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Climate change disproportionately affects more than 1 billion people with disabilities worldwide. However, this population remains substantially under-represented in research on climate change and health. In this Personal View, we discuss how climate change affects the health of people with disabilities through both direct impacts (eg, extreme temperatures and climate-related disasters) and indirect impacts (eg, forced displacement and unintended consequences of mitigation and adaptation strategies). We also explore the current research gaps and key considerations for understanding climate change-related health risks in this population. A major barrier to disability-inclusive research is the scarcity of health databases that incorporate disability-related characteristics. Prioritising the collection and linkage of disability-related information with environmental and health data is crucial for advancing this field. The heterogeneity among people with disabilities warrants particular attention, as different types of disabilities and sociodemographic factors create distinct vulnerability patterns. We call for disability-inclusive epidemiological studies to address these knowledge gaps and develop equitable adaptation strategies that protect the health and rights of people with disabilities in a rapidly changing climate.
Kim et al. (Fri,) studied this question.