Regions
Africa | Asia | Australasia | Europe | Latin America | North America | Polar Regions | Small Island States
Sectors
Agriculture & Food Security | Human Health | Hydrologic Resources & Extreme Weather | Coastal Resources | Security | Species, Diversity, and Ecosystems
CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUMAN HEALTH
General Studies - Abstracts
Patz, Jonathan A., David Engelberg,
and John Last. 2000. "The effects of changing weather
on public health," Annual Review of Public Health,
Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 271-307.
ABSTRACT: Many diseases are influenced by weather conditions
or display strong seasonality, suggestive of a possible
climatic contribution. Projections of future climate change
have, therefore, compelled health scientists to re-examine
weather/disease relationships. There are three projected
physical consequences of climate change: temperature rise,
sea level rise, and extremes in the hydrologic cycle. This
century, the Earth has warmed by about 0.5 degrees centigrade,
and the mid-range estimates of future temperature change
and sea level rise are 2.0 degrees centigrade and 49 centimeters,
respectively, by the year 2100. Extreme weather variability
associated with climate change may especially add an important
new stress to developing nations that are already vulnerable
as a result of environmental degradation, resource depletion,
overpopulation, or location (e.g. low-lying coastal deltas).
The regional impacts of climate change will vary widely
depending on existing population vulnerability. Health outcomes
of climate change can be grouped into those of: (a) direct
physical consequences, e.g. heat mortality or drowning;
(b) physical/chemical sequelae, e.g. atmospheric transport
and formation of air pollutants; (c) physical/biological
consequences, e.g. response of vector- and waterborne diseases,
and food production; and (d) sociodemographic impacts, e.g.
climate or environmentally induced migration or population
dislocation. Better understanding of the linkages between
climate variability as a determinant of disease will be
important, among other key factors, in constructing predictive
models to guide public health prevention.
Martens, W.J.M., R. Slooff, and
E.K. Jackson. 1997. "Climate change, human health and
sustainable development," Bulletin of the World Health
Organization, Vol. 75, No. 6, pp. 583-588.
ABSTRACT: Human-induced climate change threatens ecosystems
and human health on a global scale. In order to withstand
the worldwide threats to ecosystems, the concept of sustainable
development was introduced during the 1980s. Since then,
this concept has been widely applied to guide and focus
policy-making. The present article reviews the health consequences
of human-induced climate change on sustainable development,
particularly the potential impact of such change on food
supply, natural disasters, infectious diseases, ecosystems,
and sea level rise. Discussed is an integrated model containing
the key indicators of sustainable development. The relevance
of climate change, human health, and sustainable development
for international climate change policy is also examined.
