Our health is suffering as climate change brings an increase in lung-damaging smoke from wildfires, hotter days that make working and sleeping harder, shifting infectious disease patterns and many other threats.

And the problems aren't just hitting poor countries, doctors warn.

"A nation's wealth offers no protection," says Hugh Montgomery, part of the team that produced a sobering report in the Lancet health journal. "Flames, floods and famine do not respect national borders or bank accounts."

But protecting nature can help.

In India, indigenous groups with access to traditional food and medicinal plants from the forest have been able to keep their immune systems in good shape, avoid shopping in towns and stay largely free of the COVID-19 virus in a country hit hard by the pandemic.

"The tribes in the region have been conserving their native biodiversity for generations," says Y. Giri Rao, who runs an Odisha-based conservation group. "This is paying off during these tough times."

In Pakistan, meanwhile, it's technology that is helping bring health benefits.

The government has begun providing subsidised farm equipment that eliminates the need to burn off stubble after the rice harvest, aimed at reducing choking smog in cities like Lahore.

Will there be more action to reduce climate change health threats?

We'll be watching Saturday's Climate Ambition Summit to see if countries come up with new, stronger commitments under the Paris Agreement to slash emissions and adapt to climate risks - both of which could protect our health in future.

Check in next week for the results!

Laurie

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