Climate and health
Climate, including extreme weather, has a direct impact on health. As NYC’s climate changes, along with the world’s climate, we expect more frequent and intense heat waves, increased rainfall and more severe storms. These will add to existing weather-related risks. Already, heat kills more people than all other natural disasters combined.
In New York City, those most vulnerable to the dangers of hot weather are older adults and people with health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and cognitive impairment - especially those in low-income, Black, and Brown communities. Air conditioning is the best defense against the heat. Equitable access and responsible use of air conditioning is crucial to protect the lives of all New Yorkers while reducing impacts on the environment.
Interactive Heat Vulnerability Index
Your heat story
Real-time heat-related illness
2025 NYC Heat-Related Mortality Report
Annual analysis of heat related deaths, contributing factors, and neighborhood impacts.
Mosquitoes and ticks can cause serious diseases for New Yorkers Bugs play an important role in our ecosystem: They pollinate plants, break down organic matter into soil, and are a source of food for animals. Some also spread …
In January 2025, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Bridge and Tunnels (MTABT) started charging a toll for vehicles entering Manhattan’s Congestion Relief Zone (the zone) to reduce traffic within the zone and raise …
Whether it’s electricity powering air conditioning in the summer, gas or oil heating in the winter, or the other forms that energy can take, people need energy to stay healthy and safe. Energy also powers life-sustaining …
New York City’s public transit system has gotten New Yorkers where they need to go and home again for over a century. For our public transit system to continue to move millions of people and to keep us healthy, it’s important …
Cold weather can be dangerous. Here are some tips for staying safe this winter.
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Imagine your child has asthma. One summer night, a powerful storm rolls in and knocks the power out. Your child starts to have trouble breathing. Usually, you’d use a home nebulizer, an electric machine that turns liquid …
In New York City and across the country, more people die from extreme heat than from all other natural disasters combined. To understand how to keep New Yorkers safe from extreme heat, we studied neighborhood factors that …
Hot weather is dangerous. In New York City and across the country, more people on average die from extreme heat each year than from all other natural disasters. Heat stress happens when your body’s temperature increases …
New Yorkers eat out more than a billion times a year. To help keep diners safe, the Health Department educates restaurant operators about food safety practices and inspects all 27,000 city restaurants at least once a year. …