The tri-county region (Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington County) in Oregon formed a regional partnership to track and report on climate health impacts.
While the inaugural 2019 Regional Climate and Health Monitoring (RCHM) Report provided benchmark data for health indicators related to five areas impacted by climate change: extreme heat, extreme weather, communicable disease, air quality, and vector-borne disease, the 2021 report updated these health indicators with data from 2018-2020, adding a focus on the impacts from the 2020 wildfire season, and providing a discussion on mental health impacts from climate change and the lack of mental health data sources. The RCHM report spotlights 12 climate-related health indicators, combining data from several sources to provide number of cases and rate per 100,000.
This data will support informed decision-making and a “Health in All Policy” approach to climate change mitigation and adaptation work.