Overview

• The World Health Organization has launched the Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health to address rising climate-related health threats across its 53-country European region.
• WHO data show Europe is warming faster than any region worldwide and accounts for about one-third of global heat-related deaths.
• Former Icelandic prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir leads the commission, which includes German health official Karl Lauterbach and epidemiologist Andrew Haines.
• The PECCH is set to propose affordable, practical recommendations for the health sector, with early warning systems for heatwaves as a priority.
• Beyond heat risks, the commission will also highlight threats from more frequent floods affecting ten percent of urban residents and disproportionate impacts on vulnerable groups through infectious diseases and food insecurity.