Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Climate change is already affecting health and wellbeing, and heat is one of its most direct and visible impacts. Urban areas are particularly relevant because they concentrate population, infrastructure, and services; their built environment can intensify heat exposure; and social inequalities in health are often more pronounced. Heat can worsen chronic diseases, impair rest, increase the risk of heat stroke, and contribute to premature mortality. However, heat related impacts are not distributed equally across social groups and territories. This scientific session will examine inequalities in the association and impact of heat on health in urban settings, including multi-city research and case studies of specific cities from different European and Latin American contexts. The workshop has three objectives: (1) to highlight key epidemiological evidence on heat-related health impacts and social inequalities; (2) to discuss how comparative multi-city research can help identify how climate, social and built-environment factors shape heat-related health impacts; and (3) to examine how long-term city-level evidence can inform equitable heat-health surveillance, preparedness and adaptation policies. We propose a 60-minute session consisting of three expert presentations, followed by a structured discussion with the audience moderated by the session chair. Examples from cities in southern Europe will be examined to illustrate various analytical approaches and show how socioeconomic disparities in heat-related mortality have changed over time. In addition, the SALURBAL Climate project in Latin American cities will illustrate how data from multiple cities and neighbourhoods can be used to assess climate related exposures, analyse health inequalities, and examine the role of urban policies. Together, the presentations will demonstrate how scientific evidence can strengthen epidemiological surveillance, support heat–health early warning systems and help prevent the health effects of heat in a more equitable way. Discussion will centre on what aspects of equity should be included in heat–health research and monitoring; ways for cities to measure inequalities in both absolute and relative terms; as well as strategies for turning evidence into practical steps in public health, social policies, and urban planning. The added value of the workshop lies in its integrated approach, bringing together diverse analytical methods and scales, multiple geographical contexts, and concrete examples of how epidemiological evidence is generated and applied in practice. This structure will help to discuss how cities can move beyond broad categories of vulnerability and identify how social structures, urban environments and policy responses generate or reduce unequal heat-related health impacts. Key messages • Heat does not affect all urban populations equally: social and urban determinants shape vulnerability and health impacts. • Equitable heat-health adaptation requires surveillance that monitors inequalities over time and across urban contexts.
Author: Anna Gómez Gutiérrez
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,181
OpenAlex ID: W7223668021