Journal Publishes Series on Health Effects of Climate Change

Adverse health effects are one of the important plausible consequences of climate change. On Nov. 25, 2009, a consortium of US and British agencies, universities, and organizations published a series of studies in The Lancet that analyzed a number of specific situations involving climate change and health impacts, in countries rich and poor. Also included in the issue were several overview articles about health effects. Together, these publications can provide extensive detailed data, as well as many interview sources, as you cover climate change during the Copenhagen meeting and beyond.

• "Health and Climate Change," The Lancet.

Among the funders, supporters, and participants in the series are people from the World Health Organization, the US Department of Health and Human Services, the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the University of California, Berkeley, and, in the UK, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the British Department of Health, the Economic and Social Research Council, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the National Institute for Health Research, the Royal College of Physicians, and the Wellcome Trust.

• NIEHS press release, Nov. 25, 2009.

Concurrent with the Lancet publication, a group of doctors from around the world launched the International Climate and Health Council. The group's goal is to help doctors address health effects of climate change.

• International Climate and Health Council:  climateandhealthcouncil@bmj.com

For much more information on the health effects of climate change, see the TipSheet of March 19, 2008.