Suburban Australians need to brush up on snake first-aid and peaceful co-existence as climate change nudges venomous species toward densely populated coastlines.

Most "medically dangerous" Australian snake species are expected to drift south and towards the coast in coming decades under climate change, research suggests.

Roughly 90 per cent of the island continent's population lives within 50 kilometres of the ocean.

The first-of-its-kind World Health Organisation-led modelling of overlap between snake habitat and human populations at present and under future climate scenarios is designed to guide better healthcare and conservation efforts.

The right locations can stock up on antivenom and train healthcare staff, for example, and the most suitable habitat earmarked for protection.

Australia may be renowned for its dangerous reptiles but snake bite deaths have held relatively low at two-to-three fatalities a year for decades, in part reflecting an educated public and a well-oiled emergency and medical response.

Snakes are a bigger health threat in tropical developing countries than in Australia, WHO Neglected Tropical Diseases research scientist and lead author Anna Pintor told AAP.

Venomous snakes kill more than 130,000 people and leave 400,000 with long-term health conditions each year worldwide.

The United Nations health agency has committed to slashing these rates by 50 per cent by 2030.

By 2090, overlap between humans and dangerous snakes is expected to climb significantly for eastern North America, the Indian subcontinent and east Asia.

Generally, snake habitats – including in Australia – are drifting pole-ward as temperatures rise.

Most Australian species studied, including the Eastern Brown Snake and the Coastal Taipan, are not expected to experience a major net increase in human overlap but rather exposure to populations in southern parts of their ranges intensifying as temperatures climb.

Dr Pintor said it was very possible to see more or different snakes in urban and suburban areas as habitats edged south.

"We should educate people there on how to stay calm around snakes, and learn snakebite first-aid."

At least half of the medically dangerous species studied were also predicted to experience shrinking ranges as suitable habitat disappears and collisions with human settlements intensifies.

Snakes help maintain ecosystem balance as both predators and prey but are already over-represented on threatened and vulnerable species lists, particularly medically dangerous species.

Dr Pintor said snakes were a vital part of ecosystems and helped keep rodent populations under control, helping limit disease spread by rats and mice.

"Peaceful coexistence with snakes can actually reduce disease risk, especially since the chance of dying from a snakebite in Australia is so much lower than anywhere else in the world because of our good antivenom and general access to healthcare."