11th NUS-Cambridge Joint Symposium on Climate and Heat Health – Confronting Global Challenges Amidst Escalating Temperatures
Published: 08 Nov 2024
The 11th NUS-Cambridge Joint Symposium on Climate and Heat Health convened a diverse array of experts, clinicians, and young researchers to tackle the pressing health impacts of climate change.
Held against the backdrop of record-breaking global heatwaves, this year’s symposium highlighted the urgency of addressing climate-related health challenges. The event was co-chaired by Associate Professor Jason Lee, Director of the Heat Resilience and Performance Centre (HRPC) at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), and Professor Ken Smith, Head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge.
In his opening address, Professor Chong Yap Seng, Dean of NUS Medicine, underscored the symposium’s significance, “As climate change accelerates, extreme heat has become one of the most significant challenges facing public health globally,” he remarked, setting a proactive tone for the discussions that followed. The symposium’s focus aligned with the United Nations’ Call to Action on Extreme Heat, exploring themes such as the effects of heat on metabolism, the immune system, mental health, and human performance.
Each of these areas sheds light on the complex, multifaceted health risks that rising temperatures pose. To visually represent the symposium’s discussions, NUS Medicine student Yiming Chen created a graphic summary, encapsulating key themes and insights from the event.
One of the most impactful moments of the symposium was the keynote by Dr Rokho Kim, Consultant at the WHO Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health. His address, titled “Heat, Climate, and Health Crises: A Call for Global Action,” highlighted the urgent need for international collaboration to mitigate the growing threats of extreme heat and climate change on public health.
As the symposium concluded, Assoc Prof Lee encouraged participants to take these vital conversations back to their own communities. He emphasised the importance of fostering partnerships and interdisciplinary collaborations to combat the global health crisis brought on by rising temperatures.
The NUS-Cambridge Joint Symposium on Climate and Heat Health serves as a vital platform for international dialogue on climate and health, and saw a robust exchange of knowledge and ideas essential for building resilience against the escalating threats posed by climate change.
