Sari Kovats

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine | LSHTM · Department of Public Health Environments and Society

Heat extremes (ie, heatwaves) already have a serious impact on human health, with ageing, poverty, and chronic illnesses as aggravating factors. As the global community seeks to contend with even hotter weather in the future as a consequence of global climate change, there is a pressing need to better understand the most effective prevention and re...

Hot ambient conditions and associated heat stress can increase mortality and morbidity, as well as increase adverse pregnancy outcomes and negatively affect mental health. High heat stress can also reduce physical work capacity and motor-cognitive performances, with consequences for productivity, and increase the risk of occupational health problem...

Climate change represents one of the largest global health threats of the 21st century with immediate and long-term consequences for the most vulnerable populations, especially in the poorest countries with the least capacity to adapt to climate change. Pregnant women and newborns are increasingly being recognized as vulnerable populations in the c...

Objectives To identify key predictors of general practitioner (GP) consultations for allergic rhinitis (AR) using meteorological and environmental data. Design A retrospective, time series analysis of GP consultations for AR. Setting A large GP surveillance network of GP practices in the London area. Participants The study population was all per...

Background The UK has a statutory requirement under the Climate Change Act (2008) to undertake a Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) every five years. The Evidence Report for the Third CCRA, due 2021, will identify the most important current and future risks and opportunities to public health from climate change. It also considers whether present...

Background: Flooding is expected to increase due to climate change, population growth and urban development. The longer-term mental health impacts of flooding are not well understood. In 2015, the English National Study of Flooding and Health was established to improve understanding of the impact of flooding on health and inform future public heal...

Background: Local authorities have a crucial role in preparing for the impacts of climate change. However, the extent to which health impacts are being prioritized and acted on is not well understood. Methods: We investigated the role of public health in adapting to climate change through: (i) a content analysis of local authority climate change...

Objective: Management of the natural and built environments can help reduce the health impacts of climate change. This is particularly relevant in large cities where urban heat island makes cities warmer than the surrounding areas. We investigate how urban vegetation, housing characteristics and socio-economic factors modify the association betwee...

Background In 2016, 23% of children younger than 5 years were stunted. Global-level modelling has consistently found that climate change impacts on food production are likely to impair progress on reducing undernutrition. We adopt a new perspective, assessing how climate change may affect child stunting via its impacts on two interacting socioecono...

Objectives Our objective was to assess the health care system impacts associated with the December 2013 east coast flooding in Boston, Lincolnshire, in order to gain an insight into the capacity of the health care sector to respond to high-impact weather. Methods Semistructured interviews were held with regional strategic decision makers and local...

Floods are a significant public health problem linked with increased psychological morbidity. We aimed to investigate the effect of insurance-related factors on the association between flooding and probable mental health outcomes. We performed a secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data from the English National Study of Flooding and Health...

Background: Campylobacteriosis is a major public health concern. The weather factors that influence spatial and seasonal distributions are not fully understood. Methods: To investigate the impacts of temperature and rainfall on Campylobacter infections in England and Wales, cases of Campylobacter were linked to local temperature and rainfall at lab...

Background: Campylobacteriosis is a major public health concern. The weather factors that influence spatial and seasonal distributions are not fully understood. Methods: To investigate the impacts of temperature and rainfall on Campylobacter infections in England and Wales, cases of Campylobacter were linked to local temperature and rainfall at lab...

Background: Campylobacteriosis is a major public health concern. The weather factors that influence spatial and seasonal distributions are not fully understood. Methods: To investigate the impacts of temperature and rainfall on Campylobacter infections in England and Wales, cases of Campylobacter were linked to local temperature and rainfall at lab...

Objective: There is a need to develop cost-effective methods to support public health policy makers plan ahead and make robust decisions on protective measures to safeguard against severe impacts of extreme weather events and natural disasters in the future, given competing demands on the social and healthcare resources, large uncertainty associat...

Background In 2016, 23% of children (155 million) aged <5 were stunted. Global-level modeling has consistently found climate change impacts on food production are likely to impair progress on reducing undernutrition. Objectives We adopt a new perspective, assessing how climate change may affect child stunting via its impacts on two interacting soc...

