scholarly journals Awareness of climate change's impacts and motivation to adapt are not enough to drive action: A look of Puerto Rican farmers after Hurricane Maria

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0244512
Author(s):  
Luis Alexis Rodríguez-Cruz ◽  
Meredith T. Niles
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Puerto Rican ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Psychological Distance ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Weather Events

Understanding how perceptions around motivation, capacity, and climate change’s impacts relate to the adoption of adaptation practices in light of experiences with extreme weather events is important in assessing farmers’ adaptive capacity. However, very little of this work has occurred in islands, which may have different vulnerabilities and capacities for adaptation. Data of surveyed farmers throughout Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria (n = 405, 87% response rate) were used in a structural equation model to explore the extent to which their adoption of agricultural practices and management strategies was driven by perceptions of motivation, vulnerability, and capacity as a function of their psychological distance of climate change. Our results show that half of farmers did not adopt any practice or strategy, even though the majority perceived themselves capable and motivated to adapt to climate change, and understood their farms to be vulnerable to future extreme events. Furthermore, adoption was neither linked to these adaptation perceptions, nor to their psychological distance of climate change, which we found to be both near and far. Puerto Rican farmers’ showed a broad awareness of climate change’s impacts both locally and globally in different dimensions (temporal, spatial, and social), and climate distance was not linked to reported damages from Hurricane Maria or to previous extreme weather events. These results suggest that we may be reaching a tipping point for extreme events as a driver for climate belief and action, especially in places where there is a high level of climate change awareness and continued experience of compounded impacts. Further, high perceived capacity and motivation are not linked to actual adaptation behaviors, suggesting that broadening adaptation analyses beyond individual perceptions and capacities as drivers of climate adaptation may give us a better understanding of the determinants to strengthen farmers’ adaptive capacity.

scholarly journals Puerto Rican Farmers' Psychological Awareness of Climate Change, and Adaptation Perceptions after Hurricane Maria

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Alexis Rodríguez-Cruz ◽  
Meredith Niles
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Puerto Rican ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Psychological Distance

Strengthening farmers’ adaptive capacity is important for decreasing their vulnerability to natural hazards in this changing climate, and for safeguarding local food systems. One key step in strengthening adaptive capacity is understanding the relationship between farmers’ experience with natural hazards and their perceptions of climate change, and its role in farmers’ decision making around climate change adaptation. Here we explore Puerto Rican farmers’ psychological distance of climate change after experiencing category 4 Hurricane Maria, in order to intersect the roles of experience, perceptions, and motivation for farmers’ decision-making around climate change adaptation. Farmers throughout Puerto Rico were surveyed by Extension Services’ agents (n = 405, 87% response rate) in 2018, eight months after Hurricane Maria. A structural equation model was used to evaluate how reported experience with past events and direct damages by Hurricane Maria related to farmers’ psychological distance of climate change, and the association of these variables to farmers’ motivation to adapt to climate change. We found that farmers psychological distance of climate change is both near and far, since they show a broad awareness to climate change’s impacts both locally and globally in different dimensions (temporal, geographical, and social). Reported experience and direct damages by the hurricane were not linked to their psychological distance of climate change, and these did not relate to their motivation to adapt. These results suggest that using extreme events as a driver for climate belief and action may no longer be relevant, especially in a context where there is a high level of climate change belief and continued threat of extreme events. Thus, broadening analysis beyond individual perceptions as drivers of climate adaptation to how structural dynamics are linked to adaptive capacity could provide better understanding. This study is among the first to study the role of climate change experience and perceptions on farmers’ climate change adaption after an extreme weather event in an island-archipelago setting.

scholarly journals Environmental prediction, risk assessment and extreme events: adaptation strategies for the developing world

2011 ◽  
Vol 369 (1956) ◽  
pp. 4768-4797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Webster ◽  
Jun Jian
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Fresh Water ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Rural Poverty ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Environmental Prediction

