Climate Change and Health

Knowledge, research and advisory services

The department focuses on the impacts of climate change on environmental factors and public health, health-based climate adaptation, the links between nature-based solutions and health, and the prevention and safe management of pests that can cause harm or transmit disease. The aim is to improve public health by promoting measures with positive health impacts and by preventing and reducing adverse physical and mental health effects caused by climate and environmental factors. 

Knowledge about the prevention of adverse health effects of climate change, the built environment and pests, particularly among vulnerable groups, is important for reducing health risks and social inequalities and for providing a basis for actionable advice and measures at local, regional and national levels.

The department provides advisory and information services to health and environmental authorities, government agencies and institutions, municipalities, healthcare professionals, relevant industries and the general public. The department contributes to evidence-based decisionmaking through research, literature reviews, surveillance and analysis. We participate in national and international research projects, with a strong emphasis on ensuring that our research informs our advisory work.

The work is interdisciplinary and includes knowledge generation, synthesis and mapping of new scientific and applied knowledge, as well as the preparation of research proposals and acquisition of external research funding.

The department actively participates in networks, committees and working groups, including those organised by the EU and WHO, to contribute to a comprehensive and up-to-date evidence base for decisionmakers. The department uses research, evidence syntheses and risk assessments as a basis for preparedness planning and recommendations for measures and contributes to NIPH’s preparedness activities when needed.

We conduct research in the following areas:

• The impacts of climate change on public health in relation to environmental factors and One Health
• Health effects of climate mitigation and adaptation measures related to environmental factors
• Prevention and control of pests and vectors of societal importance

Climate change and health

The department works to strengthen and further develop the evidence base on how climate affects health in Norway, providing a basis for risk assessments and advice to decisionmakers and the public. The department focuses on climate, environmental factors and health, with climate change adaptation as a cross-cutting perspective.

Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns and more frequent extreme weather events create new demands for measures and preparedness, with municipalities being a particularly important target group. The department coordinates NIPH’s work on climate and health and collaborates closely with relevant professional and scientific communities across the Institute.

The department also contributes to national and international collaboration through projects, relevant networks, professional roles and committees.

The department also has a coordinating responsibility for identifying and establishing long-term surveillance of key health indicators related to climate change, as a basis for preventing adverse health effects and providing advice on appropriate measures.

Nature-based solutions and the built environment

The work on nature-based solutions, the built environment and climate change adaptation aims to strengthen public health and increase societal resilience to a changing climate. The department works to promote healthy and climate-resilient solutions in the built environment by investigating how nature-based solutions, such as green spaces, and other environmental factors affect health outcomes, as well as social and behavioral factors.

Research in this area aims to strengthen decision support for integrating health, environmental and climate considerations into the planning and design of our physical environments.

Pests and health

The department of Climate Change and Health is Norway’s leading research and advisory group on the safe prevention and control of pests in human living environments. We have broad taxonomic expertise in indoor pests and specialised knowledge of disease vectors, blood-feeding organisms and parasites. Our expertise also includes integrated pest management (IPM), urban ecology, medical entomology, insect physiology, toxicology and population dynamics. Pests can affect both physical and mental health. Our research aims to develop and promote effective methods for pest prevention and control that minimise risks to human health and the environment, including non-toxic alternatives to potentially harmful pesticides.

Members of the department serve as instructors of the pest control course for professionals in Norway and contribute to the scientific content in the curriculum, in cooperation with the Norwegian Directorate of Health.

The department compiles annual statistics on a selection of pests in Norway and provides advice on prevention and control measures. We also contribute to national vector surveillance, participate in European vector networks, and monitor the occurrence and distribution of pests and vectors, with particular attention to new and expanding species and changes associated with climate change.