To date, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, mitigation strategies and the accompanying health co-benefits in different economic sectors have not been fully investigated. The purpose of this paper is to review comprehensively the evidence on GHG mitigation measures and the related health co-benefits, identify knowledge gaps, and provide recommendations...

Background: The longer term impact of flooding on health is poorly understood. In 2015, following widespread flooding in the UK during winter 2013/14, Public Health England launched the English National Study of Flooding and Health. The study identified a higher prevalence of probable psychological morbidity one year after exposure to flooding. We...

Background and objectives: Public health co-benefits from curbing climate change can make greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation strategies more attractive and increase their implementation. The purpose of this systematic review is to summarize the evidence of these health co-benefits to improve our understanding of the mitigation measures involved, pote...

Background: High ambient temperatures are associated with an acute increase in mortality risk. Although heat exposure during the night is anecdotally cited as being important, this has not been rigorously demonstrated in the epidemiological literature. Methods: We quantified the contribution of nighttime temperatures using time-series quasi-Pois...

Background and objectives: Heat related mortality is of great concern for public health, and estimates of future mortality under a warming climate are important for planning of resources and possible adaptation measures. Papers providing projections of future heat-related mortality were critically reviewed with a focus on the use of climate model...

Infectious diseases attributable to unsafe water supply, sanitation and hygiene (e.g. Cholera, Leptospirosis, Giardiasis) remain an important cause of morbidity and mortality, especially in low-income countries. Climate and weather factors are known to affect the transmission and distribution of infectious diseases and statistical and mathematical...

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Background Extensive flooding occurred during the winter of 2013–14 in England. Previous studies have shown that flooding affects mental health. Using data from the 2013–14 Public Health England National Study of Flooding and Health, we compared the prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder between participan...

Ambient temperatures (heat and cold) are associated with mortality, but limited research is available about groups most vulnerable to these effects in rural populations. We estimated the effects of heat and cold on daily mortality among different sociodemographic groups in the Vadu HDSS area, western India. We studied all deaths in the Vadu HDSS ar...

Background Campylobacteriosis is a major public health concern. Despite evidence that climate factors influence the spatio-temporal patterns of the infections; their impact is not fully described and understood. Objectives To examine methods for determining the impact of rainfall and temperature on Campylobacter cases in England and Wales. Methods...

Limited information is available on the perceptions of stakeholders concerning the health co-benefits of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of urban residents on the health co-benefits involving GHG abatement and related influencing factors in three cities in China. Beijing, Ningbo...

Background In winter 2013/14 there was widespread flooding in England. Previous studies have described an increased prevalence of psychological morbidity six months after flooding. Disruption to essential services may increase morbidity however there have been no studies examining whether those experiencing disruption but not directly flooded are a...

With rapid economic development, China has been plagued by choking air pollution in recent years, and the frequent occurrence of haze episodes has caused widespread public concern. The purpose of this study is to describe the sources and formation of haze, summarize the mitigation measures in force, review the relationship between haze pollution an...

The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change is an international, multidisciplinary research collaboration between academic institutions and practitioners across the world. It follows on from the work of the 2015 Lancet Commission, which concluded that the response to climate change could be “the greatest global health oppor...

This paper describes the motivation for the creation of the Vulnerability, Impacts, Adaptation and Climate Services (VIACS) Advisory Board for the Sixth Phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6), its initial activities, and its plans to serve as a bridge between climate change applications experts and climate modelers. The climate...

Heat waves can cause death, illness, and discomfort, and are expected to become more frequent as a result of climate change. Yet, United Kingdom residents have positive feelings about hot summers that may undermine their willingness to protect themselves against heat. We randomly assigned United Kingdom participants to 1 of 3 intervention strategie...

Background Improved understanding of the influence of climate variability on eating habits is required to manage health outcomes that could be produced. Agriculture production is the main source of income to people in Rufiji district, where communities produce food for household and also for income. Effects of climate variability and weather extrem...

Background: Improved understanding of the influence of climate variability on eating habits is required to manage health outcomes that could be produced. Agriculture production is the main source of income to people in Rufiji district, where communities produce food for household and also for income. Effects of climate variability and weather extre...

The Vulnerability, Impacts, Adaptation, and Climate Services (VIACS) Advisory Board was created to provide a strong bridge between climate change applications experts and climate modelers for the Sixth Phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). The climate change application community comprises researchers and other specialists who...

