A study published in 2008 and entitled “Healthy people 2100: modelling population health impacts of climate change” in the journal Climatic Change, has highlighted the pressing need to develop a model to determine the health impacts of climate change and ensure that health effects are adequately enough understood to enable appropriate and timely coping mechanisms to be put in place.

So far much of the research regarding climate change impacts has focused on environmental impacts. Currently available models measure impacts on agriculture, water resources, coastal zones and other sectors, but there is no such tool for health.

However, the health impacts of climate change are likely to be severe. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has projected an increase in both direct and indirect health threats through extreme temperature and weather events, changes in the geographic range of various diseases, and changes in the hydrologic cycle.

In the 2000, a time when exposures to climate change were limited, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that climate change had already caused the loss of 150,000 lives.

According to the study, to better prepare for climate change health impacts, multi-determinant models are needed that identify those most vulnerable. Future models need to be regionally differentiated and when possible aim for country-specific projections.

Although some progress has been made towards constructing such models, it has been slow. The reason is the priorities of healthcare funders, which until now has been limited with regard to interdisciplinary research.