Climate change poses a substantial global threat to human health by exacerbating air quality issues, intensifying extreme weather events, and increasing the risks of vector-borne and heat-related illnesses. China has seen a 92% rise in heat deaths, heat-related fatalities in the USA have more than doubled in the past decade, and India has faced frequent catastrophic floods due to melting Himalayan glaciers. Yet public awareness of climate-related health risks and the benefits of climate solutions remain limited. News media shape public understanding through framing, influencing how issues are perceived and who is seen as responsible. However, media coverage of climate change typically focuses on environmental or political dimensions, with less attention given to public health consequences.
Melinda R Weathers, Deepti Ganapathy, Marceleen M Mosher, Teresa Myers, Neha Gour, Mulin Jiang, Qianying Ye, Fei Shen, John Kotcher, Edward W Maibach, The evolution of news coverage about climate change as a health issue: a decadal analysis in China, India, and the USA, The Lancet Planetary Health, 2025, 101335, ISSN 2542-5196, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanplh.2025.101335.