EXHAUSTION · Project

Heat and Air Pollution Risk Tools That Protect Workers and Cut Health Costs

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Imagine heatwaves and wildfire smoke hitting at the same time — your heart and lungs take a double punch. This project mapped out exactly how dangerous those combined episodes are across Europe, using massive health records from Northern, Central, and Southern countries. They built alert tools that warn people when heat and pollution spike together, and calculated what all this costs in hospital bills and lost workdays. The bottom line: they can now predict where and when these deadly combinations will strike, and what it will cost if we do nothing.

By the numbers

consortium partners across Europe

countries covered in the study

total project deliverables produced

demo tools built (citizen alert tool, final citizen tool, interactive mapping tool)

SMEs in the consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

European businesses face rising costs from heat-related worker illness, climate-driven insurance claims, and regulatory pressure to protect employees from extreme heat and air pollution. Most companies lack data on how combined heat and pollution episodes affect their workforce or customer base, making it impossible to plan, price risk, or justify adaptation investments.

The solution

What was built

The project built a citizen engagement alert tool (pilot-tested and iterated to final version with real users), an interactive web-based mapping tool for exploring health impacts by region, and comprehensive exposure-response models linking heat and air pollution to cardiopulmonary disease across 12 European countries. They also produced socio-economic cost estimates for climate-driven health impacts.

Audience

Who needs this

Occupational health managers at companies with outdoor workersHealth and life insurance actuaries pricing climate riskMunicipal public health departments planning heat action strategiesEnvironmental consulting firms advising on climate adaptationWorkplace safety technology vendors building alert systems

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Occupational health and safety

any

Target: Companies managing outdoor workforces (construction, logistics, agriculture)

If you are a company with outdoor workers dealing with rising heat-related sick days and liability risks — this project developed exposure-response models and a citizen engagement alert tool that can warn workers when combined heat and air pollution exceed safe thresholds. The tool was pilot-tested with real users and iterated based on feedback, giving you a ready-to-adapt warning system for workforce protection.

Insurance and reinsurance

enterprise

Target: Health and life insurers covering European populations

If you are an insurer struggling to price climate-driven cardiopulmonary risk — this project produced future exposure projections for extreme heat and PM2.5/O3 across 12 European countries, combined with actual mortality and morbidity data. Their socio-economic cost models let you quantify how climate change will shift cardiopulmonary disease burden by age, sex, and socio-economic status, directly feeding your actuarial models.

Smart city and urban planning

any

Target: Municipal governments and urban technology providers

If you are a city authority or smart-city vendor dealing with increasing heat emergencies — this project built an interactive web tool that lets users explore health impact maps, risk projections, and adaptation scenarios by geographic area. Tested with organizations like the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases (EFA), it provides the evidence base cities need to justify green infrastructure investments and heat action plans.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to license or access these tools?

The project was publicly funded under Horizon 2020 as a Research and Innovation Action (RIA), meaning core results are typically open access. The citizen engagement tool and interactive mapping tool were made available to the public for pilot use. Specific licensing terms would need to be discussed with the coordinator, CICERO in Norway.

Can these models work at industrial scale for a large insurer or employer?

The models were built on large-scale multi-country health registries covering Northern, Central, and Southern Europe across 12 countries. The consortium of 16 partners validated the exposure-response relationships across diverse European settings, making the data robust enough for continental-scale applications.

Is there intellectual property I need to worry about?

As an RIA project, most scientific outputs are published openly. The citizen engagement tool and interactive tool were developed for public use. However, the proprietary health registry data and specific cost models may have restrictions — contact the coordinator for details on commercial reuse terms.

Does this comply with EU regulations on workplace heat exposure?

The project directly addresses EU climate adaptation policy by providing evidence-based exposure thresholds and health impact data for heat and air pollution. Their findings on how age, sex, and socio-economic status predict cardiopulmonary risk can support compliance with the EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work.

How long before this could be deployed in my organization?

The citizen engagement tool reached its final version with user feedback integration, and the interactive web tool is already accessible online. Integration into existing workplace safety or insurance systems would require adaptation, but the core tools are functional and tested.

Can it integrate with our existing environmental monitoring systems?

The interactive tool uses standard climate model outputs and air quality data (PM2.5 and O3 concentrations). Based on available project data, the tool provides a web-based interface with maps, figures, and tables that could complement existing monitoring dashboards.

Consortium

Who built it

The EXHAUSTION consortium brings together 16 partners from 12 European countries, combining 6 universities and 5 research institutes with 3 industry players and 4 SMEs (19% industry ratio). The coordinator is CICERO, Norway's leading climate research center. The geographic spread from Scandinavia to Southern Europe means the health data and models cover the full range of European climate conditions. The relatively low industry ratio (19%) reflects the project's research-heavy nature, but the presence of SMEs signals potential for commercial spin-offs, particularly around the alert and mapping tools.

CICERO SENTER FOR KLIMAFORSKNINGCoordinator · NO
AARHUS UNIVERSITETparticipant · DK
FOLKEHELSEINSTITUTTETparticipant · NO
DREVEN SRLthirdparty · BE
ETHNIKO KAI KAPODISTRIAKO PANEPISTIMIO ATHINONparticipant · EL
HELMHOLTZ ZENTRUM MUENCHEN DEUTSCHES FORSCHUNGSZENTRUM FUER GESUNDHEIT UND UMWELT GMBHparticipant · DE
AZIENDA SANITARIA LOCALE ROMA 1participant · IT
ADMINISTRATIA NATIONALA DE METEOROLOGIE R.A.participant · RO
LISER - LUXEMBOURG INSTITUTE OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC RESEARCHparticipant · LU
DRAXIS ENVIRONMENTAL SAparticipant · EL
LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE AND TROPICAL MEDICINE ROYAL CHARTERparticipant · UK
UNIVERSITETET I OSLOparticipant · NO
ILMATIETEEN LAITOSparticipant · FI
KAROLINSKA INSTITUTETparticipant · SE
UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTOparticipant · PT

How to reach the team

CICERO Center for International Climate Research, Norway — reach out to their project coordination team for licensing and collaboration inquiries

Order a report on this consortium See CICERO SENTER FOR KLIMAFORSKNING profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

SciTransfer can connect you directly with the EXHAUSTION research team to explore how their heat-health risk tools and cost models can be adapted for your specific industry needs.

Order a report on this topic More in Health & Biomedical