Environment, Climate Change and Health

We pursue a healthier environment by strengthening health sector leadership, building mechanisms for political and social support and monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals regarding environmental threats to health.

About us

Our teams

Air Quality, Energy and Health

Chemical Safety and Health

Children’s environmental health

Climate Change and Health

Healthy urban environments

Occupational health

Radiation and health

Water Sanitation and Health (WASH)

Highlight

29 – 31 July 2025

2025 Global Conference on Climate and Health

Technical information

Settings & populations

News

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Speech

13 December 2024

WHO Director-General's statement at the International Court of Justice - Responding to the Climate Change Health Crisis - 13 December 2024

Features

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Air pollution: The invisible health threat

Events

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29 – 31 July 2025

2025 Global Conference on Climate and Health

10 July 2025 14:00 – 16:00 CET

WHA78 debriefing: Global Action Plan on Climate Change and Health

25 June 2025 14:00 – 15:30 UTC Time

Launch: Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report 2025

Commentaries

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For centuries we have plundered our planet. Now we are paying the price

Our strategy

WHO global strategy on health, environment and climate change: the transformation needed to improve lives and wellbeing sustainably through healthy environments

The new strategy is timely – it responds to and is in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the GPW13.

Calls for

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Call for proposals

Call for proposals for COP30 Supporting Documents on climate and health (closed)

Call for proposals

Call for climate-health proposals for the Ideas Lab (closed)

Publications

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Air pollution and health training toolkit for health workers: train-the-trainers manual

The APHT toolkit for health workers is a comprehensive set of training materials exploring different air pollution and health topics and reflecting global...

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WHO global water, sanitation and hygiene: annual report 2023

This report summarizes the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global work on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) during 2023. It describes how the...

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Sustainable development goal indicator 3.9.1: mortality attributed to air pollution

In 2019, air pollution – both ambient and household – was the largest environmental risk to health, carrying responsibility for about one in...

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Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report 2025 finds that almost 92% of the world’s population now has basic access to electricity. Although this...

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Videos

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Safeguard yourself from the heat

Safeguard yourself from the heat

Symptoms of heat-related illnesses

Symptoms of heat-related illnesses

Thumbnail Rosamund video

31 January 2025

She was breathing in illegal levels of pollution

thumbnail of the video

29 January 2025

Doctors for Clean Air and Climate Action: Who We Are and What We Do

Infographics highlight

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Climate change: Not acting is costing us

Climate change: Not acting is costing us

Main Heat Vulnerability Factors

Air pollution affects our vital organs

Sources of Air Pollution - AQGs

Sources of Air Pollution are a global Challenge we must tackle together

Tools

AIDE-MÉMOIRES: Briefs by environment, climate change and health topic for country action

Essential information to support action

Air pollution and health training toolkit for health workers (APHT)

A set of materials designed to enable health workers, in both the clinical and public health fields, to understand the health risks of air pollution and identify risk reduction measures.

Compendium of WHO and other UN guidance on health and environment

Global repository of interventions for creating healthier environments and improving health. It provides an overview and easy access of 500 actions, and a framework for thinking about health and environment interventions.

Graphic banner of the Health and Environment scorecards

Health and environment country scorecards

The Health and environment scorecards aim to provide a quick snapshot of where countries stand on managing six major environmental threats to health: air pollution, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), climate change, exposure to chemicals, radiation, and occupational health.

HEAT tool for walking and cycling

Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) for walking and cycling: HEAT for walking and cycling is a user-friendly, web-based tool used to estimate the health and economic impacts of increased walking and cycling.

Doctors attend to patients in the COVID-19 ICU of the Philippine General Hospital in Manila. They are among the first Filipinos to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in the country

Occupational hazards in the health sector

This e-tool is intended for use by people in charge of occupational health and safety for health workers at the national, subnational and facility levels and for health workers who want to know what WHO and ILO recommend for the protection of their health and safety

SunSmart Global UV App

Free application for mobile devices that describes the level of solar UV radiation at a specific location. It also provides time slots when to apply sun protection measures, in an effort to reduce the global burden of skin cancer and UV-related eye damage.

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WHO/ILO Joint Estimates of the Work-related Burden of Disease and Injury

The WHO/ILO Joint Estimates quantify the number of deaths and amount of health loss (disability-adjusted life years or DALYs) caused by occupational risk factors.

Children under solar panels

WHO Manifesto for a healthy recovery from COVID-19

WHO prescriptions for a healthy, green recovery from COVID-19 that will help steer governments towards a healthier, fairer, and greener world.

Our work

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Boosting climate-resilient water, sanitation and hygiene services

Promoting biodiversity conservation for climate and health

Building capacity on climate change and human health

Raising awareness on ultraviolet radiation

Fact sheets

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Sand and dust storms

24 October 2024

Ambient (outdoor) air pollution

16 October 2024

Household air pollution

Electricity in health-care facilities

Q&As

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Air pollution: Personal interventions and risk communication

Air pollution: Reducing short-lived climate pollutants

Health-impact-assessment (HIA) and its role in decision making

WHO’s Fifth WHO Air Quality Database of over 6000 Cities

Campaigns and initiaves

thermometer on orange sky background

Flagship Initiative against extreme heat and related environmental health risks in workplaces and major events

Polio vaccination campaign in Kunar, Afghanistan - August 2016

International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week 2024

illustration lungs

A global campaign for clean air

Facts in pictures

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13 September 2024

Children's environmental health

E-waste and Child Health

21 November 2021

What has COP26 achieved for health?

Urban Health Initiative: Accra story

Health topics

Physical environment

Air pollution

Physical environment

Chemical safety

Physical environment

Children's environmental health

Climate change

Physical environment

Environmental health

Health interventions

Health impact assessment

Physical environment

Occupational health

Physical environment

Radiation

Radiation emergencies

Physical environment

Ultraviolet radiation

Socio-political determinants

Urban health

Physical environment

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)

Wildfires