Journal profile · Multiple
Lancet Planetary Health
ISSN 2542-5196 · ELSEVIER SCI LTD · ENGLAND
Lancet Planetary Health: CAS Zone 1 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 20.27; fully open access; APC about USD 7,860; median 221 days to acceptance (82 articles, last 24 months); 216 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Lancet Planetary Health is published by ELSEVIER SCI LTD and is in Zone 1 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Climate Change and Health Impacts, Air Quality and Health Impacts and Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging, together about 44.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Lancet Planetary Health seeks to be the pre-eminent journal for enquiry into sustainable human civilisations in the Anthropocene. The journal publishes peer reviewed original research and expert reviews as well as candid commentary and breaking news broadly encompassing sustainable development (the SDG?s) and global environmental change.The Lancet Planetary Health particularly favour work that contributes to the understanding of, and transition into, a safe and just space for humanity, respecting planetary boundaries and the social and economic foundations of a healthy life. The journal is interested in all important aspects of societal development and its interaction with the environment including the drivers of change, the implications of those changes for people and society, and practical policies and interventions for a healthier planetary future.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Climate Change and Health ImpactsEnvironmental Science28.2%
- Air Quality and Health ImpactsEnvironmental Science10.4%
- Health, Environment, Cognitive AgingEnvironmental Science5.9%
- Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental ImpactEnvironmental Science5.5%
- Zoonotic diseases and public healthMedicine5.4%
- Global Public Health Policies and EpidemiologyBusiness, Management and Accounting4.9%
- Climate Change Communication and PerceptionSocial Sciences3.9%
- Global Health Care IssuesHealth Professions3.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 20.27LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 20.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 31.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 31.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 4.58LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 5.67LetPub ·
- h-index
- 140OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 824OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 11.87OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 98.57%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 103LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,615 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 105 | 105 | 113 |
| 2025 | 216 | 216 | 1,690 |
| 2024 | 183 | 183 | 4,179 |
| 2023 | 151 | 151 | 6,547 |
| 2022 | 183 | 183 | 12,475 |
| 2021 | 200 | 200 | 17,686 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
221 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 138 days – 357 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 55 days (81 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 293 days
- Sample
- 82 articles with submission and acceptance dates (333 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 8 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 94 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 152 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 57 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 36 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 7,860 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 6,680 / EUR 6,250 / GBP 5,350 / JPY 828,520 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 5,780 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 7,860 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access Open Access
Article Publishing Charge (APC): USD 7,860 (excluding taxes). Review this journal’s open access policy.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- ELSEVIER SCI LTD
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2542-5196
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Lancet Planetary Health
What CAS zone is Lancet Planetary Health in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Lancet Planetary Health is in Zone 1 of Medicine, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Environmental Sciences / Public, Environmental & Occupational Health; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Lancet Planetary Health?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 20.27; CiteScore 31.4, h-index 140.
How long does peer review take at Lancet Planetary Health?
Based on the dates recorded on 82 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 221 days (interquartile range 138–357 days); authors report an average review time of about 8 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index Lancet Planetary Health?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Lancet Planetary Health is indexed in SCIE, SSCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Lancet Planetary Health open access, and what is the APC?
Lancet Planetary Health is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 7,860.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .