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The Impact of Climate Change on Skin and Skin-Related Disease

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Environment and Skin

Abstract

Climate change refers to variation in regional and global climate over an extended period of time. The primary cause of climate change is anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, particularly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels. Climate change will affect human health including the skin, mostly adversely, and cause disease outbreaks. The direct impacts of climate change on the skin include the effects of extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall, floods, droughts, and hurricanes, which can attribute to an increase in skin infections, inflammatory skin diseases, and traumatic skin disorders. The indirect effects of climate change arise from the disruption of natural systems which can cause an increase in vector-borne and waterborne diseases, with many of them causing skin manifestations. Improved knowledge of the effects of climate change on skin and skin-related disease could help to reduce disease outbreaks in the future.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermato-Venereology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Louise K. Andersen M.D.

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  1. Louise K. Andersen M.D.
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Correspondence to Louise K. Andersen M.D. .

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  1. IUF – Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Jean Krutmann

  2. Universitätsklinikum Aachen Klinik für Dermatologie u. Allergologie, Aachen, Germany

    Hans F. Merk

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Andersen, L.K. (2018). The Impact of Climate Change on Skin and Skin-Related Disease. In: Krutmann, J., Merk, H. (eds) Environment and Skin. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43102-4_3

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