Over the past five decades, climate extremes have caused more than two million reported deaths and at least US$4.3 trillion in losses. In 2024, global temperatures reached their highest on record, about 1.55 °C above the pre-industrial baseline, according to recent meteorological. Beyond fatalities, extremes drive substantial morbidity, particularly cardiorespiratory illness, and disrupt access to care. In Europe alone, an estimated 61,672 heat-related deaths occurred in summer 2022. Hazardous heat exposure among workers is associated with approximately 23 million injuries and about 19,000 deaths globally each year.
These impacts are unevenly distributed and are expected to escalate. Socioeconomic position, age, sex/gender, ethnicity, pre-existing conditions, occupation and place intersect to shape exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Marginalised groups, including older adults, children, people with chronic conditions, outdoor workers and residents of low-income or geographically exposed areas, bear a disproportionate burden. An intersectional, climate-justice lens is therefore essential across public health, early warning, urban planning and health-system adaptation.
This session, organised in collaboration with the Swedish Centre for Impacts of Climate Extremes (CLIMES), invites contributions that investigate the complex and uneven impacts of climate extremes on population health. We particularly welcome studies that (i) characterise past impacts and future risks from single and compound extremes; (ii) map intersecting socioeconomic, demographic and spatial vulnerabilities; (iii) evaluate adaptation and early-warning interventions (including occupational heat); and (iv) integrate health, climate and social data to inform equitable climate adaptation and public health responses.