Climate Research

Congratulations to CHART’s graduating students! Our center is grateful to have had an amazing team of graduate students supporting center research, community engagement, and pilot grant projects. We’re excited to keep a few of these students on our team over the summer and look forward to seeing all that they accomplish next!  Emily Wilhelm, MPH Environmental Health   CHART Research Core  “At CHART, I had the opportunity to engage with participants and support data collection through participant recruitment,…

From Sensors to Insights: Quantifying Daily Heat and Air Pollution Exposure in Atlanta — CHART Methods & Early Insights   This webinar was held on April 28, 2026   Access the recording of the session HERE   On-demand evaluation survey    Description: The urban infrastructure found in cities not only puts people at risk of extreme heat exposure during the intense summer months but also at increased risk of exposure to air pollution. This webinar will dive into CHART’s community-based research utilizing wearable sensors to quantify real-world exposure to heat and air pollution in daily life in Atlanta, including wearable-based sleep metrics. The webinar will touch on CHART’s effort to recruit participants, collect and analyze…

Heat and Emergency Department Visits: Findings from CHART’s Research Project Core  This webinar was held on March 31, 2026  Access the recording of the session HERE  On-demand evaluation survey  Description: Heat waves, particularly in urban environments within cities, are increasing in frequency, intensity, and severity as summer temperatures continue to rise. Specific populations are particularly at risk. In CHART, we are identifying factors that affect health outcomes related to heat, particularly health conditions that affect heat-sensitivity…

Assessing the combined effects of air pollution and climate change enhanced urban heat to the health of outdoor informal workers   Dr. Olivia Ginn (UGA) and colleagues have been working in Bolivia on their pilot, “Assessing the combined effects of air pollution and climate change enhanced urban heat to the health of outdoor informal workers.”  The aim of this study is to assess the potential health impacts on outdoor informal workers…

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported on the CHART study loooking at Atlantans’ exposure to heat and air pollution, in a time of hotter weather. Read the full article here.  As the planet warms because of human-caused climate change, studies have found metro Atlanta is experiencing more extreme heat. But exactly how hot it actually feels depends on where you are in the city. Blocks shaded by trees are cooler than ones…

CHART investigators have published the article “ Case-crossover assessment of the modifying effects of home medication use on acute kidney-related morbidity due to elevated ambient heat exposure in Atlanta, GA, from 2013 to 2019“. The article focuses on how elevated ambient temperatures increase the risk for acute kidney-related morbidity, and medication use may increase vulnerability to heat exposure. This study examines whether medication use, and combination medication use (ie, polypharmacy), modifies…

CHART investigators have published the article “Estimating the Association Between Outdoor Temperature and Acute Kidney Injury Using Alternative Case Definitions”, which describes the study aimed to improve estimates of the association between acute kidney injury (AKI) and ambient heat exposure through better case ascertainment and by isolating community-acquired AKI. Rabin B, D’Souza R, Weil EJ, Chang HH, Ebelt S, Scovronick N. Estimating the Association Between Outdoor Temperature and Acute Kidney…

  This webinar was held on May 22, 2025 Access the recording of the session HERE On-demand evaluation survey Attendees will be eligible for 1 CNE credit Description: As summertime approaches, it is important to recognize how the human body naturally regulates heat, as well as the impact that medication use has on disrupting that regulation. This webinar will address drugs and mechanisms that increase risk of heat-related illnesses and…

Youth Mental Health and the Climate Crisis This webinar was held on February 11, 2025 Access the recording of the session HERE *This enduring material is eligible for Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) credits! Description: Climate change has profound and escalating consequences for all aspects of human health, including our mental health and emotional well-being. In this webinar we will learn about how climate change is harming mental health, the reasons…

Abstract:  Heterogeneity in temperature-mortality relationships across locations may partly result from differences in the demographic structure of populations and their cause-specific vulnerabilities. Here we conduct the largest epidemiological study to date on the association between ambient temperature and mortality by age and cause using data from 532 cities in 33 countries. We collected daily temperature and mortality data from each country. Mortality data was provided as daily death counts within…

***Now eligible for Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) credits!  Pregnancy can increase the risk of a woman and her fetus being negatively impacted by environmental exposures. This webinar will discuss current research on how high ambient temperatures may influence pregnancy outcomes, highlighting emerging epidemiologic evidence and current knowledge gaps. The webinar will also utilize data and professional clinical experience to show how obstetricians and other clinicians working with pregnant patients can…

The CHART Community Engagement Core (CEC), guided by its Partner Steering Committee, has selected three outstanding projects for the 2024-2025 CHART Community Grant. This year, we received six applications from dedicated groups across the Atlanta metro area, all focused on addressing climate-related challenges, particularly those related to heat.  Each year, CHART’s CEC invites Atlanta residents to propose innovative projects aimed at mitigating climate and heat impacts in their neighborhoods. Applicants…

Emory University researchers of the Climate and Health Actionable Research and Translation (CHART) Center are conducting a study to learn about people’s exposure to heat and air pollution in Atlanta. We are looking for adults who live in Atlanta to participate in the study. Interested in participating? See the flyer below for more information or go here.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported on extreme heat in Georgia, interviewing CHART experts and mentioning the new Rollins School of Public Health climate and health indicator dashboard. Read the full article here.  Heat-related illnesses and fatalities result when the body’s ability to cool itself is overwhelmed by high temperatures, causing a dangerous increase in body heat that can harm vital organs, including the brain. Noah Scovronick, an environmental health scientist,…

The Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University has launched a new climate and health indicator dashboard that provides data on the impact that climate change is having on human health in Georgia. The mobile-friendly dashboard provides data spanning decades on numerous indicators of climate-related hazards—such as annual totals for extreme heat days, air pollution, and drought—for each of Georgia’s 159 counties. It is the only publicly available interactive…

(Originally published on the Rollins School of Public Health News Center) The U.S. Global Change Research Program released its Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA) in November  2023. This comprehensive report pulls together science-backed evidence to communicate about current and future threats related to climate change in the United States at both a national and regional level and across a number of fronts, including air and water quality, the economy, natural disasters,…

(Originally published on the Rollins School of Public Health News Center) A team of researchers from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health has been awarded a $3.8M grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a center to study the impacts of climate change on health and help develop action-oriented strategies to protect the health of individuals and communities. Emory University was one of the first five institutions to…