Climate Health Stories
Our Climate Health Stories repository is an effort to collect and catalogue first-hand accounts from health professionals and community members who are already experiencing and witnessing the effects of climate change in Michigan. The stories on this page illustrate how climate change works as a risk multiplier, threatening those who already face compromised health conditions and exacerbating existing infrastructure issues.
As health professionals, we know that rigorous data and accuracy matters. While we cannot claim that certain heat days, floods, wildfires, disease outbreaks, power outages, or resulting health harms can be directly attributed to climate change, an emerging body of literature is using statistics to do just that.
These stories illustrate how climate change is affecting our health, and they also help us imagine avenues for action, mitigation, and resilience.
Send us your story!
Thanks to generous grant funding from the Colina Foundation, we collected 50 climate-health stories and connected with the public at 13 events across Michigan in 2024.
Our effort to collect more accounts and further publicize our database is still ongoing, so whether you're a health professional or member of the general public, you can share your story with us by clicking the button below.
Note: We ask you to be HIPAA-compliant when sharing information about patients, but we encourage you to use your first name, town, and credentials to identify yourself. ​​​​Please note that by leaving us a message, you are consenting to your name, city, and the voicemail message being used by MiCCA across our digital and social platforms.
Listen to MiCCA's Team Explain the Power of a Story
Extreme Heat
Heat stress is the leading cause of weather-related deaths, according to the World Health Organization, and it can exacerbate underlying illnesses including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental health, asthma, and can increase the risk of accidents and transmission of some infectious diseases.
Michigan is perceived as a climate haven, but the state is not immune from increased risks of heat-related illness. The state's average summer temperature (May-September) has increased about 2.5°F since 1895, and new research from the University of Michigan has found that heat waves and cold spells have become more common on the Great Lakes over the last 30 years. This pendulum swing can have severe implications on our natural resources, economy, and our health.​​
Flooding & Water-Borne Diseases
Total average annual precipitation has increased by about 11% in the Great Lakes region since 1900, and extreme precipitation events (in the top 1%) have increased by 37% in the Midwest. Notable rainfall events in Michigan includes 2025 flash floods in Detroit and the 500-year flood event in Midland and Gladwin counties in 2020 (pictured below). Floods destroy and damage homes and infrastructure, which can also exacerbate health issues by cutting off power and promoting mold growth.
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​The warming climate is also increasing the risk of some infectious waterborne diseases in Michigan like the bacteria Legionella, Naegleria fowleri, and E. coli, among others. Increased water temperatures can also lead to more harmful algal blooms, which can cause a variety of illnesses.
Air Pollutants & Allergies
Beyond the immediate air quality impacts from the production and combustion of fossil fuels, hotter temperatures are leading to increased concentrations of ground level ozone, particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5), other fine particles, and the production of aeroallergens like pollen and mold spores.
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Climate change is causing seasonal shifts which could lead to earlier and longer growing seasons and later first frost. This results in plants releasing pollen earlier, for longer periods of time, and sometimes, in more potent doses, triggering allergies.
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In Michigan, we've also increasingly experienced more poor air quality days due to wildfire smoke. Hotter, drier conditions in Canada have led to bigger and more frequent wildfires, with smoke blanketing much of our state.
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Vector-Borne Diseases
Lyme disease is on the uptick across Michigan, increasing by 168% in cases within the past five years, according to state data. Another tick-borne disease known as Anaplasmosis is also on the rise, increasing by nearly five-fold since 2020. Diseases spread by mosquitos such as West Nile Virus are also a disease of concern, as conditions have become more favorable to various emerging diseases.
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As winters become milder, the extended tick and mosquito seasons are contributing to an increased risk of exposure to these vector-borne diseases.
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Power Outages
Overall, extreme weather is leading to infrastructure destruction, power outages, and social disruption. Power outages are of special concern to health professionals because they can destabilize conditions for medical equipment and crucial medications, and they can endanger patients who rely on air conditioning and heat through the seasons. ​Health impacts from extreme weather events also include injuries, CO poisoning, mental distress, and death.
