Webinar on "Climate Change and Health: What Medical Students and Health Professionals need to know?"

Climate variability and change affect temperature, precipitation patterns, and air quality. Changes in these environmental variables increases pathogens in the environment, leads to build-up of air pollutants, increases land-surface temperature, changes water quantity, and decreases water quality, which in turn effect health outcomes. Health outcomes include increase in vector-borne diseases, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, heat stress, and displaced populations due to flooding and extreme weather events. Those from lower socio-economic background, practicing farming, and dependent on weather patterns for food and water security are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This webinar shared the underlying linkages of climate and weather with health and the international frameworks that governs some of the national initiatives on climate change and health. The webinar focused on medical students and health professionals as its key audience.