What 'do no harm' means as temperatures soar

Medical workers are key to adapting to the realities of global warming, but they are not receiving the necessary training.

Lara Williams We trust doctors to be up to date with the latest developments in medical science. So it's concerning that our future medical professionals aren't being trained sufficiently or consistently on a very real threat to public health: climate change. With doctors and students alike raising the alarm, new initiatives such as the European Network on Climate and Health Education (Enche) are springing up to more closely align medical practice with the climate crisis. But broader, structural changes need to follow swiftly.

Enche was launched on Oct 14 by a group of 25 medical schools from 12 European countries including Britain, France and Germany. Led by the University of Glasgow, the network will be the first regional hub of the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE) at Columbia University in New York.

Members of Enche have pledged to embed climate education into their training of more than 10,000 medical students alongside campaigning for structural changes higher up, like embedding such topics into national curricula, continuing professional education and exam boards.

The intersection of public health and the climate crisis runs deep. Rising global temperatures not only threaten what the World Health Organisation calls the "essential ingredients of good health" clean air, safe drinking water, nutritious food and safe shelter they're also having an impact on cardiorespiratory and infectious diseases; mental health and pregnancy; and paediatric and geriatric care.