[Book Abstract] Cities on a Finite Planet: Transformative responses to climate change shows how cities can combine high quality living conditions, resilience to climate change, disaster risk reduction and contributions to mitigation/low carbon development. It also covers the current and potential contribution of cities to avoiding dangerous climate...

Background: The burden of heat illness on health systems is not well described in the UK. Although the UK generally experiences mild summers, the frequency and intensity of hot weather is likely to increase due to climate change, particularly in Southern England. We investigated the impact of the moderate heatwave in 2013 on primary care and emerg...

Objectives Given the likelihood of increased hot weather due to climate change, it is crucial to have prevention measures in place to reduce the health burden of high temperatures and heat waves. The aim of this review is to summarise and evaluate the evidence on the effects of summertime weather on unintentional injuries in high-income countries....

Heatwaves can cause death, illness, and discomfort, and are expected to become more frequent as a result of climate change. Yet, UK residents have positive feelings about hot summers that may undermine their willingness to protect themselves against heat. We randomly assigned UK participants to one of three intervention strategies intended to promo...

To assess the extent to which climate may affect the abundance of Musca sorbens, a putative vector of trachoma. Studies were identified by systematically searching online databases including CAB abstracts, Embase, Global Health, Medline, Web of Science and BIOS Online, references from key articles, and the websites of relevant international agenc...

We investigated the impact of a moderate heatwave on a range of presenting morbidities in England. Asthma, difficulty breathing, cerebrovascular accident, and cardiovascular symptoms were analysed using general practitioner in hours (GPIH), out of hours (GPOOH) and emergency department (ED) syndromic surveillance systems. Data were stratified by ag...

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Background: The Heatwave Plan for England provides guidance for personal and home protection measures during heatwaves. Although studies in the USA, Australia and Europe have surveyed heat-related behaviours during heatwaves, few have been conducted in the UK. This study assesses personal and housing (at-home) behaviour and housing characteristics...

Urban populations living in informal settlements are inherently vulnerable to climate change, as informal settlements are characterized by overcrowding, poor-quality housing, lack of basic infrastructure, and poverty. Nevertheless, evidence of the associations among weather or climate and health in these populations is lacking, which severely const...

Climate change is expected to affect health through changes in exposure to weather disasters. Vulnerability to coastal flooding has decreased in recent decades but remains disproportionately high in low-income countries. We developed a new statistical model for estimating future storm surge-attributable mortality. The model accounts for sea-level r...

Heat waves pose serious health risks, and are expected to become more frequent, longer lasting, and more intense in the future under a changing climate. Yet, people in the UK seem to feel positive when thinking about hot weather. According to research on the affect heuristic, any positive or negative emotions evoked by potentially risky experiences...

Background: Winter deaths are a known health and social care challenge for many countries. A previous international comparison showed significant differences in excess winter deaths across Europe in the 1990s, with the northern countries having lower excess winter mortality than those in southern Europe. Methods: The Excess Winter Deaths Index (...

A new high-resolution regional climate change ensemble has been established for Europe within the World Climate Research Program Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (EURO-CORDEX) initiative. The first set of simulations with a horizontal resolution of 12.5 km was completed for the new emission scenarios RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 with more simulatio...

Report available at http://ipcc-wg2.gov/AR5/report/final-drafts/

Malaria is an important disease that has a global distribution and significant health burden. The spatial limits of its distribution and seasonal activity are sensitive to climate factors, as well as the local capacity to control the disease. Malaria is also one of the few health outcomes that has been modeled by more than one research group and ca...

Flooding can result in the temporary or permanent displacement of affected populations from their homes. Not only is this displacement an important factor determining health and social impacts, but it has bearing on the monitoring of such impacts. We present descriptive analyses of data from the 2007 floods of Kingston-upon-Hull, UK, which quantify...

Anthropogenic climate change is likely to add significant pressure to the determinants of public health, and to current health and social protection measures in high, middle and low income countries. Adaptation strategies within the health sector are being developed to address the multi-dimensional nature of the costs and impacts. We further develo...

This chapter reviews the scientific evidence published since the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) on observed and projected impacts of anthropogenic climate change in Europe and adaptation responses. The geographical scope of this chapter is the same as in AR4 with the inclusion of Turkey. Thus, the European region includes all countries from Ic...