"Up to now, the polar bear has been the poster child for climate change......humanity really is the most important species endangered by climate change."
Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General

The theme for World Health Day 2008, focused on the global issue of protecting health from the adverse effects of climate change.

Climate change is already happening in Europe and worldwide.

The first alarming examples of the health effects of climate change include the 44,000 deaths in the World Health Organisation (WHO) European Region caused by the heat-wave in August 2003, the changes in the geographical distribution of some vector-borne infectious diseases, such as those carried by ticks and mosquitoes, and the altered seasonal distribution of some allergenic pollen species.

All societies are now vulnerable to climate change, variability and extremes. Small island states, such as Malta, are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

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