The CHANGE project held its first Annual Meeting on 16 September 2026 at ESA ESRIN in Frascati, Italy. The event brought together representatives from ESA and the project partners, including GMV, Heidelberg University, IZSAM, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), the Laboratory for Climate and Environmental Sciences (LSCE), and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center.
The meeting marked the conclusion of Phase 1 and provided an opportunity to review progress, share key achievements, and coordinate the next steps. CHANGE – Climate–Health Adaptation through New Generation Earth Observations – combines Earth Observation data with climate projections, epidemiological information, and socio-demographic datasets to improve understanding of the health impacts of climate change.
Partners discussed progress across the project’s six regional case studies, which address a range of climate–health challenges, including waterborne diseases, malaria, dengue, leptospirosis, wildfire-related health impacts, and disruptions to healthcare services caused by flooding.
The consortium also reviewed the main scientific outputs completed during Phase 1, including the Climate and Health Assessment Report, the identification and assessment of climate–health risks, and the analysis of uncertainty across the case studies. These outputs establish a common scientific foundation for the next stage of the project.
Open science and collaboration were also important themes. Partners discussed the development of the CHANGE communities on Zenodo and GitHub, which will provide long-term access to the project’s datasets, methods, code, and supporting documentation. Management, communication, and outreach activities were also aligned to support the project’s continued progress.
Building on the foundations established during Phase 1, the second phase of CHANGE will focus on consolidating and validating the climate–health risk assessments, assessing the health impacts attributable to climate change, and developing the Climate & Health Adaptation Roadmap. Together, these activities will demonstrate how Earth Observation can support robust risk assessment, evidence-based adaptation planning, and the development of more resilient health systems worldwide.