Introduction by Croakey: International health and medical organisations, representing 46.3 million health professionals, have written to COP 28 President-Designate Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber demanding that “countries commit to an accelerated, just and equitable phase-out of fossil fuels as the decisive path to health for all” at the annual UN climate conference, taking place in December in the United Arab Emirates.
The letter warns that failing to phase out fossil fuels “will lead to overwhelming health consequences, as well as the loss of key natural resources and ecosystem services that are critical to both human and non-human species health”.
The fossil fuel industry cannot be allowed to continue its decades-long campaign of obstructing climate action at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations and beyond, says the letter.
“Just as the tobacco industry is not allowed to participate in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, it is imperative to safeguard global collaboration on climate progress from the lobbying, disinformation, and delays in favor of industry interests.”
The letter was coordinated by Health Care Without Harm and the Global Climate and Health Alliance, with Australian signatories including Doctors for the Environment Australia, Climate and Health Alliance Australia, and Veterinarians for Climate Action, Australia. See related statements by the World Medical Association, International College of Nurses, World Federation of Public Health Associations and others.
Meanwhile, new data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows there has been an increase in the number of injuries related to extreme weather over the past decade, at a time when many Australians are dealing with all the hazards associated with bushfires.
Jason Staines writes:
Heat is the main factor in severe weather-related injuries that lead to hospitalisations and fatalities in Australia, according to a new report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
The report, Let’s talk about the weather: injuries related to extreme weather, shows that in the 10 years from 2012 to 2022, extreme heat was responsible for most weather-related injuries.
According to the AIHW, more than 1,000 hospitalisations for extreme weather-related injuries were recorded every three years since 2013-14. Between July 2012 and June 2022, 9,119 hospitalisations were directly attributed to extreme heat, extreme cold, bushfires, and rain or storms, along with 677 fatalities between July 2011 and June 2021.
Heatwaves historically rank as Australia’s most perilous natural hazard, putting immense pressure on the healthcare system. Over the 10-year period covered by the AIHW report, extreme heat resulted in 7,104 injury hospitalisations and 293 fatalities.
Interestingly, similar numbers of heatwave-related hospitalisations occurred during El Niño and La Niña years, but the instances of injuries connected to bushfires, often associated with extreme heat, were notably higher during El Niño years.
The report identified 348 injury hospitalisations and 77 fatalities related to extreme rain or storms, as well as 773 injury hospitalisations and 242 deaths linked to extreme cold within the 10-year timeframe.
Compared to other forms of extreme weather in Australia, fatalities from storms and floods tend to affect males and younger individuals, whereas age increases the risk of death from extreme cold exposure.
Vulnerable communities
While extreme weather-related injuries can affect anyone, certain groups face greater risks, including older individuals, children, people with disabilities, those with pre-existing or chronic health conditions, outdoor workers, and those from lower socioeconomic groups.
These groups may have limited capacity to mitigate the health impacts of extreme weather conditions For example, low-income households, subpar housing, and fuel poverty (spending more than 10 per cent of income on heating) are linked to adverse health and social outcomes associated with cold weather.
Exposure to and the ability to cope with the risks of high temperatures are similarly constrained by socioeconomic factors. Remoteness also plays a role in weather-related deaths and hospitalisations.
Outdoor workers are at an elevated risk of heatwave-related injuries. According to research examining workers’ compensation and heatwave data in South Australia from 2003 to 2013, there was an increase in claims and work-related ambulance call-outs during mild to moderately severe heatwaves.
Male workers experienced a 13 per cent increase in claims during moderate heatwaves, while those with less than one year of work experience saw a 31 per cent increase in claims during moderately intense heatwaves. The report says the higher incidence of injury hospitalisations and fatalities among working-age males may be attributed to the predominance of males in outdoor professions.
Meanwhile, Inside Climate reports that American farm workers are increasingly at risk of heat-related illness and death as climate change drives temperatures around the world to record highs. That’s pushing more and more workers to harvest crops at night to avoid extreme heat, which is creating a host of new risks that experts say need to be more thoroughly studied.
Enhancing data sources
The AIHW says research aimed at validating the reliability of the National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD) and National Mortality Database (NMD) would bolster the credibility of these datasets as sources of information on weather-related injuries.
It says an effective approach to validating NMD data would involve its analysis alongside National Coronial Information System (NCIS) data. Access to standardised emergency management system datasets across regions, such as ambulance callouts, and increased use of coded (as opposed to free-text) emergency response data collection would provide valuable real-time information related to natural disasters and the corresponding healthcare system responses.
The report also notes that understanding the causes and circumstances of more than two million injury presentations in emergency departments (EDs) each year hinges on external cause data.
It says while jurisdictions do collect information about the external cause and circumstances of injuries, a national standard for this data remains lacking.
The report notes that extreme heat events are predicted to become more frequent, more intense and longer in duration, meaning a greater impact on communities and healthcare systems.

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