Health Effects of Climate Change (HECC) report
The 2023 Health Effects of Climate Change (HECC) report provides an analysis of how climate change makes extreme weather events in the UK, including more intense and frequent heatwaves.
Applies to England
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Topic: climate-related hazards
Hazard: all climate-related hazards, heat
Resources for HECC report
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Summary - HECC report
- State of evidence full report (pdf)
- Chapter 1: state of the UK past and future climate - full report (pdf)
- Chapter 2: temperature and mortality - full report (pdf)
- Chapter 3: Climate change, flooding and public health (pdf)
- Chapter 4: outdoor air pollution and health - full report (pdf)
- Chapter 5: climate policies and indoor health - full report (pdf)
- Chapter 6: outdoor allergens - full report (pdf)
- Chapter 7: climate and infectious diseases - full report (pdf)
- Chapter 8: climate and vector-borne diseases - full report (pdf)
- Chapter 9: climate and food supply - full report (pdf)
- Chapter 10: wildfires and health - full report (pdf)
- Chapter 11: drought and human health - full report (pdf)
- Chapter 12: chemicals and climate exposure - full report (pdf)
- Chapter 13: solar radiation and public health - full report (pdf)
- Chapter 14: net zero: health impacts - full report (pdf)
- Chapter 15: climate change indicators - full report (pdf)
Resources for heat:
Summary
The HECC report contains chapters about the health effects, both direct and indirect, of the main hazards posed by the UK’s changing climate, including heatwaves, flooding and drought. Each chapter details the health impact of a different hazard on the population. The report also details how the direct impacts of climate change can lead to further, indirect impacts such as malnutrition, mental health impacts and infectious disease spread.
The impacts of climate change hazards can interact with vulnerabilities in the population, including age, socioeconomic status and ethnicity. This means that the health effects of climate change are not felt equally between different populations. The report also highlights ways forward in terms of future research priorities.
The summaries above break down individual chapters of the HECC report with regard to different specific hazards, vulnerabilities and system determinants of risk.