Planetary Health - Medicine | Trinity College Dublin

PI: Professor Matthew Chersich, Public Health and Primary Care (PHPC), TCD

Co-PI: Professor Cathal Walsh, PHPC, TCD

Collaborators:

Maynooth University (Hamilton Institute)
Queen’s University Belfast (including NICOLA – Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing)
Trinity College Dublin (including TILDA – The Irish Longitudinal Study of Ageing)
Met Éireann and the Met Office (Northern Ireland Division)
Health Service Executive (HSE) and Department of Health, Ireland
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ireland
Wits Planetary Health Research (Wits PHR), University of the Witwatersrand
Climate and Health Advisory Partners, including Irish Doctors for the Environment and the Climate Change Advisory Council
International climate–health partners, including Lancet Countdown and collaborations aligned with EU and WHO frameworks

Funding

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ireland – Research Programme 2021–2030: Delivering a Healthy Environment – Topic 3 (Project Code: 2025-HE-1304)

Project status

Current project: June 2025 – May 2028

Objective

The CHI Study aims to understand and quantify the current and projected future impacts of climate change on physical and mental health across the island of Ireland. By linking climate, environmental, socio-economic and population health data, it will identify high-risk exposures and vulnerable populations, establish long-term monitoring systems for these impacts, support public health planning and climate adaptation policy, and serve as a national centre of excellence for climate change and health.

Key components

Data integration and harmonisation

The project integrates high-resolution climate and environmental data with national health and socio-economic datasets. Using harmonisation tools, privacy-preserving systems, and advanced analytical methodologies, CHI will develop a resilient and scalable infrastructure for climate–health analysis throughout Ireland.

Physical and mental health impact assessment

The study will quantify the effects of climate exposures on mortality, hospital admissions, infectious diseases and climate-sensitive conditions, alongside mental health outcomes such as anxiety and eco-anxiety, using large-scale, longitudinal population datasets.

Exposure–response modelling and indicator development

Robust time-series and epidemiological methods will be used to estimate exposure–response relationships for hazards such as extreme heat, flooding and extreme rainfall. These findings will be translated into practical, policy-relevant indicators to support national climate–health surveillance and reporting.

Vulnerability and inequality analysis

By combining climate, health, built environment and socio-economic data, CHI will identify populations and regions at highest risk, enabling targeted adaptation measures and a more equitable allocation of resources.

Long-term monitoring platform development

The project will develop sustainable analytical workflows and governance structures to track climate-related health impacts across Ireland in near real time, shortening delays between environmental events and health impact assessments and ensuring monitoring continues beyond the life of the grant.

Policy translation and stakeholder engagement

Findings will be translated into decision-support tools, indicators and policy recommendations to inform climate adaptation strategies, health service planning and national reporting frameworks.

Innovation

Integrates climate, health and vulnerability data at high spatial resolution across Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Develops automated harmonisation and analytical tools to support repeated and scalable monitoring.
Advances methods in climate-health impact attribution, helping distinguish between natural variability and climate change–driven health harms.
Moves towards near real-time assessment of climate-related health risks.

Impact

Provides Ireland’s first integrated national system for monitoring climate-related health impacts
Identifies populations most at risk from heat, flooding and other climate hazards
Informs health service preparedness and climate adaptation policy
Supports development of an Environmental Health Atlas for Ireland
Builds national capacity in climate change and health research
Positions Ireland as a leader in climate–health impact monitoring internationally

Further information:

For further details, please contact:
Professor Matthew Chersich – Matthew.Chersich@tcd.ie

Project website (coming soon): http://climatehealthireland.ie/

Keywords: Climate change impacts on health; population-level surveillance; data pipelines

PI and team members: Noel McCarthy, Margaret Brennan, Matthew Chersich, Cathal Walsh.

Timeline: July 2025-July 2028

Collaborators: Fergus McCarthy, UCC. Andrew Parnell, UCD.

Funding: HRB

Objective: Assessment of the impacts of climate change on health during pregnancy.

Key components: Doctoral thesis, peer reviewed research and policy outputs.

Impact:

Innovation:

Keywords: Climate change, Pregnancy, Maternal health.

PI and team members: Noel McCarthy, Terese O’Dowd

Timeline: August 2025 2026 -July 2026

Collaborators: Diarmuid O’Donovan (Health Service Executive), Roisin Breen (Health Service Executive).

Funding: HSE

Objective: To contribute to health service executive work on public health approaches to climate and health.

Key components: