Human health
Some health impacts are directly related to climate change. Heat waves, particularly when night time temperatures remain high, can cause considerable heat stress in Europe. For example, during the summer of 2003, a heat wave in Western Europe accounted for around 35,000 premature deaths, particularly of elderly people. Warmer temperatures are leading to an increased spread of insect-borne diseases such as malaria, which already causes serious illness in over 500 million people every year and accounts for well over a million deaths each year.
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Useful links
WHO Climate change and human health
IPCC Fourth Assessment Report Working Group 2 Impact on human health (pdf)
UKCIP – UK Government How climate change will impact on health?
Australian Academy of Science Impacts on human health
United Nations The Convention on Biological Diversity – loss of biodiversity and impact on health (pdf)