scholarly journals An Assessment of the Relationships between Extreme Weather Events, Vulnerability, and the Impacts on Human Wellbeing in Latin America

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo J. Nagy ◽  
Walter Leal Filho ◽  
Ulisses M. Azeiteiro ◽  
Johanna Heimfarth ◽  
José E. Verocai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Risk Index ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Economic Determinants ◽  
Human Wellbeing ◽  
Weather Events

Climate change and variability are known to have an influence on human wellbeing in a variety of ways. In Latin America, such forces are especially conspicuous, particularly in respect of extreme climatological, hydrological, and weather events (EWEs) and climate-sensitive disasters (CSDs). Consistent with the need to study further such connections, this paper presents an analysis of some of the vulnerabilities of environmental health issues and climate-related impacts that are focusing on EWEs and CSDs in Latin American countries. The research includes an analysis of the (i) human and socio-economic development; (ii) geographical and socio-economic determinants of vulnerability and adaptability of environmental health issues (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity); (iii) occurrence of CSDs from 1988 to 2017 and their direct impacts on human wellbeing (Total death and Affected people); (iv) an online survey on the perceptions of the effects of EWEs on human wellbeing in a sample of countries in the region; and (v) discussion of possible solutions. The socio-economic and development indices, and the International Disaster Database (EM-DAT) and Climate-Risk Index (CRI) disaster statistics suggest that the impacts of CSDs are primarily related to socio-economic determinants of human wellbeing and health inequalities. Also, >80% respondents to the survey say that the leading causes of climate-related human impacts are the lack of (i) public awareness; (ii) investment and (iii) preparedness. The paper concludes by adding some suggestions that show how countries in Latin America may better cope with the impacts of Climate-sensitive Disasters.

Common issues related to children’s environmental health in the Asia-Pacific region

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-8
Author(s):  
Brittany A. Trottier ◽  
Daam Settachan
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Health ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
Asia Pacific Region ◽  
Research Collaborations ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Children’S Environmental Health ◽  
Research Findings

AbstractThis summary reports on the outcomes and common issues faced among the countries represented at the Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting on Children’s Environmental Health, a meeting that was held at the Chulabhorn Research Institute in Bangkok, Thailand, and which focused on cross-cutting issues and commonalities among countries/regions, discussion of lessons learnt, exploring opportunities for policy-relevant research collaborations, and reviewing available educational tools to help translate research findings into tangible outputs. The common children’s environmental health issues faced by countries in the Asia-Pacific region include indoor and outdoor air pollution; unregulated and inadequate waste management; chemical and infectious agents in water used for drinking and cooking; hazardous pesticide use; and climate change and extreme weather events. The meeting participants agreed there is a need for multisectoral involvement in each country to develop frameworks and guidelines, raising public awareness of risk, and managing exposures in order to tackle these common issues. Networking will allow countries to learn from each other and enhance their efforts to protect not only the health of children, but also that of the rest of the population at risk.

scholarly journals Affrontare il cambiamento climatico è una ‘missione possibile’

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-160
Author(s):  
Roberto Buizza
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Greenhouse Gases ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Ice Melting ◽  
Greenhouse Gases Emissions ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Change Impact

Climate change is real, and we, humans, are responsible for it. Its impact is already evident, both on the Earth system (global warming, sea-level rise, sea-ice melting, more intense and frequent extreme weather events such as heat waves and fires) and on people (famines, health issues, migrations, political tensions and conflicts). We need immediate and concrete mitigation actions aiming to reduce greenhouse gases emissions, and adaptation actions to be able to cope with the increasing changing climate. We have to reach zero-net greenhouse gases emissions as soon as possible, by reducing emissions by at least 5% a year, starting from now. Otherwise the climate change impact will become more and more severe: it will induce more injustice, and it will have a major impact on people health. We have the resources and the technologies to deal with it: we must have the courage to change and transform and deal with it. Addressing climate change is not impossible: to the contrary, it is a ‘possible mission’.

scholarly journals Policy options for addressing climate change, with a focus on ecosystem based adaptation: a case study of Guyana

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramesh Lilwah
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Resource Sector ◽  
Adaptation Method ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Close to ninety percent of Guyana‟s population live along a low lying coastal plain, which is below sea level and very vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. While the national government has not yet developed a comprehensive climate policy, the potential impacts of climate change is considered in several sectoral policies, much of which emphasize mitigation, with little focus on adaptation. This research examined the current priorities for adaptation by a review of the policies within the natural resource sector to identify opportunities for adaptation, especially ecosystem based adaptation. A Diagnostic Adaptation Framework (DAF) was used to help identify approaches to address a given adaptation challenge with regards to needs, measures and options. A survey questionnaire was used to support the policy reviews and identified four key vulnerabilities: coastal floods; sea level rise; drought and extreme weather events. The application of the DAF in selecting an adaptation method suggests the need for more data on drought and extreme weather events. Coastal flooding is addressed, with recognized need for more data and public awareness for ecosystem based adaptation

scholarly journals Assessing Urban Risk to Extreme Heat in China

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2750
Author(s):  
Xiaojun Huang ◽  
Yanyu Li ◽  
Yuhui Guo ◽  
Dianyuan Zheng ◽  
Mingyue Qi
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Risk Index ◽  
Indicator System ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Heat ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Heat Risk ◽  
Heat Hazard

Many cities are experiencing persistent risk in China due to frequent extreme weather events. Some extreme weather events, such as extreme heat hazard, have seriously threatened human health and socio-economic development in cities. There is an urgent need to measure the degree of extreme heat risk and identify cites with the highest levels of extreme heat risk. In this study, we presented a risk assessment framework of extreme heat and considered risk as a combination of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. Based on these three dimensions, we selected relevant variables from historical meteorological data (1960–2016) and socioeconomic statistics in 2016, establishing an indicator system of extreme heat risk evaluation. Finally, we developed an extreme heat risk index to quantify the levels of extreme heat risk of 296 prefecture-level cities in China and revealed the spatial pattern of extreme heat risk in China in 2016 and their dominant factors. The results show that (1) cities with high levels of extreme heat hazard are mainly located in the south of China, especially in the southeast of China; (2) the spatial distribution of the extreme heat risk index shows obvious agglomeration characteristics; (3) the spatial distribution of the extreme heat risk is still mostly controlled by natural geographical conditions such as climate and topography; (4) among the four types of hazard-dominated, exposure-dominated, vulnerability-dominated, and low risk cities, the number of vulnerability-dominated cities is the largest. The results of this study can provide support for the risk management of extreme heat disasters and the formation of targeted countermeasures in China.

scholarly journals Fulminant acute hepatitis in pediatrics in Latin America and the Caribbean

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 914-921 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Colleti Junior ◽  
Felipe Rezende Caino ◽  
Rafael Teixeira ◽  
Werther Brunow de Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Acute Hepatitis ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Hepatitis A ◽  
Hepatitis A Virus ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Basic Sanitation ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Support Methods

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review was to investigate the epidemiology of Fulminant Acute Hepatitis in Latin America and the Caribbean and identify possible measures aimed at a better understanding and improvement of patient support. METHODS: We used 3 different researchers to investigate the topic of Fulminant Acute Hepatitis in pediatrics in papers published by Latin American and Caribbean authors in the PubMed and SciELO databases from 2000 to 2016. RESULTS: We found 2,879 articles in the databases searched. After selecting and excluding articles according to the study protocol, 68 remaining studies were obtained for analysis. A total of 1,265 cases of acute fulminant hepatitis were detected, with a predominance of females (42.9%), followed by males (39.4%), with no description of sex in 17.7% of the cases. The main cause was viral hepatitis, representing 45.1% of the cases. The hepatitis A virus was responsible for 34.7% of the total cases and 76.9% of the infectious causes. Of the total number of patients, 26.9% were described as idiopathic, and 11.5% had no cause. CONCLUSION: The preventable causes of Fulminant Acute Hepatitis include hepatitis viruses - primarily the hepatitis A virus - and poisoning. Active vaccination, basic sanitation, and public awareness can reduce the number of patients and, consequently, the costs of liver transplantation due to these causes.

scholarly journals Recent Advances in Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Research in Latin America

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfredo Torres ◽  
Maria Amaral ◽  
Leticia Bentancor ◽  
Lucia Galli ◽  
Jorge Goldstein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Shiga Toxin ◽  
Diarrheal Disease ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Research Progress ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
E Coli

Pathogenic Escherichia coli are known to be a common cause of diarrheal disease and a frequently occurring bacterial infection in children and adults in Latin America. Despite the effort to combat diarrheal infections, the south of the American continent remains a hot spot for infections and sequelae associated with the acquisition of one category of pathogenic E. coli, the Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). This review will focus on an overview of the prevalence of different STEC serotypes in human, animals and food products, focusing on recent reports from Latin America outlining the recent research progress achieved in this region to combat disease and endemicity in affected countries and to improve understanding on emerging serotypes and their virulence factors. Furthermore, this review will highlight the progress done in vaccine development and treatment and will also discuss the effort of the Latin American investigators to respond to the thread of STEC infections by establishing a multidisciplinary network of experts that are addressing STEC-associated animal, human and environmental health issues, while trying to reduce human disease. Regardless of the significant scientific contributions to understand and combat STEC infections worldwide, many significant challenges still exist and this review has focus in the Latin American efforts as an example of what can be accomplished when multiple groups have a common goal.

