Climate Change and Lung Health

• Facility Damage: Extreme weather events like hurricanes, floods, and wildfires directly damage hospitals and clinics. For example, flooding may destroy medical equipment, disrupt patient care, and necessitate the temporary closure of facilities. Coastal facilities face additional threats from rising sea levels and coastal erosion, which may require costly relocation or structural reinforcement.
• Power Outages: Healthcare facilities depend on reliable electricity to operate life-saving equipment, maintain ventilation systems, and store temperature-sensitive medicines. Climate-related events, such as heatwaves and storms, can strain power grids and lead to blackouts. While backup generators provide temporary power, they add to local air pollution and may be inadequate during extended disasters.
• Outdated Infrastructure: Many healthcare buildings, designed before the era of climate extremes, lack resilience against extreme weather, leading to costly damages and service interruptions. Rising global temperatures also increase energy demand for cooling systems, which can overload electrical grids during heatwaves.

• Supply Chain Vulnerability: Extreme weather events disrupt the production and transportation of essential medical supplies, such as pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and protective equipment. For instance, Hurricane Maria damaged a saline manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico, causing widespread shortages across the U.S. Similarly, a 2023 tornado destroyed a Pfizer drug warehouse, worsening shortages of critical surgical and cancer medications.
• Water Scarcity: Healthcare facilities require significant amounts of water for sterilization, sanitation, and patient care. Climate change–induced droughts and water shortages, which frequently occur in California, compromise these essential services, increasing infection risks and stressing already strained health infrastructure.

• Increased Demand for Services: Rising temperatures and worsening air quality due to climate change leads to more heat-related illnesses, respiratory diseases, and injuries from extreme weather. This influx of patients often strains emergency departments, which are already stretched during disasters.
• Healthcare Worker Burden: Extreme heat and poor air quality can reduce healthcare worker productivity and even endanger their health. Overwhelmed or damaged facilities, especially during disaster response, increase the likelihood of burnout and stress among healthcare staff. This may impact patient care quality and compromise staff well-being.
• Mobile Clinics: To manage patient demand during climate crises, health systems are increasingly using mobile health clinics and field hospitals. These units can serve as temporary facilities when permanent structures are damaged, though they require substantial logistical support and coordination.

• Waste Management: Floods and storms compromise hospital waste management systems, leading to contamination risks. Overflowing waste systems expose patients and healthcare workers to hazardous materials, including medical waste and chemicals.
• Insurance and Operational Costs: Health facilities in high-risk areas face rising insurance premiums or may struggle to secure coverage. Additionally, the rising need for cooling increases operational costs, placing further strain on healthcare budgets.
• Telehealth Infrastructure: In response to climate-related disruptions, telemedicine offers a solution for care continuity, especially in remote or impacted areas. However, telehealth relies on stable internet and power, which are also vulnerable to climate disruptions. Cybersecurity risks also increase when systems are overstretched.

• Disproportionate Impact: Climate change exacerbates health inequities, disproportionately affecting low-income communities, people of color (especially Indigenous Peoples), and individuals with preexisting health conditions. Extreme weather events are associated with long-term racial disparities, as seen after Hurricane Katrina, where Black survivors reported more severe impacts on health and wellbeing.
• Health and Safety Hazards: Aging infrastructure in vulnerable areas exposes communities to heightened risks. Redlining policies from the past continue to shape environmental disparities, with people of color more likely to live in polluted areas. Additionally, healthcare facilities serving these communities face greater financial and logistical challenges in adapting to climate impacts.

To ensure resilient healthcare infrastructure, governments, public health agencies, and private partners must invest in climate-adaptive measures, including:

• Retrofitting and Relocation: Upgrading existing facilities to withstand extreme weather, relocating those in high-risk areas, and investing in structural fortification.
• Alternative Power and Water Solutions: Establishing backup renewable energy sources and water-saving technologies to support health facilities in emergencies.
• Collaborative Investments: Securing significant funding and technological innovation through public-private partnerships to build climate-resilient healthcare systems.