Climate & Health Equity Initiative

How climate change impacts health

The burning of fossil fuels is leading to a warming climate, which causes more frequent severe weather events including extreme heat, wildfires, droughts and flooding. These can harm people’s health in many ways.

In King County, recent extreme heat and wildfire smoke events have led to more illness, hospitalizations and deaths. Wildfire smoke is expected to lead to more asthma cases, while rising temperatures are creating a longer, more intense allergy season. Foodborne and waterborne illnesses, as well as diseases carried by vectors like mosquitos and ticks, may also increase as waters warm and the habitats of these organisms expand.

Who is at higher risk

These groups are generally more vulnerable to the health impacts of climate change:

• Low-income households
  
• Communities of color
  
• Immigrants and English Language Learners (ELL)
  
• People with certain chronic medical conditions including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease and high blood pressure
  
• Older adults
  
• Children
  
• Pregnant people
  
• Outdoor workers
  
• People living unsheltered

Climate and health resources

Preparedness and adaptation

We provide guidance and resources to help communities prepare for climate hazards and increase their resilience to climate change.

• Preparing for extremely hot weather
• Preparing for wildfire smoke events
• Flood recovery resources

Communications and community engagement

We work with community to identify information gaps and create educational resources about climate and health.

• Public Health climate videos on Youtube
• Comic: Stay safe in the heat: A printable comic showing how to protect your health during extremely hot days. Available in 12 languages. To order copies of these comics in booklet form for your organization to distribute, please email us at climateandhealth@kingcounty.gov

Data monitoring

We monitor climate-related health impacts to help inform actions for climate change adaptation and response.

• Climate and health data dashboards: Data on the health impacts of climate change on King County residents, including impacts from extreme weather, air quality, foodborne and waterborne illness, and vector-borne disease.
• Blog: New data dashboards track the impact of climate change on health

Healthcare Sector Climate Change Adaptation

We consult with local health systems to provide resources on pursuing sustainability and adaptation to climate change. Climate Change Mitigation Playbook - A suite of resources aimed at supporting hospitals and clinics in the early stages of building resilience to climate change.