The health systems that cope best will be those that treat climate adaptation as a core public health function - planned and funded with the same seriousness as vaccination programmes, disease surveillance and clean water. How wildfires and heatwaves can affect physical and mental healthWildfires and heatwaves, Dr van Daalen explains, “strain the cardiovascular system. Dr van Daalen stresses that wildfires can also lead to mental health issues. They are interconnected public health challenges whose effects can continue long after temperatures fall or the flames are extinguished.” The message is loud and clear, Dr van Daalen says.