2017 is the Year of Climate Change and Health. Visit this page often to see our exciting work on this issue.
Check out the webinar series on climate change and health hosted by APHA and ecoAmerica
The science is clear: climate change is a serious threat to human health.
Climate change can harm the water supply, increase vector-borne disease and increase extreme weather events. Vulnerable populations such as communities of color, the elderly, young children, the poor and those with chronic illnesses bear the greatest burden of injury, disease and death related to climate change. As an APHA priority, we believe in the need for strong climate change strategies and interventions that protect people's health. The public health community plays a critical role.
Tell your members of Congress to oppose any efforts to delay or block the Clean Power Plan, which would reduce carbon pollution that contributes to climate change. And read how the Paris climate change agreement is a public health victory.
APHA is a founding partner of Climate for Health, a network of health leaders committed to protecting the health and well-being of Americans and leading by example on a path to a positive future for climate solutions. 
By joining Climate for Health, we commit to putting climate solutions in place within our own organizations and working together to prepare, empower and inspire our members, staff and the nation on climate change policies and solutions.
We urge APHA members and Affiliates to join the Climate for Health program. The program provides a suite of resources that enable institutions to lead by example by increasing climate-friendly activities and elevating their climate leadership by inviting their community to do the same.
Communities across the nation are taking action to reduce the effects of climate change on health. Adaptation in Action: Grantee Success Stories from CDC's Climate and Health Program (PDF) highlights successful ways communities have responded to the challenge of climate change. For example:
• The Minnesota Climate and Health Program developed an Extreme Heat Toolkit offering education on warming temperatures in Minnesota, ways to adapt to extreme heat, how to partner with local organizations and much more.
• The San Francisco Climate and Health Program's heat vulnerability index pinpoints neighborhoods most susceptible to the health effects of extreme heat. The index guides such efforts as where to designate cooling centers and helps city planners decide where more trees should be planted to offer shade and boost cooling effects.
Learn about New York State's efforts, highlighted in this story from the field: Successfully Preparing for Climate Change in New York State
Follow the conversation online using the hashtag #ClimateChangesHealth
Questions? Please contact Natasha DeJarnett, PhD, MPH