About Climate Health Institute

The Climate Health Institute works towards a future in which people, and especially vulnerable groups, are more resilient to the effects of a changing climate. The institute investigates the short- and long-term effects of climate change on cells, organs, individuals and groups. It also explores how vulnerable people can be supported during heatwaves, periods of poor air quality, or other climate-related conditions.

Climate and health

The Climate Health Institute explores how human health is affected in changing living environments and how we can adapt to these changes. Its mission is to understand and reduce the health effects of climate change from cell to society in a responsible manner.

This mission has two clear dimensions. On the one hand, there is a scientific ambition: to understand how exposure to climate-related factors, such as heat or air pollution, leads to disease, decline and mortality through biological pathways. On the other hand, there is a societal ambition: to identify who is affected, why certain groups are more vulnerable, and which choices are needed to organise protection, prevention and care in a fair and equitable way.

Biomedical and public health research are closely connected to ethical, legal and social questions. Solutions must not only be effective, but also socially responsible. Three key steps are central to this approach:

Understanding: Each theme is approached from three perspectives: biomedical (what happens in the body), social (who is affected and why), and normative (which values and choices play a role).
Acting: Knowledge only becomes meaningful when it is translated into concrete action. This is achieved, for example, through adaptation and mitigation in interventions, policy, and other forms of practical application.
Embedding: The institute builds on existing expertise and infrastructure, collaborates with regional partners, and ensures that knowledge and activities are sustainably embedded and socially responsible.

Climate health, planetary health and sustainability are often mentioned together. They are closely connected, but differ in focus and scale. Climate health focuses on the direct health impacts of climate change, such as heat and air pollution, as well as on effective protective measures. Planetary health takes a broader perspective, linking human health to the state of the planet as a whole, with attention to ecosystems, food systems, and long-term and intergenerational effects. Sustainability provides the framework for action, translating these insights into concrete choices and organisational change. The Climate Health Institute focuses specifically on the health impacts of climate change.

South Limburg as a living lab

South Limburg is a region where the effects of climate change are clearly visible. Ageing populations, health inequalities and a vulnerable living environment reinforce one another, making the region an ideal living lab for developing new knowledge and healthcare solutions.

Within the Maastricht Health Campus, the Climate Health Institute has access to unique research facilities. In specialised climate chambers, researchers can test how the body responds to extreme heat or cold. Using 3D cell models, they can observe how climate-related changes affect, for example, heart or lung cells. Students are actively involved through the Student Hub, where from the start of their studies they learn to contribute to future-proof healthcare and research.

An interdisciplinary approach

The Climate Health Institute takes an interdisciplinary approach. Researchers from the FHML institutes and clinical centres at Maastricht UMC+ work closely together. However, real impact is achieved when knowledge and innovation are shared with citizens, patients, healthcare professionals, regional authorities, societal partners and international organisations. Only by working together can we raise awareness and strengthen people’s resilience to the impact of climate change. By connecting expertise and translating science into practice, the institute aims to contribute to a healthier and more resilient society in a changing climate.