Human health

Climate change has considerable public health implications. In this NCCS priority theme, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) is collaborating with to develop a variety of climate services. The climate services serve to protect the public from the health-related effects of increasing heat stress and other risks.

Highlights

Knowledge bases

A.06 Synthese Hitze und Gesundheit (PDF, 1 MB, 22.09.2022)As part of the second phase of the pilot programme adaptation to climate change, several projects focused on the increasing impact of heat. Project A06 took a look at the impact of heat on human health. This summary is in German.

More information on this project as well as summaries in French and Italian can be found on the project website (in French, German and Italian).

Report «Gesundheitliche Auswirkungen von Hitze in der Schweiz und die Bedeutung von Präventionsmassnahmen. Hitzebedingte Todesfälle im Hitzesommer 2019 – und ein Vergleich mit den Hitzesommer 2003, 2015 und 2018» (Ragettli & Röösli 2020) (PDF, 2 MB, 12.07.2023)This report is only available in French and German, though a short summary in Italian is provided at the beginning.

Information material

Flyers, posters and information material for professionals are available in French, German and Italian. The heat website of the FOPH is also available in English and provides tips on how to deal with heat as well as what to do in case of symptoms of heat stress.

The toolbox for heat protection measures (Hitze-Massnahmen-Toolbox) updated in 2021 by the Swiss Tropical and Health Institute (SwissTPH) is aimed at experts and authorities who wish to protect the public from the effects of heat. The toolbox outlines preventive measures, provides specific tips and shows measures that have already been implemented.

Hitze-Massnahmen-Toolbox 2021 (PDF, 1 MB, 31.05.2021)This is the German version. It is also available on this website in French.

Cantonal measures can contribute to reducing heat-related mortality

Bericht «Hitzesommer 2018. Auswirkungen auf die Sterblichkeit und kantonale Präventionsmassnahmen» (Ragettli & Röösli 2019) (PDF, 840 kB, 27.02.2020)This report is only available in German.

Hitzeaktionspläne zur Prävention von hitzebedingten Todesfällen - Erfahrungen aus der Schweiz (Ragettli & Röösli, 2019)

This article is only available in German, though an English abstract is provided at the beginning.

As heat stress is particularly prevalent in cities, "Heat in Cities" (Hitze in Städten) aims to provide a basis for climate-adjusted urban planning.

Hitze in Städten (BAFU & ARE, 2018) (PDF, 6 MB, 28.11.2018)This report is available in French, German and Italian.

The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) has developed an online tool on climate adaptation (available in French, German and Italian) which serves to help municipalities by providing an overview of local risks and sharing experiences with concrete measures.

Goals

The goals of this NCCS priority theme are as follows:

The Confederation will have up-to-date knowledge bases covering the effects of climate change on human health and focusing particularly on heat.
The Confederation will make knowledge-based information and materials concerning effective prevention measures available to the public, professionals and authorities.

Partners

The FOPH is focusing on this priority theme in cooperation with other federal authorities. The federal authorities grant mandates to research institutions to carry out corresponding scientific research.