A look at the impact of climate change on humans

A placard featuring an illustration of Earth with the message "One World"

So, here’s the deal: climate change isn’t just some far-off problem we’ll deal with later. It’s happening right now, and it’s affecting us in ways we can’t ignore. Sure, we hear a lot about melting glaciers and rising sea levels, but there's another story, about people—how their homes, health, jobs, and cultures are being impacted.

Firefighters battling a wildfire

1. Health at Risk

Rising temperatures contribute directly to an increase in heat-related illnesses and deaths, particularly among vulnerable populations such as the elderly, children, and outdoor workers.

More extreme weather also fuels the spread of diseases. Warmer climates expand the range of disease-carrying insects like mosquitoes, leading to outbreaks of malaria, dengue fever, and Zika virus in regions previously unaffected.

Air quality suffers too. Hotter days increase ground-level ozone, worsening respiratory conditions such as asthma. Wildfire smoke, which has become increasingly common, blankets entire regions in hazardous air for weeks at a time.

2. Displacement and Migration

Climate-driven disasters such as floods, hurricanes and droughts, displace millions of people each year. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, weather-related events forced over 30 million people to flee their homes in 2022 alone. By 2050, climate change could force 216 million people to move within their countries according to The World Bank’s updated Groundswell report Open Knowledge Repository.

Many of these displacements are currently within a country, but international climate migration is becoming more common, raising legal and humanitarian challenges. Small island nations, in particular, face existential threats from rising seas. For some communities, climate migration isn’t a temporary measure—it’s a permanent goodbye to their ancestral homes.

Cracked and dried out soil

3. Food and Water Insecurity

Climate change disrupts food production in multiple ways: shifting rainfall patterns, extreme droughts, more frequent storms, and changing growing seasons. These disruptions can lead to crop failures, food shortages, and rising prices.

Water resources are also under stress. Droughts reduce water supply, while floods contaminate it. In many parts of the world, climate change is exacerbating already fragile water systems, leading to conflicts and deepening poverty.

4. Economic Strain and Inequality

The economic toll of climate change is vast and uneven. Poorer communities often bear the brunt, lacking the resources to prepare for, respond to, or recover from climate shocks. Jobs in agriculture, fishing, and tourism are especially vulnerable.

Insurance costs are rising in areas prone to wildfires, floods, and hurricanes. In some cases, insurance is no longer available, forcing people to live in increasingly risky environments.

5. Mental Health and Cultural Loss

Living with the daily stress of climate change, whether it’s fear of natural disasters or anxiety about the future, takes a significant toll on mental health. "Eco-anxiety" and "climate grief" are now recognised phenomena, particularly among younger generations.

For Indigenous communities, the loss of traditional lands due to climate change is not just physical but cultural and spiritual. Centuries-old practices tied to specific environments are being disrupted, threatening entire ways of life.

Climate Justice March

What Can Be Done?

That was potentially a heavy read but there is hope. We can slow down this change, and in many places stop the effects completely. But we need to come together. Tackling climate change requires global cooperation and immediate action. But on the human level, it also demands empathy and justice. Investing in climate-resilient infrastructure, supporting vulnerable populations, and ensuring that climate policies are equitable are all essential steps.

Climate change is not just about carbon—it's about people. Recognising and responding to its human dimensions is key to building a liveable AND sustainable future.

If you'd like to learn the basics, I'd highly recommend our Carbon Literacy course as a starter.

Courtney :-)