The uncertainty associated with predicting extreme weather events has serious implications for the developing world, owing to the greater societal vulnerability to such events. Continual exposure to unanticipated extreme events is a contributing factor for the descent into perpetual and structural rural poverty. We provide two examples of how probabilistic environmental prediction of extreme weather events can support dynamic adaptation. In the current climate era, we describe how short-term flood forecasts have been developed and implemented in Bangladesh. Forecasts of impending floods with horizons of 10 days are used to change agricultural practices and planning, store food and household items and evacuate those in peril. For the first time in Bangladesh, floods were anticipated in 2007 and 2008, with broad actions taking place in advance of the floods, grossing agricultural and household savings measured in units of annual income. We argue that probabilistic environmental forecasts disseminated to an informed user community can reduce poverty caused by exposure to unanticipated extreme events. Second, it is also realized that not all decisions in the future can be made at the village level and that grand plans for water resource management require extensive planning and funding. Based on imperfect models and scenarios of economic and population growth, we further suggest that flood frequency and intensity will increase in the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Yangtze catchments as greenhouse-gas concentrations increase. However, irrespective of the climate-change scenario chosen, the availability of fresh water in the latter half of the twenty-first century seems to be dominated by population increases that far outweigh climate-change effects. Paradoxically, fresh water availability may become more critical if there is no climate change.

The Assessment of the Refurbished Reinforced Concrete Buildings in Point of the Climate Change

2014 ◽  
Vol 899 ◽  
pp. 440-445
Author(s):  
Sára Hrabovszky-Horváth
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Reinforced Concrete ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Weather Events

Changes in climate have various impacts on the built environment: e.g. the building design and the materials together with the operation and the maintenance. Therefore, it is extremely important to account for the future weather conditions during both the design of new buildings and the renovation of existing buildings. According to the Hungarian meteorological researches as a consequence of the global warming the climate of Hungary is going to become warmer and drier as well as the number and the intensity of the extreme weather events is expected to grow. One of the main directions of actions in the Climate Change Strategy is the adaptation to the changing circumstances, the improvement of the adaptive capacity of the built environment. In this study, the prefabricated reinforced concrete large-panel residential buildings are analysed: a bottom-up methodology was developed based on typological approach to assess the vulnerability of the ‘panel buildings’ to climate change by analysing the extreme weather events. After assessing the sensitivity and the adaptive capacity of the determined building types, their vulnerability to the increased number of windstorms and extreme rainfalls was estimated and the influence of their refurbishment was analysed.

scholarly journals Vietnam Climate Change and Health Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment, 2018

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 117863022092465
Author(s):  
Tran Thi Tuyet Hanh ◽  
Le Thi Thanh Huong ◽  
Nguyen Thi Lien Huong ◽  
Tran Nu Quy Linh ◽  
Nguyen Huu Quyen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Health Vulnerability ◽  
The World ◽  
Very High

Background: The Global Climate Risk Index 2020 ranked Vietnam as the sixth country in the world most affected by climate variability and extreme weather events over the period 1999-2018. Sea level rise and extreme weather events are projected to be more severe in coming decades, which, without additional action, will increase the number of people at risk of climate-sensitive diseases, challenging the health system. This article summaries the results of a health vulnerability and adaptation (V&A) assessment conducted in Vietnam as evidences for development of the National Climate Change Health Adaptation Plan to 2030. Methods: The assessment followed the first 4 steps outlined in the World Health Organization’s Guidelines in conducting “Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessments.” A framework and list of indicators were developed for semi-quantitative assessment for the period 2013 to 2017. Three sets of indicators were selected to assess the level of (1) exposure to climate change and extreme weather events, (2) health sensitivity, and (3) adaptation capacity. The indicators were rated and analyzed using a scoring system from 1 to 5. Results: The results showed that climate-sensitive diseases were common, including dengue fever, diarrheal, influenza, etc, with large burdens of disease that are projected to increase. From 2013 to 2017, the level of “exposure” to climate change–related hazards of the health sector was “high” to “very high,” with an average score from 3.5 to 4.4 (out of 5.0). For “health sensitivity,” the scores decreased from 3.8 in 2013 to 3.5 in 2017, making the overall rating as “high.” For “adaptive capacity,” the scores were from 4.0 to 4.1, which meant adaptive capacity was “very low.” The overall V&A rating in 2013 was “very high risk” (score 4.1) and “high risk” with scores of 3.8 in 2014 and 3.7 in 2015 to 2017. Conclusions: Adaptation actions of the health sector are urgently needed to reduce the vulnerability to climate change in coming decades. Eight adaptation solutions, among recommendations of V&A assessment, were adopted in the National Health Climate Change Adaptation Plan.

