Public Health Adaptation to Heat Waves in Response to Climate Change in China

2019 ◽  
pp. 171-190
Author(s):  
Yiling He ◽  
Rui Ma ◽  
Meng Ren ◽  
Wenmin Liao ◽  
Na Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Adaptation To Heat

5. Climate change impacts

2014 ◽  
pp. 68-97
Author(s):  
Mark Maslin
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Coastal Cities ◽  
Global Biodiversity ◽  
Dangerous Climate Change ◽  
Water And Food Security

What is dangerous climate change? What is our coping range? ‘Climate change impacts’ assesses the potential effects of climate change on the natural environment as well as on human societies and our economies. Climate change impacts will increase significantly as global temperature rises. Climate change will affect the return period and severity of floods, droughts, heat waves, and storms. Coastal cities and towns will be especially vulnerable as sea-level rise will worsen the effects of floods and storm surges. Water and food security and public health will become the most important problems facing all countries. Climate change also threatens global biodiversity and the well being of billions of people.

Impacts on Public Health

2018 ◽  
pp. 37-72
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Vector Borne Diseases ◽  
The Public ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Many serious adverse public health impacts of climate change are already being felt around the globe, including record-breaking heat waves, severe air pollution, widespread water contamination that has brought a resurgence of cholera and has compromised clean drinking water and sanitation for more than one billion people worldwide, food scarcity and undernutrition from droughts and desertification, pandemics of vector-borne diseases, and increasingly frequent and severe natural hazards such as flooding, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Centralized, well-organized emergency preparedness planning is needed at the national, regional, and municipal levels to enable safe and efficient evacuations, and to minimize injuries and fatalities. In addition, effective planning to address the public health impacts of climate change is contingent on poverty reduction, and adequate access to education and healthcare for all. This chapter addresses the major public health impacts of global warming and the use of technologies in adapting to them.

Impacts on Public Health

2021 ◽  
pp. 647-672
Author(s):  
Debra N. Weiss-Randall
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Vector Borne Diseases ◽  
The Public ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Many serious adverse public health impacts of climate change are already being felt around the globe, including record-breaking heat waves, severe air pollution, widespread water contamination that has brought a resurgence of cholera and has compromised clean drinking water and sanitation for more than one billion people worldwide, food scarcity and undernutrition from droughts and desertification, pandemics of vector-borne diseases, and increasingly frequent and severe natural hazards such as flooding, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Centralized, well-organized emergency preparedness planning is needed at the national, regional, and municipal levels to enable safe and efficient evacuations, and to minimize injuries and fatalities. In addition, effective planning to address the public health impacts of climate change is contingent on poverty reduction, and adequate access to education and healthcare for all. This chapter addresses the major public health impacts of global warming and the use of technologies in adapting to them.

The influence of global warming on natural disasters and their public health outcomes

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
James H. Diaz, MD, MPH-TM, DrPH
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Heat Stroke ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Climatic Effects ◽  
Cascading Effects

With a documented increase in average global surface temperatures of 0.6ºC since 1975, Earth now appears to be warming due to a variety of climatic effects, most notably the cascading effects of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities. There remains, however, no universal agreement on how rapidly, regionally, or asymmetrically the planet will warm or on the true impact of global warming on natural disasters and public health outcomes. Most reports to date of the public health impact of global warming have been anecdotal and retrospective in design and have focused on the increase in heat-stroke deaths following heat waves and on outbreaks of airborne and arthropod-borne diseases following tropical rains and flooding that resulted from fluctuations in ocean temperatures. The effects of global warming on rainfall and drought, tropical cyclone and tsunami activity, and tectonic and volcanic activity will have far-reaching public health effects not only on environmentally associated disease outbreaks but also on global food supplies and population movements. As a result of these and other recognized associations between climate change and public health consequences, many of which have been confounded by deficiencies in public health infrastructure and scientific debates over whether climate changes are spawned by atmospheric cycles or anthropogenic influences, the active responses to progressive climate change must include combinations of economic, environmental, legal, regulatory, and, most importantly, public health measures.

