Editorial: Climate health: an emerging transdisciplinary field

The role of multiple sectors (beyond academia) in climate-health research and action cannot be understated. This is because the charge of bringing together all the relevant fields including communities and stakeholders, is a herculean undertaking; albeit instrumental if we are to truly build resilient and sustainable healthy communities and environments. Recent research (Ebi et al. 2025) offers practical guidance on transdisciplinarity's role in examining the attribution of human health outcomes to climatic phenomena. Among their recommendations is the concept of co-developing the research questions across disciplines. This is critically important because at present, researchers across domains address specific aspects of climate or health and very few are engaged at the interfaces or overlap domains. The pathways by which climate changes affect health need to be understood; not the least of which is access and delivery of health care, especially for the uninsured and communities with a paucity of health care providers. Health outcomes, in of themselves, are a function of exposure, vulnerability, and the capacity of health systems. Thus, it is important to consider these factors in addition to those associated with earth systems. The literature, of late, includes an increasing number of studies addressing the health impacts of climate stressors: see for example recent articles on wildfires (Gould et al. 2024, Fadadu et al. 2024, Hertelendy et al. 2024), floods and extreme weather events (Soomar et al. 2026, Xu et al. 2025), and winter storms (Lin et al. 2021). It is clear from the plethora of papers, studies, and dash boards that the scientific and technical research communities have been hard at work in elucidating and predicting future footprints of extreme weather in a changing climate in terms of flood risks, extreme heat projections, hurricanes and wild fires, rising seas, winds, winter storms, and droughts. What is harder to glean from the literature, however, is an inclusive and comprehensive research framework that expounds on the interface between climate and health and explores the overlap between multiple/repetitive or compounded extreme weather events and health outcomes over a lifetime of exposure. A key barrier for climate health is the data required for study and analyses; such data are spatially and temporally variable, inaccessible across disciplines in some cases, and exhibit significant heterogeneity in terms of data types and formats. The data are not likely to be available in a curated fashion that enables researchers from different disciplines to collaborate using common baselines and understandings supported by data. Additional barriers include lack of monitoring and surveillance data and supporting health-based information that could be used for predictive modeling. While artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) are projected to help circumvent this limitation; their use and validation is in its infancy. It is also important to note the technological barriers involved: the topics are complex and typically involve steep learning curves that are beyond the capacity of many, especially communities. Another key barrier for climate health is the need for longitudinal perspectives; these, however, are fairly difficult to develop at relevant scales of observation, whether over time, or in a geospatial continuum at a relatively coarse resolution such as a census tract or at a fine resolution such as a neighborhood or community. The aforementioned barriers and the societal needs for a rigorous climate health transdisciplinary framework motivate this special issue that was intended to be global, interdisciplinary, and encompassing early stage to fairly developed works. Significant interest was and continues to be expressed in the topic cementing the vision of establishing this new field of inquiry; several researchers communicated their ongoing studies in related domains that were under development. Of those, the issue incorporates seven articles that encompass different aspects of climate health. It is envisioned that the topic will continue to engender further ideation and debate among researchers that will serve to place climate and health on the forefront of future research efforts. With the motivation of bringing together contributions from a diverse group of researchers and exploring how climate health is influencing multiple domains, from policy and infrastructure to ecosystems, healthcare, and social institutions; near infinite opportunities and creative novel thoughts will emerge towards impactful health interventions. Collectively, the published articles illustrate the wide-ranging pathways through which climate change shapes health outcomes and highlight the importance of collaborative, cross-sectoral approaches to addressing climate-related health risks. One contribution in the issue from Tahlil (2025) examines climate health in Africa based on the outcomes of the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in September 2025. The summit focused on Africa's potential to be a leader in climate solutions because of its abundant renewable energy resources, rich natural capital, and emerging innovative financing opportunities. A key outcome from the summit as described in the manuscript has to do with the Addis Ababa Declaration, which articulated a shared vision for climate action across the continent. The paper reviews commitments that resulted from the summit, including initiatives to mobilize 50 billion annually in climate finance, expand renewable energy infrastructure, and promote nature-based solutions. Importantly, the article underscores the integration of health resilience within climate policy, emphasizing their importance towards sustainable development. The authors of the article additionally highlight ongoing implementation challenges, such as financing gaps, debt constraints, and institutional capacity limitations; all of limit the ability to translate policy commitments into tangible outcomes. A second contribution to the issue (Jackson and Wright 2025) focuses on the intersection of climate change, occupational health, and labor systems. Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and environmental degradation are described as increasingly affecting working conditions, especially for outdoor and climate-exposed workers in agriculture, and construction, and similar less structured labor markets. The associated work conditions with these occupations heighten the risks of heat stress, injury, and reduced productivity. The authors call for integrated frameworks that connect climate policy, labor rights, and public health, emphasizing that achieving the goal of decent work requires climate-resilient labor protections. The authors acknowledge existing policy frameworks and initiatives addressing climate-related occupational risks but note that these efforts remain fragmented. The authors propose a dual-level strategy that includes local actions (via communities, labor unions, and worker organizations) and global policy coordination among governments and international institutions to address this challenge. A third contribution (Gour et al. 2026) examines, focuses on the environmental and health implications of Virginia's Data Center Alley. The authors argue that while data centers are essential components of modern digital economies, their rapid proliferation raises emerging concerns related to energy consumption, air pollution, water use, noise pollution, and land-use changes. The authors indicate that these factors can have important implications for planetary and human health. They give examples related to energy-intensive data center operations that can increase greenhouse gas emissions when powered by fossil fuels, and to large-scale water use for cooling systems that may place pressure on local water resources. Noise pollution and land-use changes due to data center proliferation are also presented as a challenge to community wellbeing. The paper proposes several mitigation strategies, including transitioning