Vital Signs
Vital Signs
Climate change is already taking a major toll on human health. In nearly every corner of the globe, its fingerprints are beginning to appear on damaged lungs, brains, and kidneys. In Grist’s yearlong series Vital Signs, reporting from five continents shows how record-breaking heat, supercharged storms, and extreme drought are creating mounting challenges for public health — and how people around the world are facing those challenges head-on.
This project is funded by the Wellcome Trust.
Featured
In Arizona, a fight against a deadly fungus is under threat from Trump’s health policies
What one doctor’s quest to stop valley fever says about America’s preparedness for climate-driven disease.
In This Series
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![an illustration of a woman in scrubs standing in a mold damaged hallway looking into a child or tween's bedroom]()
![an illustration of a woman in scrubs standing in a mold damaged hallway looking into a child or tween's bedroom]()
A hotter, wetter South is becoming a breeding ground for mold
In Asheville, North Carolina, a housing crisis is colliding with a poorly understood health threat.
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![an illustration of a hand picking a water bottle out of a puddle or river. Along the banks, trash such as cans and plastic bags gather. TIny mosquitos dot the expanse of water between banks]()
![an illustration of a hand picking a water bottle out of a puddle or river. Along the banks, trash such as cans and plastic bags gather. TIny mosquitos dot the expanse of water between banks]()
In Bangladesh, thousands of volunteers are battling climate-fueled disease at its source
As mosquitoes spread dengue and chikungunya, Bangladeshi cleanup crews are taking public health into their own hands.
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![Illustration of a Kenyan girl standing in front of a hospital bed outside with sandflies surrounding her]()
![Illustration of a Kenyan girl standing in front of a hospital bed outside with sandflies surrounding her]()
As aid dries up in Kenya, millions are threatened by the climate-driven disease kala-azar
Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall have supercharged the breeding of sandflies that spread the disease, putting 5 million at risk.
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![Man sitting in a hospital bed with his hand resting on his chest]()
![Man sitting in a hospital bed with his hand resting on his chest]()
5 things to know about the fungal infection valley fever
Learn how the disease spreads, how to recognize common symptoms, and how it's diagnosed and treated.
