Human health is inextricably linked to animal, ecosystem, and environmental health

The Interagency Crosscutting Group on Climate Change and Human Health (CCHHG) is charged by the USGCRP with planning, coordinating, implementing, evaluating, and reporting on federal research and related scientific activities on the human health impacts of global environmental change. The CCHHG integrates relevant science and technology programs and capabilities through interagency, interdisciplinary, and intergovernmental collaborations spanning basic research to decision making to application. The ultimate goal is to build communities that are healthy and resilient to climate change impacts.


The CCHHG focuses on all impacts of climate change on human health. Direct health impacts may include increased illnesses and deaths from extreme heat events, injuries and deaths from extreme weather events, and respiratory illnesses due to changes in air quality. Indirect health impacts include illnesses and deaths that may arise from climate-related changes in ecosystems, infectious agents, or agricultural production. The group also considers unintended hazards, as well as potential health benefits, that may arise from climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. The CCHHG incorporates a One Health approach, recognizing that human health is inextricably linked to animal, ecosystem, and environmental health.