ABSTRACT
As the climate changes, populations will increasingly fall victim to the trends in both weather and climate. They will be exposed to gradually warmer or cooler local conditions and occasionally to extreme weather events such as heatwaves or cold waves, fire, strong storms and flooding. During the most extreme events many people will die as a result of physical injury resulting from impact, immersion, poisoning or burning. These impacts vary regionally. In some parts of the world a high percentage of deaths during flooding result from snake bites. However, the greatest cause of death in a changing climate results simply from either gradual or rapid changes in temperature. This chapter deals with the tricky question of when those changes in temperature begin to affect the health and life expectancy of populations in general.
