By Katherine Anderson
As global temperatures rise, more patients may present to emergency departments with heat-related illnesses such as dehydration, heatstroke or cardiac strain, resulting in a greater demand for medical imaging.
How this demand will evolve under climate change remains largely unknown, according to Eray Yilmaz, MSc, who presented the findings from a study on this topic during a Monday session.
“Medical imaging generates a significant amount of greenhouse gases,” said Yilmaz, an MD candidate at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University in London, Ontario. “In fact, one Canadian medical imaging department generated greenhouse gases that were equivalent to 770 gasoline-powered cars running for a year.”
While operational changes like turning off CT scanners overnight and on Sundays can save 14,000 kWh annually, Yilmaz cautioned these measures aren’t enough to offset growing demand.
“Independent of climate change, there is already an increased need for medical imaging due to an aging population, rise in chronic diseases and workforce shortages,” Yilmaz said. “When rising temperatures are considered, the demand–supply imbalance will intensify and radiology services will be even more strained.”
“Climate change will continue to stress health care systems and have negative consequences on human health. By pushing forward sustainable practices, radiology can lessen its impact on the greenhouse gas footprint.”
Eray Yilmaz, MSc
Yilmaz and colleagues at the University of Toronto analyzed 10 years of data from four Toronto emergency departments to examine short-term associations between heat exposure and imaging utilization. The researchers found that hotter days were consistently linked to higher imaging use.
A 10°C rise in average temperature was associated with a 3.3% increase in medical imaging utilization for up to five days afterward. Using these findings, the team projected future imaging demand through the year 2100 based on global climate models from the Government of Canada.
The team modeled three future scenarios using Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). These are standardized frameworks used by climate scientists to explore how different social and economic trends might affect emissions and warming.
Under the low-emissions scenario (SSP1-2.6), which assumes strong climate action and sustainable development, heat-related imaging is expected to rise about 0.32% by the 2080s.
Under the high-emissions scenario (SSP3-7.0), representing limited climate cooperation and heavier fossil fuel use, demand could increase by up to 1.25%. These projections correspond to an additional 14,000 to 33,050 imaging studies every decade in Toronto alone, with X-rays and CT scans showing the largest increases.
The results underscore the action that is needed under all possible outcomes. “Even in a scenario where nations start making conscious efforts towards sustainability and work cooperatively to meet climate goals, the benefits (i.e. cooling of temperatures) will not be felt until the second half of this century,” Yilmaz noted.
Yilmaz emphasized that hospitals must begin planning now to adapt and stay resilient in a warming climate. “By identifying the potential trajectory for increased imaging utilization, improvements can be made in patient care regarding climate-driven environmental exposures,” Yilmaz said.
Study senior author Kate Hanneman, MD, MPH, a cardiac radiologist, associate professor, and vice chair of research at the University of Toronto, added that these efforts are part of a broader need for the radiology community to adopt sustainable practices and reduce its environmental footprint.
“Climate change will continue to stress health care systems and have negative consequences on human health,” Yilmaz concluded. “By pushing forward sustainable practices, radiology can lessen its impact on the greenhouse gas footprint.”
Access the presentation, “Projections of Future Heat-Related Emergency Medical Imaging Under Climate Change Scenarios,” (M6-SSNPM01-4) on demand at RSNA.org/MeetingCentral.
© 2025 RSNA.
The RSNA 2025 Daily Bulletin is the official publication of the 110th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. Published online Sunday, November 30 — Thursday, December 4.
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