A major international study spanning 136 countries found that over 40 per cent of countries worldwide reported climate-related changes in the prevalence and severity of skin diseases with lower-income countries disproportionately affected.
The study was presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Congress 2026 in Vienna.
Representatives from 194 World Health Organization (WHO) member countries were invited to participate in the Global Access to Skin Health Observatory (SkinObservatory) study, a collaboration between the International League of Dermatological Societies (ILDS) and L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty.
The Skin Observatory maps dermatologist distribution, workforce gaps and barriers to care across WHO member states, generating evidence to identify where needs are greatest and support stronger, more equitable skin health services.
Participants shared insights on climate impacts and the prevalence of climate change-related skin diseases in their countries. Data was collected from 136 countries. Overall, 42.6 per cent reported changes in the prevalence and / or severity of skin disease due to climate change, with significant differences according to income level.
More than half of low-income (55.6 per cent) and lower-middle-income countries (52.5 per cent) reported climate-related changes in skin disease, compared with 43.8 per cent of upper-middle-income and 28.3 per cent of high-income countries.
Geographical differences were also substantial, with changes most frequently reported in the western Pacific region (64.7 per cent), followed by the eastern Mediterranean and south-east Asian regions (60 per cent each), compared with 16.1 per cent in the European region.
In the African Region, 42.9 per cent of respondents were unsure about the impact of climate change on skin disease. This highlights gaps in surveillance and evidence.
Among the 58 countries reporting climate-associated effects on skin disease, 81 per cent reported increases in heat rashes and 75.9 per cent in inflammatory skin diseases. Changes in infectious diseases were reported in 62.1 per cent, with half (50.0%) reporting changes in vector-borne diseases.
“The most important finding from our study is that climate change is already associated with negative impacts on skin disease, and these effects disproportionately burden lower-income settings,” said study author Dr Esther Freeman, Harvard Medical School.
“We often think about the effects of extreme weather on heatstroke, cardiovascular problems and respiratory diseases, but the skin is our front line to climate change," Dr Freeman added.
Higher temperatures and humidity increase sweating and skin irritation, while heat, air pollution and other environmental exposures trigger or worsen inflammation. Shifts in temperature and rainfall affect the habitats of mosquitoes, ticks and other disease vectors, potentially allowing them to survive in places where they were previously uncommon; these were some of the factors driving the changes.
Studies have corroborated the effect of high humidity on skin diseases. A study published in Advanced Science, July 2026 found that a high-humidity-driven and microbiota-dependent pathway exacerbates the relapse of psoriasis (a skin disease that causes a rash with itchy, scaly patches) by increasing tissue-resident memory T cells through alterations in the skin microbiota.
Lower-income countries report greater impact
The study also points to a stark global inequality. Despite contributing the least to climate change, countries with fewer resources were more likely to report climate-related dermatological changes. This is serious, as these are the same countries that have the fewest resources to adapt.
Many of the lower income countries are situated in regions experiencing extreme heat and changing rainfall patterns and people have limited access and financial viability to healthcare, dermatologists and medicines. Thus, the greatest health risks coexist with health systems that have fewer resources to prevent, identify and treat disease.
A recent work on the global distribution of the dermatologic workforce around the world, published in JAMA Dermatology in August 2026 found that Africa has very few dermatologists compared to other regions of the world with fewer than three dermatologists per million people across the continent.
The researchers called for stronger surveillance, education and locally tailored strategies, particularly in resource-limited settings and said that skin health should be treated as part of climate health preparedness.