data centers to renewable energy sources, implementing stricter water-use regulations, improving site planning to reduce noise pollution, and promoting responsible zoning practices. By integrating engineering, environmental science, and public health perspectives, the study highlights the importance of transdisciplinary approaches to assessing the health impacts of emerging infrastructure systems. Extreme climate-related disasters are another critical dimension of climate health explored in the issue. The article by Nakatsuka et al. 2025 analyzes all-cause excess mortality associated with the 2023 Lāhainā wildfire in Maui County, Hawaii. Using seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average models and bootstrapped simulations, their study estimated mortality patterns that exceeded expected baseline levels. The findings from the study reveal substantial increases in mortality during the wildfire period, including an estimated 82 excess deaths in August 2023, representing a 67% increase above expected mortality levels. The analysis also showed an increase in non-medical deaths, indicating that the health impacts of the disaster extended beyond direct fire-related fatalities to include indirect consequences such as disruptions to healthcare services and infrastructure. The authors emphasized the need to incorporate Native Hawaiian ecological knowledge into rebuilding and land management strategies, including restoring Indigenous wetlands and removing flammable invasive grasses. Their recommendations highlight the importance of Indigenous stewardship (local communities) in climate adaptation and disaster recovery efforts. Urban environmental exposures and their influence on respiratory health are addressed in the study by Hu et al. (2025) examining the relationship between greenness exposure and allergic rhinitis among children in Sanya, China thereby demonstrating the age-related dimension of climate health. Using satellite-derived vegetation indices and data from nearly 10, 000 children, the study finds that higher levels of greenness exposure are associated with a lower prevalence of childhood allergic rhinitis. The analysis also revealed that this association varied by demographic and environmental conditions, with stronger protective effects observed among boys and in lower-temperature settings. Mediation analyses suggested that ambient temperature and relative humidity play important roles in shaping the relationship between greenness and respiratory health. The findings from the paper exemplify the potential health benefits of urban green infrastructure, while also highlighting the importance of considering local climate conditions when developing mitigation solutions. The paper supports the concept behind the special issue in that it exemplifies that consideration of climate health leads to impactful adaptation and improved health outcomes. A sixth contribution from Gold et al. (2026) presents a community-engaged protocol for developing a research agenda on primary care strategies to reduce the health impacts of extreme heat and poor air quality events. The study focuses on community health centers (CHCs) in the United States. The CHCs serve populations that are often disproportionately affected by environmental exposures and have lower levels of access to medical services. The project analyzed patterns of heat-and air quality-related health outcomes across a national network of more than 2, 400 CHCs. The authors paid particular attention to hypertension and asthma. They undertook a participatory process that involved CHC staff, patients, community organizations, and scientists. The initiative aimed to identify and prioritize potential interventions that can reduce climate-related health risks in primary care settings. The authors argue that by integrating quantitative analyses, qualitative research, and stakeholder engagement, one can seek, in projects such as theirs, to generate a community-driven research agenda that supports climate-resilient healthcare systems. Finally, the seventh article (Chuang and Cappelan 2025) explores a novel and largely unexplored dimension of climate health: the relationship between climate change, marriage dynamics, and health outcomes. While somewhat unusual, the topic is relevant since existing research has examined the links between climate change and health in addition to the association between marital status and health; however, few studies have considered how climate-related social and economic disruptions may influence family formation and social relationships. The authors consider evidence on climate-health and marriage-health relationships and examine emerging literature suggesting that climate-related economic stress, displacement, and environmental instability may influence marriage patterns. They propose a conceptual framework linking climate change, social institutions, and population health. Their approach highlights the need for interdisciplinary research that combines public health, sociology, and demography. Taking this approach, it will be possible to clarify how climate driven changes in social structures might influence health outcomes. This is yet more evidence of the transdisciplinary nature of climate health since much literature, for example, has focused on climate impacts on displacement and ensuing health impacts from weather-related migration. Not only do the articles demonstrate the global dimensions of climate health but; together, the contributions to this Research Topic illustrate the breadth and complexity of the climate health challenge. Climate affects health through multiple pathways, including environmental exposures, occupational conditions, healthcare systems, infrastructure development, social institutions, and disaster events. Addressing these challenges requires transdisciplinary collaboration that bridges traditional disciplinary boundaries and integrates scientific research with community knowledge and policy innovation. As severe events and changes in climate continue to intensify, the need for integrated climate and health strategies will only grow. Future research is needed to explore numerous dimensions such as the disproportionate impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations and the need for fostering resilient communities and health systems. By bringing together diverse perspectives and methodologies, the emerging field of climate health offers a promising and inclusive framework for advancing both scientific understanding and practical solutions to one of the defining challenges of our time. In addition to academic research; numerous global efforts are underway to tackle the transdisciplinary nature of climate health. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has increased its focus on health as a key component of its studies. They evidence how climate mitigation improves health by decreasing mortality, increasing food security, and enhancing physical health. Their work importantly illustrates climate action as an investment in health as opposed to a cost of ensuring environmental quality. Similarly, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations agencies have called for greater research and investments in climate health. WHO specifically, integrates climate risks into public health planning and supports the development of climate-resilient healthcare infrastructure. Such efforts have helped increase recognition of the gaps in understanding and outlining the actions that need to be undertaken to address them at the local and global scales. While much remains to be done, joint work across disciplines and institutions has already begun, both in academic and nonacademic forums. Governments, health care systems and providers, industry and the private sector, urban planners, emergency responders, non-governmental organizations and civil societies, insurers, financial institutions, and the media; all have a role in climate and health. Activation with such intersectoral engagement will surely propel the field forward and lead to meaningful actions that will increase global resilience in climate and health.