scholarly journals Non-Stationary Frequency Analysis and Uncertainty of Heat Wave Events

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 301-310
Author(s):  
Jiyu Seo ◽  
Jeongeun Won ◽  
Jeonghyeon Choi ◽  
Okjeong Lee ◽  
Sangdan Kim
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Energy Management ◽  
Heat Wave ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Frequency Analysis ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Surface Air Temperature ◽  
Return Periods

Due to global warming, there is an increasing concern regarding persistent and severe heat waves. The maximum daily surface air temperature observations show strong non-stationary features, and the increased intensity and persistence of heat wave events have been observed in many regions. The heat wave persistence day frequency (HPF) curve, which correlates the intensity of a heat wave persistence event for days with return periods, can be a useful tool to analyze the frequency of heat wave events. In this study, non-stationary HPF curves are developed to explain the trend in the increase of the surface air temperature due to climate change, and their uncertainty is analyzed. The non-stationary HPF model can be used in climate change adaptation management such as public health, public safety, and energy management.

scholarly journals 2.O. Workshop: Climate change and the impact on public and occupational health

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Private Life ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health Advisories

Abstract Objectives Climate change has an impact on people’s physical, mental, and community health. This impact can arise directly and indirectly. Some natural disasters are exacerbated by climate change, like floods, heat waves, storms, wildfires, and landslides. Some effects occur more gradually for example from changing temperatures. Heat waves can weaken the infrastructure (transport, construction) and make food systems less secure (infections, less access). But heat waves can also directly cause severe health effects. Heat waves are examples of direct and indirect climate impacts on society’s physical and mental health. Climate change creates visible impacts in many countries. The number of heat waves increased across the globe the last few decades. This change has an impact on communities’ health both in private life settings as in occupational settings. There is an overlap of impact which influences the effects seen in both settings. The awareness of this overlap is not clear for most stakeholders. Health advisories before, during and after heat waves do not consider this issues in their health promotion activities. This workshop aims at describing different ways how public health could benefit of a more integrative approach of health promotion by linking messages directed at the general public and the occupational work force. Therefore, examples on national as well as regional and local level are presented discussed with specific emphasis on requirements and processes for success on one hand and obstacles on the other. The examples reflect different European regions and country heat waves plans as well as results from the EU-funded projects HEATSHIELD and SCORCH. Key messages Heat will be an increasing issue in public health. Health advisories need to be improved during periods of heat.

scholarly journals Effect of the Work Week on Demographics of Heat-Related Illness Patients in Syndromic Surveillance

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Em Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Patient Population ◽  
Syndromic Surveillance ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Heat Exposure ◽  
Surveillance Data ◽  
Urban Residence

