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
A deadly bacteria is creeping up the Atlantic Coast. How worried should you be?
Warming ocean waters are priming beaches and raw shellfish for Vibrio. Scientists are trying to stay one step ahead.
In This Series
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![illustration of a pair of hands holding an ultrasound picture with a colorful scene of wildfires and smoke clouds in the background]()
![illustration of a pair of hands holding an ultrasound picture with a colorful scene of wildfires and smoke clouds in the background]()
Wildfire smoke engulfed their cities. Did it make their babies sick?
Years after wildfire scares, parents are left wondering if their children's chronic illnesses began with what was in the air before they were born.
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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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![An illustration of a man sitting in a clinic or hospital with dialysis machines. His face is not visible but he is looking out a window showing an orange heatwave scene. The room scene is visible through an archway with intricate blue and white tile and a sign in a different language. The scene is set in Nepal.]()
![An illustration of a man sitting in a clinic or hospital with dialysis machines. His face is not visible but he is looking out a window showing an orange heatwave scene. The room scene is visible through an archway with intricate blue and white tile and a sign in a different language. The scene is set in Nepal.]()
Rising heat, failing kidneys: Climate’s hidden toll on migrant workers
Migrant workers return from Gulf countries with failed kidneys, victims of extreme temperatures, grueling labor, and a global system that leaves them unprotected.
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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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‘A devastating global audit’ shows how climate change is undermining the health of millions
Extreme heat now kills one person every minute, according to a sweeping new report by the British medical journal The Lancet.
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![An illustration of the Phoenix landscape with dust and a translucent doctor in the foreground]()
![An illustration of the Phoenix landscape with dust and a translucent doctor in the foreground]()
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.
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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.
