Climate Medicine Is Still New – But It’s Exactly What We Need Right Now

Through my work, I’ve had the chance to meet people from all over the world who are focused on improving air quality in their communities, as well as tackling broader climate issues. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Damian Markov from Argentina. During our introductions, he introduced himself as a climate doctor.

Once he mentioned that, I took a moment to think about what I just heard: climate doctor. It was a term that was entirely new to me, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense – climate and health are deeply connected, after all. I just knew that I had to learn more about the practice, and the work that he does in the field.

So I followed up with Damian for another conversation – this time, to learn more about the motivations behind him becoming a climate doctor, climate medicine itself, and the challenges that people involved in this emerging field are faced with.

Damian attending the 2025 Global Conference on Climate and Health

From Burnout to Breakthrough

Damian is a pediatrician by training. But what led him to his path wasn’t the continuous work he was doing in his practice. It was actually the decision to take a break from it.

“After I finished my residency, I couldn’t find myself working 40 years between four walls in a consultation room, or in an ambulance or ward,” he said. “So I decided to go for a sabbatical year with my wife. We ended up backpacking for almost two years, mainly in Southeast Asia. On that trip, we ended up in very secluded and isolated communities, rural areas, but also in cities where we could engage and understand what their problems were.”

It was this experience that exposed him to the harsh realities of climate change firsthand. Wildfires, droughts, and floods – while all of this was daunting to witness, these situations reminded him of the damage that environmental degradation and climate change were causing back home. This was the turning point to shift his career toward understanding how climate change is impacting health and health systems.

But the switch to climate medicine wasn’t an easy one. The most challenging aspect of pursuing this path was that it wasn’t very walked. And in turn, that meant that not a lot of opportunities were available for people who wanted to pursue it. However, rather than seeing this as a setback, Damian decided to start looking for opportunities beyond Argentina to make it work.

“Not many people have followed this path, so I had to find ways to get the knowledge from somewhere. I started connecting with people that were already doing this, mainly in the Global North. I found a place at the University of Colorado’s School of Medicine, in the United States. They had a fellowship where they trained early career doctors in climate policy and health.”

Dr. Damian Markov

Climate Doctor

What Climate Medicine Looks Like in Practice

What’s interesting about climate medicine is that there are people of all professions involved. The practice brings together a range of healthcare professionals, such as nurses, chemists, and hospital managers, who are involved in the research and implementation of projects aimed at mitigating climate-related health risks.

Damian’s personal focus is on implementing practical solutions. He does this by turning research findings into pilot projects or case studies, partnering with different organizations, private companies, governments, or NGOs, to protect vulnerable communities.

These include partnerships around the forecasting of dengue outbreaks, where he works on connecting pharmaceutical companies with research institutions to bundle vaccines with early warning systems, ultimately allowing governments to better prepare and respond to outbreaks. He has also focused on protecting outdoor workers from heat-related illnesses, a growing concern in the country as rising temperatures put people’s health, productivity, and safety at risk.

Damian also supports projects that address water safety, helping organizations return clean water to communities. The goal is to turn those efforts into measurable health outcomes, like fewer cases of illness, reduced school absences, and lower health costs.

Challenges on the Ground

However, even with some projects already in motion, it’s important to remember that climate medicine is still a relatively new field. And like most emerging concepts, it has been met with a fair amount of skepticism and questions.

“When I talk with colleagues, doctors, nurses, people in the healthcare industry, they open their eyes when they hear about climate medicine. They have never heard of this kind of connection, so it’s very early stage.”

But the challenges don’t stop at this lack of familiarity with the concept. In Argentina, political and economic instability has been constant. Considering this, it’s hard to ask people to focus on climate and health when there are other issues that are often considered more pressing. The problem of climate change can feel distant when basic needs are the more immediate concern.

Nowadays, national government support is completely non-existent, moreover, it undermines the urgency and denies any and all scientific evidence on the matter. But at the local level, there’s often more room to act. Provincial and municipal leaders may not have large funding, but many are willing to collaborate and take steps to protect their communities.

Rather than seeing these challenges as barriers, Damian sees them as all the more reason to keep going, and to invite others to get involved in climate medicine too.

Advice for Future Climate Doctors

When asked what he’d say to someone interested in climate medicine, Damian didn’t hesitate: “I would say go for it. We need you.”

He emphasized that this is still a new field and that’s exactly why it’s a good time to get involved. “Try to get the knowledge you can, but start working on it,” he said. Climate change will affect every medical discipline, so whether you’re a cardiologist, pediatrician, or psychiatrist, it’s important to understand how your patients will be impacted, and how to prevent these illnesses.

But you don’t need to specialize in climate medicine to make a difference. As Damian explained, especially in places where so much still needs to be done, innovation doesn’t have to be high-tech or expensive, it just has to meet real needs.

Gathering better data, using nature-based solutions, or setting up early warning systems can already create long-term impact. “Any kind of climate action is a health action,” he said, pointing to how renewable energy can improve air quality, how sustainable food systems can address hidden hunger, and how climate resilient healthcare facilities can save lives during disasters.

The Time to Act Is Now

And that’s really the heart of it. The goal of climate medicine isn’t to address problems or health issues that we will be facing in the distant future, the goal is to address the ones we are facing now. One last thing that really stuck with me during our conversation was Damian’s reminder to stop treating climate change like it’s something we still have time to prepare for. The impacts are already here, and so is the need to respond.

“I always try to bring it to now,” he told me. “Because we have a lot of climate impacts now, and we don’t need to look at what’s coming – we’re already seeing it.”

This was a reminder I needed to hear, and something I think others need to hear too. We often talk about climate in future terms, but the reality is that many communities are already feeling the effects. And in places where systems are already stretched thin, the weight of those impacts is even heavier. Waiting for things to get worse before we act doesn’t help anyone.

That’s what makes climate medicine feel so urgent. It’s about working with what we already know, and using it to protect communities today.