At the United Nations climate conference this week, leaders from around the world are discussing the extraordinary damage that global warming is doing to their countries, particularly the poorest – and how to limit the risks yet to come.

We often hear about the sudden destruction from weather disasters, like the flooding that inundated a third of Pakistan this past summer. But climate change is also fueling health crises around the world: Wetter conditions bring malaria-carrying mosquitoes, extreme heat stresses the heart, poor air quality harms the lungs, and the list goes on.

Next week, the U.N. forecasts that Earth’s population will hit 8 billion humans, all trying to survive in this hotter, riskier world. Dr. Maureen Lichtveld, dean of the University of Pittsburgh’s Schools of Public Health, explains four key ways climate change and population growth are raising the global health threat.

Also today:

Stacy Morford

Environment + Climate Editor

Infectious diseases like COVID-19 top the list of health concerns. Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images

8 billion people: Four ways climate change and population growth combine to threaten public health, with global consequences

Maureen Lichtveld, University of Pittsburgh

The father of ecological economics and a founding architect of sustainable development showed the economy's reliance on the environment. It was revolutionary.

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