc. Climate change impacts in the health sector have also been recognized; they often manifest themselves as an extension or amplification of existing vulnerabilities. Some of these health endpoints include heat-related mortality and morbidity, respiratory diseases, mental health, drowning, vector-, food- or waterborne diseases. Moreover, indirect socio-economic effects that can result in malnutrition, homelessness, refugees, etc. can also have serious health consequences. However, the field suffers from a number of challenges; specifically, the question of attribution presents a number of methodological hurdles. While extreme weather events can statistically be linked to climate change, quantifying the contribution of climate change on individual events is problematic, no less the relative contribution of climate change to the disease burden.

This special issue in IJERPH aims to advance the field of human health impacts of climate change with topical contributions. It aims to synthesise some of these public health issues but also to address the technical challenges. This issue welcomes both quantitative and qualitative studies and is intended to include papers that measure, monitor and describe health impacts. Of particular interest are decision-support tools for identifying and prioritizing risks through surveillance, vulnerability, impact and adaptation assessments. Interventions on climate-sensitive health risks are also of interest, particularly rigorous cost-effectiveness, program, and process evaluations. Monitoring environmental precursors of disease can be used as early warning for health threats and the application of these tools is of great interest to public health practitioners. This special issue represents an effort to capture current developments in the field and provide a forum for cutting edge contributions to the literature.

Prof. Dr. Jan C. Semenza
Guest Editor

Submission

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs).