scholarly journals Groundwater Seeps Facilitate Exposure to Burkholderia pseudomallei

2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (20) ◽  
pp. 7243-7246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Baker ◽  
Donald Tahani ◽  
Christopher Gardiner ◽  
Keith L. Bristow ◽  
Andrew R. Greenhill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Burkholderia Pseudomallei ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Residential Areas ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Potential Reservoir ◽  
Site Access ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Pcr Targeting

ABSTRACTBurkholderia pseudomalleiis a saprophytic bacterium which is the causative agent of melioidosis, a common cause of fatal bacterial pneumonia and sepsis in the tropics. The incidence of melioidosis is clustered spatially and temporally and is heavily linked to rainfall and extreme weather events. Clinical case clustering has recently been reported in Townsville, Australia, and has implicated Castle Hill, a granite monolith in the city center, as a potential reservoir of infection. Topsoil and water from seasonal groundwater seeps were collected around the base of Castle Hill and analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR targeting the type III secretion system genes for the presence ofB. pseudomallei. The organism was identified in 65% (95% confidence interval [CI], 49.5 to 80.4) of soil samples (n= 40) and 92.5% (95% CI, 83.9 to 100) of seasonal groundwater samples (n= 40). Further sampling of water collected from roads and gutters in nearby residential areas after an intense rainfall event found that 88.2% (95% CI, 72.9 to 100) of samples (n= 16) contained viableB. pseudomalleiat concentrations up to 113 CFU/ml. Comparison of isolates using multilocus sequence typing demonstrated clinical matches and close associations between environmental isolates and isolates derived from clinical samples from patients in Townsville. This study demonstrated that waterborneB. pseudomalleifrom groundwater seeps around Castle Hill may facilitate exposure toB. pseudomalleiand contribute to the clinical clustering at this site. Access to this type of information will advise the development and implementation of public health measures to reduce the incidence of melioidosis.

Niger demographic challenge compounds security issues

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Role ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
Military Involvement ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Demographic Challenge

Significance The previous day, France's President Emmanuel Macron announced that Niger would be the new headquarters of French-led counterterrorism operations in the Sahel. This will give Bazoum a chance to assume a greater leadership role among the G5 Sahel countries -- Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger -- in the fight against jihadist groups in the region. Impacts Niger's bilateral relations with Mali and Chad will be less cordial because of Bazoum's stance against military involvement in politics. Opposition leaders and civil society activists will continue to be subject to heavy-handed treatment. More frequent extreme weather events will increase the numbers of internally displaced persons and refugees.

Does extreme rainfall lead to heavy losses in the food industry?

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-266
Author(s):  
Edimilson Costa Lucas ◽  
Wesley Mendes-Da-Silva ◽  
Gustavo Silva Araujo
Keyword(s):  
Stock Returns ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Extreme Rainfall Events ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Managing the risks associated to world food production is an important challenge for governments. A range of factors, among them extreme weather events, has threatened food production in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of extreme rainfall events on the food industry in Brazil, a prominent player in this industry. Design/methodology/approach The authors use the AR-GARCH-GPD hybrid methodology to identify whether extreme rainfall affects the stock price of food companies. To do so, the authors collected the daily closing price of the 16 food industry companies listed on the Brazilian stock exchange (B3), in January 2015. Findings The results indicate that these events have a significant impact on stock returns: on more than half of the days immediately following the heavy rain that fell between 28 February 2005 and 30 December 2014, returns were significantly low, leading to average daily losses of 1.97 per cent. These results point to the relevance of the need for instruments to hedge against weather risk, particularly in the food industry. Originality/value Given that extreme weather events have been occurring more and more frequently, financial literature has documented attempts at assessing the economic impacts of weather changes. There is little research, however, into assessing the impacts of these events at corporate level.

Prospects for agriculture in 2017

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Weather Phenomenon ◽  
Global Agriculture ◽  
The Pacific Ocean

Subject Prospects for agriculture in 2017. Significance The El Nino weather phenomenon, the heating of the Pacific Ocean, experienced through 2015 and 2016 was one of the strongest recorded, causing extreme weather events and decreasing global agriculture production. Next year promises a departure.

Prospects for agriculture in 2016

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Economies ◽  
El Niño ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Food Demand ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Weather Events

Subject Prospects for agriculture in 2016. Significance The agricultural sector in 2016 will be influenced by extreme weather events, especially El Nino, as well as by domestic responses to geopolitical developments, especially in Russia, and rising food demand in major emerging economies such as China.

Business may drive climate change efforts in Chile

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Carbon Budgets ◽  
Public Concern ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Drought Conditions ◽  
Agricultural Potential

Significance As well as responding to extreme weather events internationally, this reflects increasing awareness of Chile’s own vulnerability, particularly as regards water availability. Mounting public concern about climate change is mirrored in a number of bills before Congress. Impacts Chile’s drought conditions look increasingly like a permanent change in climate. By shifting to the Andean Plateau and possibly the far south, rain would be concentrated in areas with limited agricultural potential. Industries anticipate that sector-specific carbon budgets may be introduced as early as 2022.

Hospital disaster management’s understanding of built environment impacts on healthcare services during extreme weather events

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 385-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anumitra Mirti Chand ◽  
Martin Loosemore
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Healthcare Needs ◽  
Weather Events

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which hospital disaster planners and managers understand the role of built infrastructure in delivering effective healthcare services during extreme weather events (EWEs). There is substantial evidence to indicate that many hospitals are vulnerable to EWEs. This is alarming given community reliance on hospitals during times of natural disaster and the predicted increase in the frequency and intensity of EWEs. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, resilience and learning theories are combined to produce a new conceptual model which illustrates how hospital disaster managers learn about the relationship between health outcomes and built infrastructure during EWEs to build future hospital resilience. In this paper, the first part of the conceptual model, concerning the development of disaster management plans is explored and refined using a thematic content analysis of 14 Australian hospitals’ disaster plans and supplementary plans. Findings – The findings indicate high variability of understanding about the role of built facilities in health outcomes during an EWE. There appears to be a widespread and highly questionable assumption in the health disaster planning community that hospital built infrastructure is highly resilient to EWEs. This means that many hospitals will not be unaware of the risks that their buildings pose in the delivery of healthcare services to the community during an EWE and how to manage those risks effectively. Research limitations/implications – The theoretical framework presented in this paper provides new insights which will enable hospital infrastructure resilience to be better integrated into health service disaster risk planning and preparedness. The findings can help hospital disaster managers learn about and adapt their built environment to changing healthcare needs during EWEs. Originality/value – By integrating learning and resilience theories in a built environment context, this paper provides new insights, both theoretical and practical, into the important role of hospital infrastructure in planning for EWEs.

Assessment of climatic risks for real estate

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 494-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Hirsch ◽  
Thomas Braun ◽  
Sven Bienert
Keyword(s):  
Real Estate ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Real Estate Industry ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Federal Institute ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Risk Situation ◽  
Climatic Risks

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the functionality and main results of the ImmoRisk tool. The aim of the project of the Federal Ministry for Transport, Building and Urban Development (BMVBS), in corporation with the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR), was to develop a user-friendly tool that provides a sound basis with respect to the risk situation caused by extreme weather events. Design/methodology/approach – The tool calculates the annual expected losses (AEL) for different types of extreme weather hazard and the damage rate as the proportion of AEL on building value, based on a trinomial approach: natural hazard, vulnerability and the value of the property. Findings – The paper provides property-specific risk profiles of both the present and future risk situation caused by various extreme weather events. Research limitations/implications – The approach described in the paper can serve as a model for the realization of subsequent tools in further countries bound with other climatic risks. Practical implications – The real estate industry is affected by a significant rise in monetary damages caused by extreme weather events. Accordingly, the approach is suitable for implementation in the companies’ real estate risk management systems. Social implications – The tool offers homeowners a profound basis for investment decisions with regard to adaptation measures. Originality/value – The approach pioneers fourfold: first, by meeting the needs of the housing and real estate industry based on a trinomial approach; second, by using a property-specific bottom-up approach; third, by offering both a comprehensive risk assessment of the hazards storms, flood and hailstorm and finally, by providing results with respect to the future climatic risk situation.

scholarly journals Microhabitats in the tropics buffer temperature in a globally coherent manner

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 20140819 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett R. Scheffers ◽  
Theodore A. Evans ◽  
Stephen E. Williams ◽  
David P. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Control ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Macro Scale ◽  
Tree Holes ◽  
Maximum Temperatures ◽  
The Tropics

Vegetated habitats contain a variety of fine-scale features that can ameliorate temperate extremes. These buffered microhabitats may be used by species to evade extreme weather and novel climates in the future. Yet, the magnitude and extent of this buffering on a global scale remains unknown. Across all tropical continents and using 36 published studies, we assessed temperature buffering from within microhabitats across various habitat strata and structures (e.g. soil, logs, epiphytes and tree holes) and compared them to non-buffered macro-scale ambient temperatures (the thermal control). Microhabitats buffered temperature by 3.9°C and reduced maximum temperatures by 3.5°C. Buffering was most pronounced in tropical lowlands where temperatures were most variable. With the expected increase in extreme weather events, microhabitats should provide species with a local layer of protection that is not captured by traditional climate assessments, which are typically derived from macro-scale temperatures (e.g. satellites). Our data illustrate the need for a next generation of predictive models that account for species' ability to move within microhabitats to exploit favourable buffered microclimates.

Extreme weather events will hit insurance industry

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Insurance Industry ◽  
The United States ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Causal Connection ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Weather Events

Subject The political and economic implications of greater scientific understanding of extreme weather events. Significance Preparatory talks for the UN climate summit in Paris have seen representatives from developing countries ask the United States and EU for greater compensation for damages caused by extreme weather. The link between climate change and more extreme weather events is clear -- energy from higher temperature levels can be translated into kinetic energy and disrupts usual weather patterns -- but distinguishing the extent of a causal connection, especially for specific events, has until recently been difficult. Impacts Extreme weather events will affect the insurance industry, agriculture, tourism, and food and beverage sectors. In the United States, the South-east will see the highest risks of coastal property losses due to climate change impacts. Hurricanes and other coastal storms combined with rising sea levels are likely to cause growing annual storm losses in the Caribbean. Infrastructure will grow in cost as it must be proofed against new extremes in weather stress.

Climate change will prompt major reform in South Asia

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Major Reform ◽  
Flood Defence

Subject Responses to climate change in South Asia. Significance The Maldives last week hosted the fourth Indian Ocean Conference, at which representatives from South Asia and beyond discussed challenges to the region such as climate change. South Asian countries are experiencing increasingly frequent extreme weather events such as flooding and drought. Impacts The Maldives and Sri Lanka, the region’s island nations, will invest heavily in flood-defence systems. South Asian authorities will be under pressure to improve medical services to help cut deaths from flood-related diseases. Climate change will be an increasingly prominent feature of political debate in many of the region’s countries.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document