Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,203 studies31 sourcesUpdated 30 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0PLOS Climate

The impact of climate change on human health and pharmaceuticals

  • Pono Pono1
  • Alan M. Jones2
  1. 1School of Pharmacy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom
  2. 2Birmingham Institute for Sustainability and Climate Action, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Climate change and air pollution affect every major organ system, altering both the disease burden and patient responses to pharmaceutical treatments. However, current knowledge on how health systems, patients, healthcare professionals, and governments should prepare for these challenges remains fragmented. This review synthesises evidence on the potential impact of climate change on human health and pharmaceuticals, with the aim of identifying the diseases, populations, and medications most vulnerable, and assessing potential implications for pharmacotherapy. Emerging evidence shows that climate-related stressors, particularly extreme heat, contribute to increased morbidity and mortality and exacerbation of diseases affecting cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, gastrointestinal, renal, and respiratory systems. Furthermore, the review found that high temperature and humidity can affect drug stability, bioavailability, and pharmacokinetics by degrading active pharmaceutical ingredients and altering pharmaceutical formulations, potentially reducing efficacy and increasing the risk of adverse drug events. Older adults, patients with chronic diseases, and those taking medications that impair the thermoregulatory system are particularly at higher risk. In addition, extreme weather events may also disrupt pharmaceutical supply chains, further threatening access to essential medicines. This review finds that climate change has implications for healthcare through increasing disease burden and affecting the effectiveness and safety of medicines. Therefore, there is an urgent need for integrated research to explore the interplay between climate change, therapeutic response, and drug safety to support resilient, climate‑ready healthcare systems.

Related

  1. Awareness of Climate Change and Its Impact on Reproductive Health
    Kalyani Rath, Pritha Chakraborty, Biswakalpita Swain +2
    CureusPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textGeneral medicineEurope PMC
  2. Climate change and human health in the urban environment of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East: A workshop report.
    Fragkeskos Kekkou, Niki Paisi, Aayushi A Sharma +4
    AIMS public healthPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textPharmacology & toxicologyEurope PMC
  3. Understanding the impact of climate change on mental health from a Canadian perspective: a scoping review
    Sarah V.C. Lawrason, Salah U. Khan, Amy Farrow +5
    Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada : Research, Policy and PracticePeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full text1 citedPharmacology & toxicologyPMC
  4. Preparing health workers for climate change: the impact of an innovative ‘Plan Health Faire’ course
    J Guihenneuc, L Boissinot, O Dupire +2
    The European Journal of Public HealthPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC 4.0Full textPharmacology & toxicologyPMCEurope PMC
  5. Impacts of long-term climate change on human health: a global scoping review of quantitative research
    Jesse Limaheluw, Rebecca Niese, Dieneke Bijkerk-Schram +5
    BMJ OpenPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Pharmacology & toxicologyCrossref

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{pono2026impact,
  title = {{The impact of climate change on human health and pharmaceuticals}},
  author = {Pono Pono and Alan M. Jones},
  journal = {PLOS Climate},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pclm.0001068},
  url = {https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0001068},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - The impact of climate change on human health and pharmaceuticals
AU  - Pono Pono
AU  - Alan M. Jones
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
JO  - PLOS Climate
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pclm.0001068
UR  - https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0001068
AB  - Climate change and air pollution affect every major organ system, altering both the disease burden and patient responses to pharmaceutical treatments. However, current knowledge on how health systems, patients, healthcare professionals, and governments should prepare for these challenges remains fragmented. This review synthesises evidence on the potential impact of climate change on human health and pharmaceuticals, with the aim of identifying the diseases, populations, and medications most vulnerable, and assessing potential implications for pharmacotherapy. Emerging evidence shows that climate-related stressors, particularly extreme heat, contribute to increased morbidity and mortality and exacerbation of diseases affecting cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, gastrointestinal, renal, and respiratory systems. Furthermore, the review found that high temperature and humidity can affect drug stability, bioavailability, and pharmacokinetics by degrading active pharmaceutical ingredients and altering pharmaceutical formulations, potentially reducing efficacy and increasing the risk of adverse drug events. Older adults, patients with chronic diseases, and those taking medications that impair the thermoregulatory system are particularly at higher risk. In addition, extreme weather events may also disrupt pharmaceutical supply chains, further threatening access to essential medicines. This review finds that climate change has implications for healthcare through increasing disease burden and affecting the effectiveness and safety of medicines. Therefore, there is an urgent need for integrated research to explore the interplay between climate change, therapeutic response, and drug safety to support resilient, climate‑ready healthcare systems.
SN  - 2767-3200
ER  -