ObjectiveTo describe the differences in patient populations between those who seek care for heat exposure during the work week and those who seek care during the weekend.IntroductionAs global temperatures increase, so too does interest in the effect of climate change on the population’s health. 2016 represented the hottest year on record globally and well above the 20th century average in Virginia.1,2 With large-scale climate change comes an increase in severe weather patterns, including heat waves.3 Heat waves can have immense health impacts on a community, including heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and dehydration.Previous analyses of emergency department (ED) data indicate that certain populations – specifically males and rural residents – are more at risk for heat-related illness.4,5 None of these studies, however, looked for temporal relationships between the population seeking care and the day of the week. Syndromic surveillance data can be used to further describe those communities affected by heat exposure as well as identify any temporal patterns in visits.MethodsThe Virginia Department of Health (VDH) receives data from 148 EDs and urgent care centers (UCCs) as part of its syndromic surveillance program. During regular surveillance of a heat wave, it was observed that males made up a larger proportion of heat-related visits during the week than they did over the weekend. Data received on visits between January 1, 2015 and July 31, 2017 were used for a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of demographic risk factors for heat-related illness. During this time frame, 6,739 visits were identified using the September 2016 Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) syndrome definition for heat-related illness.6The effect of various demographics and visit factors on weekday heat exposure was measured using chi-squared tests. The variables in question included sex, race, ethnicity, rural vs. urban residence, and age group. Odds ratios, 95% confidence intervals, and p-values were reported for these analyses. Analyses were conducted using SAS 9.3 with a significance level of 0.05.ResultsOf the total 6,739 visits identified for heat-related illness, 4,782 (71.0%) occurred during the work week and 1,957 (29.0%) occurred on the weekend. The odds of seeking care for heat-related illness on a weekday were 1.84 times higher for males than for females, p < 0.001, 95% CI [1.65, 2.06]. Blacks or African Americans were more likely to seek care than whites during the work week with an odds ratio of 1.38, p < 0.001. 95% CI [1.20, 1.57]. Adults aged 18-64 years were more likely to seek care during the work week than both children aged 0-17 years (OR = 1.61, p < 0.001, 95% CI [1.37, 1.89]) and adults aged 65 years or older (OR = 1.36, p < 0.001, 95% CI [1.17, 1.58]). No significant relationship between ethnicity or rural vs. urban residence and work week visits for heat-related illness was observed.ConclusionsThe patient population that seeks care for heat-related illness differs between the work week and the weekend. These data suggest the presence of potential mediators or confounders that make males, blacks or African Americans, and adults aged 18-64 more likely to suffer from heat-related illness during the week. Collecting data on patients’ health behaviors, risk factors, and occupation could further elucidate this relationship. Syndromic surveillance, however, does not include the level of detail needed to investigate anything beyond basic demographics.With an increase in the intensity and frequency of heat waves on the horizon, the issue of heat-related illness is one of growing public health concern. Syndromic surveillance data can be used to describe patterns in the patient population most at risk. Public health action is then needed to protect these communities while further research explores the relationships in greater depth.References1 Nuccitelli, D. (2017, July 31). 2017 is so far the second-hottest year on record thanks to global warming. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2vkPZpg2 Boyer, J. (2017, January 18). 2016 was the planet’s warmest year in modern records, but it wasn’t for Richmond or even Va. Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2jptCKg3 Duffy, P. B. (2012, January 21). Increasing prevalence of extreme summer temperatures in the U.S. Climate Change, 111(2), 487-495. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-012-0396-64 Hess, J. J., Saha, S., & Luber, G. (2014 November). Summertime Acute Heat Illness in U.S. Emergency Departments from 2006 through 2010: Analysis of a Nationally Representatitve Sample. Environmental Health Perspectives 122(11), 1209. http://dx.doi.org.proxy.library.vcu.edu/10.1289/ehp.13067965 Sanchez, C. A., Thomas, K. E., Malilay, J., & Annest, J. L. (2010, January). Nonfatal natural and environmental injuries treated in emergency departments, United States, 2001-2004. Family & Community Health 33(1), 3-10. doi:10.1097/FCH.0b013e3181c4e2fa6 Berisha, V., Braun, C. R., Cameron, L., Hoppe, B., Lane, K., Mamou, F., Menager, H., Roach, M., White, J. R., Wurster, J. (2016, September). Heat-Related Illness Syndrome Query: A Guidance Document for Implementing Heat-Related Illness Syndromic Surveillance in Public Health Practice. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2w884aJ

scholarly journals Global warming and Australian public health: reasons to be concerned

2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Bi ◽  
Arthur Saniotis
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Heat Stress ◽  
Marked Effect ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
The Future

Studies in global warming and climate change indicate that human populations will be deleteriously affected in the future. Studies forecast that Australia will experience increasing heat waves and droughts. Heat stress caused by frequent heat waves will have a marked effect on older Australians due to physiological and pharmacological factors. In this paper we present an overview of some of the foreseeable issues which older Australians will face from a public health perspective.

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