Climate Change: Overview of Data Sources, Observed and Predicted Temperature Changes, and Impacts on Public and Environmental Health

2013 ◽  
pp. 31-49
Author(s):  
David H. Levinson ◽  
Christopher J. Fettig
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Temperature Changes

scholarly journals The impact of integrating environmental health into medical school curricula: a survey-based study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Kligler ◽  
Genevieve Pinto Zipp ◽  
Carmela Rocchetti ◽  
Michelle Secic ◽  
Erin Speiser Ihde
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Medical Education ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
Lead Contamination ◽  
Institute Of Medicine ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Inclusion of environmental health (EH) in medical education serves as a catalyst for preparing future physicians to address issues as complex as climate change and health, water pollution and lead contamination. However, previous research has found EH education to be largely lacking in U.S. medical education, putting future physicians at risk of not having the expertise to address patients’ environmental illnesses, nor speak to prevention. Methods Environmental health (EH) knowledge and skills were incorporated into the first-year medical school curriculum at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (Nutley, New Jersey), via a two-hour interactive large group learning module with follow up activities. Students completed the Environmental Health in Med School (EHMS) survey before and after the year 1 EH module. This survey evaluates medical students’ attitudes, awareness and professionalism regarding environmental health. In year 2, students completed the Environmental Health Survey II, which measured students’ perceptions of preparedness to discuss EH with future patients. The research team created both surveys based upon learning objectives that broadly aligned with the Institute of Medicine six competency-based environmental health learning objectives. Results 36 year 1 students completed both the pre and post EHMS surveys. McNemar’s test was used for paired comparisons. Results identified no statistically significant changes from pre to post surveys, identifying a dramatic ceiling. When comparing year 2, EHS II pre-survey (n = 84) and post-survey (n = 79) responses, a statistically significant positive change in students’ self-reported sense of preparedness to discuss environmental health with their patients following the curriculum intervention was noted. Conclusions Our conclusion for the EHMS in Year 1 was that the current generation of medical students at this school is already extremely aware of and concerned about the impact of environmental issues on health. Through the EHS II in Year 2, we found that the six-week environmental health module combining didactic and experiential elements significantly increased medical students’ self-reported sense of preparedness to discuss environmental health issues, including climate change, with their patients.

Does climate change affect the chronobiological trends in occurrence of acute coronary syndromes?

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Kuzma ◽  
A Kurasz ◽  
M Niwinska ◽  
EJ Dabrowski ◽  
M Swieczkowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Acute Coronary Syndromes ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
Relative Risks ◽  
Coronary Syndromes ◽  
Atmospheric Changes

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are the leading cause of death all over the world, in the last years chronobiology of their occurrence has been changing. Purpose The aim of this study was to assess the influence of climate change on hospital admissions due to ACS. Methods Medical records of 10,529 patients hospitalized for ACS in 2008–2017 were examined. Weather conditions data were obtained from the Institute of Meteorology. Results Among the patients, 3537 (33.6%) were hospitalized for STEMI, 3947 (37.5%) for NSTEMI, and 3045 (28.9%) for UA. The highest seasonal mean for ACS was recorded in spring (N = 2782, mean = 2.52, SD = 1.7; OR 1.07; 95% CI 1.0-1.2; P = 0.049) and it was a season with the highest temperature changes day to day (Δ temp.=11.7). On the other hand, every 10ºC change in temperature was associated with an increased admission due to ACS by 13% (RR 1.13; 95% CI 1.04-1.3; P = 0.008). Analysis of weekly changes showed that the highest frequency of ACS occurred on Thursday (N = 1703, mean = 2.7, SD = 1.9; OR 1.16; 95% CI 1.0-1.23; P = 0.004), in STEMI subgroup it was Monday (N = 592, mean = 0.9, SD = 1.6, OR 1.2; 95% CI 1.1-1.4; P = 0.002). Sunday was associated with decreased admissions due to all types of ACS (N = 1098, mean = 1.7, SD = 1.4; OR 0.69; 95% CI 0.6-0.8, P < 0.001). In the second half of the study period (2013-2018) the relative risks of hospital admissions due to ACS were 1.043 (95%CI: 1.009-1.079, P = 0.014, lag 0) and 0.957 (95%CI: 0.925-0.990, P = 0.010, lag 1) for each 10ºC decrease in temperature; 1.049 (95% CI: 1.015-1.084, P = 0.004, lag 0) and 1.045 (95%CI: 1.011-1.080, P = 0.008, lag 1) for each 10 hPa decrease in atmospheric pressure and 1.180 (95% CI: 1.078-1.324, P = 0.007, lag 0) for every 10ºC change in temperature. For the first half of the study the risk was significantly lower. Conclusion We observed a shift in the seasonal peak of ACS occurrence from winter to spring which may be related to temperature fluctuation associated with climate change in this season. The lowest frequency of ACS took place on weekends. Atmospheric changes had a much more pronounced effect on admissions due to ACS in the second half of the analyzed period, which is in line with the dynamics of global climate change.

scholarly journals Maps, trends, and temperature sensitivities—phenological information from and for decreasing numbers of volunteer observers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Yuan ◽  
Stefan Härer ◽  
Tobias Ottenheym ◽  
Gourav Misra ◽  
Alissa Lüpke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Strong Decrease ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Interpolation Accuracy ◽  
Observation Network ◽  
Shiny App ◽  
Long Term Trends ◽  
Autumn And Winter

AbstractPhenology serves as a major indicator of ongoing climate change. Long-term phenological observations are critically important for tracking and communicating these changes. The phenological observation network across Germany is operated by the National Meteorological Service with a major contribution from volunteering activities. However, the number of observers has strongly decreased for the last decades, possibly resulting in increasing uncertainties when extracting reliable phenological information from map interpolation. We studied uncertainties in interpolated maps from decreasing phenological records, by comparing long-term trends based on grid-based interpolated and station-wise observed time series, as well as their correlations with temperature. Interpolated maps in spring were characterized by the largest spatial variabilities across Bavaria, Germany, with respective lowest interpolated uncertainties. Long-term phenological trends for both interpolations and observations exhibited mean advances of −0.2 to −0.3 days year−1 for spring and summer, while late autumn and winter showed a delay of around 0.1 days year−1. Throughout the year, temperature sensitivities were consistently stronger for interpolated time series than observations. Such a better representation of regional phenology by interpolation was equally supported by satellite-derived phenological indices. Nevertheless, simulation of observer numbers indicated that a decline to less than 40% leads to a strong decrease in interpolation accuracy. To better understand the risk of declining phenological observations and to motivate volunteer observers, a Shiny app is proposed to visualize spatial and temporal phenological patterns across Bavaria and their links to climate change–induced temperature changes.

scholarly journals Assessing the Vulnerability of Eco-Environmental Health to Climate Change

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 546-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shilu Tong ◽  
Peter Mather ◽  
Gerry Fitzgerald ◽  
David McRae ◽  
Ken Verrall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Health

scholarly journals Climate Change and Developing-Country Cities: Implications For Environmental Health and Equity

2007 ◽  
Vol 84 (S1) ◽  
pp. 109-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum ◽  
Carlos Corvalán
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Developing Country

scholarly journals Effect of Climate Change on Soil Erosion in a Mountainous Mediterranean Catchment (Central Pindus, Greece)

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanos Stefanidis ◽  
Dimitrios Stathis
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Potential Model ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Baseline Period ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Mountainous Catchment ◽  
Precipitation And Temperature

The aim of this study was to assess soil erosion changes in the mountainous catchment of the Portaikos torrent (Central Greece) under climate change. To this end, precipitation and temperature data were derived from a high-resolution (25 × 25 km) RegCM3 regional climate model for the baseline period 1974–2000 and future period 2074–2100. Additionally, three GIS layers were generated regarding land cover, geology, and slopes in the study area, whereas erosion state was recognized after field observations. Subsequently, the erosion potential model (EPM) was applied to quantify the effects of precipitation and temperature changes on soil erosion. The results showed a decrease (−21.2%) in annual precipitation (mm) and increase (+3.6 °C) in mean annual temperature until the end of the 21st century, and the above changes are likely to lead to a small decrease (−4.9%) in soil erosion potential.

scholarly journals Assessing runoff sensitivities to precipitation and temperature changes under global climate-change scenarios

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Chen ◽  
Jianxia Chang ◽  
Yimin Wang ◽  
Yuelu Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Minimum Temperature ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Control Variable ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Runoff Change ◽  
Precipitation And Temperature

Abstract An accurate grasp of the influence of precipitation and temperature changes on the variation in both the magnitude and temporal patterns of runoff is crucial to the prevention of floods and droughts. However, there is a general lack of understanding of the ways in which runoff sensitivities to precipitation and temperature changes are associated with the CMIP5 scenarios. This paper investigates the hydrological response to future climate change under CMIP5 RCP scenarios by using the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model and then quantitatively assesses runoff sensitivities to precipitation and temperature changes under different scenarios by using a set of simulations with the control variable method. The source region of the Yellow River (SRYR) is an ideal area to study this problem. The results demonstrated that the precipitation effect was the dominant element influencing runoff change (the degree of influence approaching 23%), followed by maximum temperature (approaching 12%). The weakest element was minimum temperature (approaching 3%), despite the fact that the increases in minimum temperature were higher than the increases in maximum temperature. The results also indicated that the degree of runoff sensitivity to precipitation and temperature changes was subject to changing external climatic conditions.

What the past can say about the present and future of fire

2020 ◽  
Vol 96 ◽  
pp. 66-87
Author(s):  
Jennifer R. Marlon
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Combustion Products ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Warming Climate ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
In Fire ◽  
Very High

AbstractWildfires are an integral part of most terrestrial ecosystems. Paleofire records composed of charcoal, soot, and other combustion products deposited in lake and marine sediments, soils, and ice provide a record of the varying importance of fire over time on every continent. This study reviews paleofire research to identify lessons about the nature of fire on Earth and how its past variability is relevant to modern environmental challenges. Four lessons are identified. First, fire is highly sensitive to climate change, and specifically to temperature changes. As long as there is abundant, dry fuel, we can expect that in a warming climate, fires will continue to grow unusually large, severe, and uncontrollable in fire-prone environments. Second, a better understanding of “slow” (interannual to multidecadal) socioecological processes is essential for predicting future wildfire and carbon emissions. Third, current patterns of burning, which are very low in some areas and very high in others—are often unprecedented in the context of the Holocene. Taken together, these insights point to a fourth lesson—that current changes in wildfire dynamics provide an opportunity for paleoecologists to engage the public and help them understand the potential consequences of anthropogenic climate change.

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