As the so-called "Frankenstorm" threatens millions in the USA, health experts announced a major collaboration with meteorologists.
The World Health Organisation says the link will allow public health specialists to plan better for the effects of natural disasters caused by the world’s changing weather patterns.
It has linked up with the World Meteorological Organisation to tackle "pressing current and emerging challenges."
The two organisations yesterday published a new "Atlas of Health and Climate," at the WMO’s World Meteorological Congress in Geneva.
The atlas highlights the threat of increasing episodes of "heat extremes" occurring every two to five years by the middle of the century. The experts say in the past they happened every 20 years.
This will pose a severe threat to some 1.5 billion elderly people living in cities.
WHO director general Dr Margaret Chan said: "Prevention and preparedness are the heart of public health. Risk management is our daily bread and butter. Information on climate variability and climate change is a powerful scientific tool that assists us in these tasks.
"Climate has a profound impact on the lives, and survival, of people. Climate services can have a profound impact on improving these lives, also through better health outcomes."
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