Has the climate become more variable or extreme? Progress 1992-2006

2007 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neville Nicholls ◽  
Lisa Alexander
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Climate Extremes ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Weather And Climate ◽  
Analyse Data ◽  
Climate Events

In 1990 and 1992 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its first assessment of climate change and its supplement, did not consider whether extreme weather events had increased in frequency and/or intensity globally, because data were too sparse to make this a worthwhile exercise. In 1995 the IPCC, in its second assessment, did examine this question, but concluded that data and analyses of changes in extreme events were ‘not comprehensive’and thus the question could not be answered with any confidence. Since then, concerted multinational efforts have been undertaken to collate, quality control, and analyse data on weather and climate extremes. A comprehensive examination of the question of whether extreme events have changed in frequency or intensity is now more feasible than it was 15 years ago. The processes that have led to this position are described, along with current understanding of possible changes in some extreme weather and climate events.

Extreme weather events on seasonal and intraseasonal timescales in the context of climate change

2021 ◽  
pp. 36-57
Author(s):  
D.B. Kiktev ◽  
◽  
E.N. Kruglova ◽  
I.A. Kulikova ◽  
A.V. Muravev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Weather Forecasts ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Precipitation Regimes

The automatic identification of objects associated with various extreme weather events (EWE) on seasonal and intraseasonal timescales is done based on surface air temperature and precipitation datasets (NCEP/NCAR daily reanalysis fields for the Northern Hemisphere). Some features of the spatial and temporal variability of the extreme characteristics of temperature and precipitation regimes are considered in the context of climate change. An inventory of extreme events is carried out for the Northern Hemisphere in 1981–2019 depending on the spatial extent, duration, and intensity of EWEs. The years with the most striking events are noted, and a brief description of their specific features is given. The results will be used to analyze the EWE predictability in the context of the verification of long-range weather forecasts. Keywords: extreme weather events, climate change, identification of extreme events, long-range weather forecasts

scholarly journals When climate change is not blamed: the politics of disaster attribution in international perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 158 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-233
Author(s):  
Myanna Lahsen ◽  
Gabriela de Azevedo Couto ◽  
Irene Lorenzoni
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Preventive Action ◽  
Policy Action ◽  
Weather Events

AbstractAnalyzing the politics and policy implications in Brazil of attributing extreme weather events to climate change, we argue for greater place-based sensitivity in recommendations for how to frame extreme weather events relative to climate change. Identifying geographical limits of current recommendations to emphasize the climate role in such events, we explore Brazilian framings of the two tragic national disasters, as apparent in newspaper coverage of climate change. We find that a variety of contextual factors compel environmental leaders and scientists in Brazil to avoid and discourage highlighting the role of climate change in national extreme events. Against analysts’ general deficit-finding assumptions, we argue that the Brazilian framing tendency reflects sound strategic, socio-environmental reasoning, and discuss circumstances in which attributing such events to climate change—and, by extension, attribution science—can be ineffective for policy action on climate change and other socio-environmental issues in need of public pressure and preventive action. The case study has implications beyond Brazil by begging greater attention to policies and politics in particular places before assuming that attribution science and discursive emphasis on the climate role in extreme events are the most strategic means of achieving climate mitigation and disaster preparedness. Factors at play in Brazil might also structure extreme events attribution politics in other countries, not least some other countries of the global South.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document