HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-ENVHLTH-02

How does a changing climate alter what we are exposed to, how our bodies respond, and who is most at risk?
HEALTHSCAPE will investigate how extreme heat, drought and wildfire-related pollution reshape the combinations of environmental, chemical and biological exposures experienced in everyday life. Building on established expertise in analytical chemistry, environmental monitoring, metabolomics and molecular toxicology, the project aims to connect repeated environmental and human exposure measurements with biological-response markers and longitudinal health data. Rather than assessing individual hazards in isolation, it will examine how exposure patterns change during and across periods of climatic stress, how combined exposures interact, and which biological pathways may explain their health effects. A central research question is whether housing quality, working conditions and access to cooling help explain differences in personal exposure, biological responses and health outcomes during combined heat and air-pollution episodes.

KMOP will connect the scientific investigation with the living and working conditions that shape people’s exposure to climate-related health risks and their ability to adapt. Through surveys, interviews and participatory research within selected study populations, KMOP will examine how energy poverty, housing and working conditions, access to cooling, risk perceptions and adaptation behaviours shape exposure and the ability to respond. Working with epidemiology and cohort partners, it will contribute social and behavioural indicators that can be analysed alongside exposure measurements and health information, helping distinguish inequalities in exposure from differences in vulnerability and access to protection. KMOP will then bring communities, healthcare professionals and public authorities together to co-design prevention and adaptation measures informed by the findings and assess their feasibility and acceptability. The ambition is to move from identifying climate-related health risks to developing responses that are scientifically grounded, socially equitable and practical in everyday life.

Keywords: Climate-sensitive exposome; human biomonitoring; metabolomics and biomarkers; social vulnerability; equitable adaptation.