Redesigning healthcare systems to meet the health challenges associated with climate change in the twenty-first century

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai-Lit Phua, PhD
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Health Information System ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
First Century ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Twenty First Century

In the twenty-first century, climate change is emerging as a significant threat to the health and well-being of the public through links to the following: extreme weather events, sea level rise, temperature-related illnesses, air pollution patterns, water security, food security, vector-borne infectious diseases, and mental health effects (as a result of extreme weather events and climate change-induced population displacement). This article discusses how national healthcare systems can be redesigned through changes in its components such as human resources, facilities and technology, health information system, and health policy to meet these challenges.

The relevance of climate information in the assessment of flood regulating ecosystem services

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thea Wübbelmann ◽  
Steffen Bender ◽  
Benjamin Burkhard
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Climate Information ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Weather Events

<p>Extreme weather events, failure of climate-change mitigation and adaptation, and biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse are some of the main global risks. Climate change is one of the major drivers for ecosystem and biodiversity loss as well as for higher frequency and intensity of natural disasters and extreme weather events. Consequently, ecosystem health and the provision of ecosystem services (ES) is affected by the increasing pressures.</p><p>However, the provision of ecosystems must be ensured in order to guarantee and maintain human well-being. To define the benefits that people obtain from ecosystems there exist the concept of ES that links social and environmental systems to achieve sustainable use and discover trade-offs between different ES.</p><p>With respect to the increasing number of flood events (pluvial and fluvial) and of affected persons in the last years, one important key ES under external pressure is flood regulation. It describes the capacity to reduce flood hazards. Amongst other factors, climate change has a high impact on flood characteristics. Currently, most studies analyse the present status of flood regulating ES. Changing climate conditions and associated functionalities of the flood regulating ES are mostly not taken into account. This study shows the importance of assessing the current and future functionalities of flood regulating ES. In order to adapt ecosystems and their functionalities to projected climate impacts, it is important to consider regional climate information in the estimation process for flood regulating ES.</p>

scholarly journals Weather Literacy in Times of Climate Change

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 435-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Fleischhut ◽  
Stefan M. Herzog ◽  
Ralph Hertwig
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
The Public ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
The Future ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Weather Risks

AbstractAs climate change unfolds, extreme weather events are on the rise worldwide. According to experts, extreme weather risks already outrank those of terrorism and migration in likelihood and impact. But how well does the public understand weather risks and forecast uncertainty and thus grasp the amplified weather risks that climate change poses for the future? In a nationally representative survey (N = 1004; Germany), we tested the public’s weather literacy and awareness of climate change using 62 factual questions. Many respondents misjudged important weather risks (e.g., they were unaware that UV radiation can be higher under patchy cloud cover than on a cloudless day) and struggled to connect weather conditions to their impacts (e.g., they overestimated the distance to a thunderstorm). Most misinterpreted a probabilistic forecast deterministically, yet they strongly underestimated the uncertainty of deterministic forecasts. Respondents with higher weather literacy obtained weather information more often and spent more time outside but were not more educated. Those better informed about climate change were only slightly more weather literate. Overall, the public does not seem well equipped to anticipate weather risks in the here and now and may thus also fail to fully grasp what climate change implies for the future. These deficits in weather literacy highlight the need for impact forecasts that translate what the weather may be into what the weather may do and for transparent communication of uncertainty to the public. Boosting weather literacy may help to improve the public’s understanding of weather and climate change risks, thereby fostering informed decisions and mitigation support.

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 Projecting Climate Change Impacts on Mediterranean Finfish Production: A Case Study in Greece.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orestis Stavrakidis-Zachou ◽  
Konstadia Lika ◽  
Panagiotis Anastasiadis ◽  
Nikos Papandroulakis
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Mediterranean Country ◽  
Farm Level ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Individual

Abstract Finfish aquaculture in the Mediterranean Sea faces increasing challenges due to climate change while potential adaptation requires a robust assessment of the arising threats and opportunities. This paper presents an approach developed to investigate effects of climate drivers on Greek aquaculture, a representative Mediterranean country with a leading role in the sector. Using a farm level approach, Dynamic Energy Budget models for European seabass and meagre were developed and environmental forcing was used to simulate changes in production and farm profitability under IPCC scenarios RCP45 and RCP85. The effects of temperature and extreme weather events at the individual and farm level were considered along with that of husbandry parameters such as stocking timing, market size, and farm location (inshore, offshore) for nine regions. The simulations suggest that at the individual level fish may benefit from warmer temperatures in the future in terms of growth, thus reaching commercial sizes faster, while the husbandry parameters may have as large an effect on growth as the projected shifts in climatic cues. However, this benefit will be largely offset by the adverse effects of extreme weather events at the population level. Such events will be more frequent in the future and, depending on the intensity one assigns to them, they could cause losses in biomass and farm profits that range from mild to detrimental for the industry. Overall, these results provide quantification of some of the potential threats for an important aquaculture sector while suggesting possibilities to benefit from emerging opportunities. Therefore, they could contribute to improving the sector’s readiness for tackling important challenges in the future.

Impact of Climate Change and Extreme Waves on Tanker Design

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elzbieta M. Bitner-Gregersen ◽  
Torfinn Hørte ◽  
Lars Ingolf Eide ◽  
Erik Vanem
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Rogue Waves ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Ship Design ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Design Practice ◽  
Storm Activity ◽  
Activity Intensity ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Current Design

Global warming and extreme weather events reported in the last years have attracted a lot of attention not only in academia and media but also in the shipping industry. Three important questions have been in focus: will occurrence of extreme weather events increase in the future, which geographical locations will be most affected, and to what degree will climate change affect future ship traffic and design of ship structures. Observed and projected changes in wave conditions are expected to have the largest effect on ship design and operations in comparison to other environmental phenomena. The present study briefly summarizes recent investigations addressing changes of significant wave height in the North Atlantic, including the last findings of IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), and discusses how these changes can be included in environmental description used for ship design. It is also interesting to notice that climate changes resulting in some ocean regions in increase of storm activity (intensity, duration and fetch) and changes of storm tracks may result in secondary effects such as increased frequency of occurrence of abnormal waves, also called rogue or freak waves. This study shows how the scientific findings on climate change and rogue waves can be incorporated in the risk-based approach used in current design practice of tankers, and ships structures in general. Further, it demonstrates the effect of climate change and rogue waves on tanker design, particularly on the safety level of current design practice. Finally, the present paper discusses how structural design of ships can be upgraded to account for climate change and rogue waves but economic consequences do not need to be significant.

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