The Extreme Weather Event Real-time Attribution Machine (EWERAM) – An Overview

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordis Tradowsky ◽  
Greg Bodeker ◽  
Leroy Bird ◽  
Stefanie Kremser ◽  
Peter Kreft ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Event ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Weather Event ◽  
Business Innovation ◽  
Weather Events

<p>As greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in Earth’s atmosphere, the nature of extreme weather events (EWEs) has been changing and is expected to change in the future. EWEs have contributions from anthropogenic climate change as well as from natural variability, which complicates attribution statements. EWERAM is a project that has been funded through the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Smart Ideas programme to develop the capability to provide, within days of an EWE having occurred over New Zealand, and while public interest is still high, scientifically defensible statements about the role of climate change in both the severity and frequency of that event. This is expected to raise public awareness and understanding of the effects of climate change on EWEs.</p><p>A team of researchers from five institutions across New Zealand are participating in EWERAM. EWE attribution is a multi-faceted problem and different approaches are required to address different research aims. Although robustly assessing the contribution of changes in the thermodynamic state to an observed event can be more tractable than including changes in the dynamics of weather systems, for New Zealand, changes in dynamics have had a large impact on the frequency and location of EWEs. As such, we have initiated several lines of research to deliver metrics on EWE attribution, tailored to meet the needs of various stakeholders, that encompass the effects of both dynamical and thermodynamical changes in the atmosphere. This presentation will give an overview of EWERAM and present the methodologies and tools used in the project.</p>

scholarly journals Public Perceptions of Environmental Public Health Risks in the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 1045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikyong Shin ◽  
Angela Werner ◽  
Heather Strosnider ◽  
Lisa Hines ◽  
Lina Balluz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Environmental Pollutants ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Environmental Public Health

Understanding public perceptions about environmental health hazards, exposures, and health impacts can help environmental public health practitioners to target and prioritize community activities, policy needs, and communication strategies. The online cross-sectional 2013 summer wave of the ConsumerStyles survey sampled U.S. adults and used questions from the Centers for Disease Control’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Program to measure public awareness of governmental efforts to track environmental exposures and links to health impacts, as well as perceptions of environmental health issues. Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regressions examined the associations between demographic characteristics and level of awareness of government environmental public health efforts or level of concern about health risks associated with environmental pollutants. Responses were received from 4033 participants, yielding a response rate of 66.0%. More than half of respondents (57.8%) noted concerns about health risks from environmental pollutants. More than one-third (40.0%) of respondents reported awareness of government efforts. Nearly 40% of respondents felt that none of the health impacts listed in the survey were related to environmental issues. Multiple logistic regression models showed that non-Hispanic blacks, other races, females, people with a college or higher education, and people living in the Midwest or South regions were more likely than their counterparts to be concerned about how the environment affects their health. Future work should focus on improving risk communication, filling the information gap on environmental health issues, and understanding how perceptions change over time.

scholarly journals Urban violence and public health in Latin America: a sociological explanatory framework

2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1629-1648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Briceño-León
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
Drug Market ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Urban Violence ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
American Cities ◽  
Social Level

Interpersonal violence has become one of the main public health issues in Latin American cities. This article presents a framework for sociological interpretation that operates on three levels, expressed in the factors that originate, foment, or facilitate violence. Macro-social factors include: social inequality due to the increase in wealth versus poverty; the paradox of more schooling with fewer employment opportunities; increasing expectations and the impossibility of meeting them; changes in family structure; and loss of importance of religion in daily life. At the meso-social level the analysis highlights: increased density in poor areas and urban segregation; masculinity cult; and changes in the local drug market. The micro-social level includes: an increase in the number of firearms; alcohol consumption; and difficulties in verbal expression of feelings. The article concludes with an analysis of how violence is leading to the breakdown not only of urban life but also of citizenship as a whole in Latin America.

scholarly journals Policy options for addressing climate change, with a focus on ecosystem based adaptation: a case study of Guyana

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramesh Lilwah
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Resource Sector ◽  
Adaptation Method ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Close to ninety percent of Guyana‟s population live along a low lying coastal plain, which is below sea level and very vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. While the national government has not yet developed a comprehensive climate policy, the potential impacts of climate change is considered in several sectoral policies, much of which emphasize mitigation, with little focus on adaptation. This research examined the current priorities for adaptation by a review of the policies within the natural resource sector to identify opportunities for adaptation, especially ecosystem based adaptation. A Diagnostic Adaptation Framework (DAF) was used to help identify approaches to address a given adaptation challenge with regards to needs, measures and options. A survey questionnaire was used to support the policy reviews and identified four key vulnerabilities: coastal floods; sea level rise; drought and extreme weather events. The application of the DAF in selecting an adaptation method suggests the need for more data on drought and extreme weather events. Coastal flooding is addressed, with recognized need for more data and public awareness for ecosystem based adaptation

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