Community‐Led Adaptation, Weather Extremes, and Health and Wellbeing

de Chavez, Anna Cronin and Towers, Lee and Walker, Gordon and Albers, Patricia Nicole and Butler, Catherine and Adger, W. Neil and Cotton, Matthew and Bland, Emma and de Vocht, Frank (2026) Community‐Led Adaptation, Weather Extremes, and Health and Wellbeing. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 17 (3): e70075. ISSN 1757-7780

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Abstract

Community‐led action is of increasing interest for policy, local government, and the design of adaptation under a changing climate. Previous research has shown how community‐led responses to climate impacts, such as flooding and heat, can be important in mitigating their ill health and wellbeing effects. But the evidence base on the character and nature of such actions by communities is at present scattered. In this paper, we review the international peer‐reviewed evidence on the form, character, and challenges of community‐led action for key climate‐related risks facing many localities across world regions both now and in the future. We bring particular focus on the role that community‐led responses play in supporting or mitigating health and wellbeing impacts, identifying common themes on their benefits in the face of climate‐related risks, including: the use of localized knowledge for both planning and recovery from events; their importance for identifying and supporting vulnerable people; and the relevance of community‐led action for advancing generalized resilience. We conclude that greater value could be placed on the unique knowledge, decision making, innovation, flexibility, and opportunities that community‐led adaptation offers. This article is categorized under: Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Institutions for Adaptation Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Values‐Based Approach to Vulnerability and Adaptation