Greenhouse Gas-Related Climate Changes and Some Expected Skin Alterations

The stratum corneum (SC) materializes the interface between the body and its environment. Such a structure is influenced by the climate, and thus appears to be reactive to seasons. A series of physicochemical parameters are involved in such a relationship. Among them, the environmental relative humidity and dew point are concerned, as well as the insensible loss of water from the skin, and the mechanism of water-as-ice and the higgledy-piggledy-water in the SC. Global climate changes (GCC) refer to sustained alterations in regional climates over relatively long periods. In recent years, GCC were identified as the expression of a global atmosphere warming showing a continuous trend in the increase in average and peak temperatures. Presently, the increasing temperature has already altered the distributions of some living organisms, including infectious agents and their vectors. Extreme weather conditions (wind, rain, storm, flood,...) are progressively noted. Direct effects on the skin physiology are particularly present on the SC structure and functions. Any direct influence on dermatoses depends on extreme weather events. Indirect effects concern longer term changes in the patterns of skin cancers, infections and infestations worldwide. A fairly obvious recommendation based on the science would be that climatic influences will exert in the life to come some effects on the prevalence of a series of dermatoses.