Climate change and human health : risks and responses

Preface ix Acknowledgements xi Chapter 1. Global climate change and health: an old story writ large 1 Introduction 1 Recognising the complexity of systems upon which life depends: an ecological perspective 3 Climate change: overview of recent scientific assessments 5 Climate and human health: an ancient struggle 8 Potential health impacts of climate change 10 Population vulnerability and adaptive responses 12 Conclusions 14 References 15 Chapter 2. Weather and climate: changing human exposures 18 Introduction 18 The climate system and greenhouse gases 19 Weather, climate and climate variability 24 Climate change 26 Climate variability and change over the twentieth century 29 Special report on emission scenarios 30 Anthropogenic climate change 31 Climate modelling 33 Exposure Assessment 36 Conclusions 39 References 40 Chapter 3. International consensus on the science of climate and health: the IPCC Third Assessment Report 43 Introduction 43 The IPCC 43 The effects of climate on the transmission biology of human diseases 45 IPCC Third Assessment Report 47 Direct effects on health 47 Indirect effects on health 48 Assessments of health impacts by IPCC region 51 Africa 51 Asia 52 Australia and New Zealand 52 Europe 53 Latin America 54 North America 55 Polar regions 56 Small Island States 56 Post-TAR assessments 56 Conclusions 56 References 57 Chapter 4. Looking to the future: challenges for scientists studying climate change and health 61 Introduction 61 Tasks for public health scientists 63 Establishing baseline relationships 63 Seeking evidence for early health effects of climate change 64 Developing scenario-based models (future effects) 66 Evaluating adaptation options 68 Estimating ancillary benefits and costs 70 Informing policy 70 Recognizing and responding to uncertainty 71 General issues concerning uncertainty 74 Conclusions 75 References 76 Chapter 5. Impacts on health of climate extremes 79 Introduction 79 El Niño and infectious diseases 81 Malaria 82 Dengue 83 Rodent-borne diseases 84 Diarrhoeal illness 85 Temperature extremes: heatwaves and cold spells 86 The impact of heatwave events on mortality 87 Vulnerability to temperature-related mortality 89 Winter mortality 89 The potential impact of climate change on temperature related mortality 90 Natural disasters 90 Trends in weather disasters 91 The health impacts of disasters 92 Conclusions 95 References 96 Chapter 6. Climate change and infectious diseases 103 Introduction 103 Disease classifications relevant to climate/health relationships 105 Directly transmitted diseases 105 Indirectly transmitted diseases (anthroponoses & zoonoses) 106 Climate sensitivity of infectious disease 107 Seasonality of infectious disease 107 Vector-borne diseases 108 Water-borne diseases 109 Documented and predicted climate/infectious disease links 111 Historical evidence of climate/infectious disease links 111 Early indicators for long-term trends in global warming 114 Predictive modelling 115 Modifying influences 121 Sociodemographic influences 121 Environmental influences 122 Conclusions and recommended future steps 126 References 127 Chapter 7. How much disease could climate change cause? 133 Introduction 133 General methods 134 Disease burdens and summary measures of population health 134 Estimating burden of disease attributable to a risk factor 134 Type of evidence available for estimating disease burden due to climate change 135 Definition of risk factor and exposure scenario 137 Methods for estimating exposure to climate change 138 Outcomes to be assessed 139 Methods for estimating risk factor-disease relationships 140 Specific health impacts 141 Direct physiological effects of heat and cold on cardiovascular mortality 141 Diarrhoeal disease 143 Malnutrition 145 Natural disasters caused by extreme weather and sea level rise 147 Falciparum malaria 150 Aggregated estimates for 2000 152 Conclusions 153 References 155 Chapter 8. Stratospheric ozone depletion, ultraviolet radiation and health 159 Introduction 159 The Montreal Protocol—noticing and responding to ozone depletion 160 Difference between stratospheric ozone depletion and human-enhanced greenhouse effect 161 Solar UVR measurement 162 Main types of health impacts 163 Disorders of the skin 163 Eye disorders 167 Immune system function and immune-related disorders 169 Public health message re UVR exposure 174 Conclusions 175 References 176 Chapter 9. National assessments of health impacts of climate change: a review 181 Introduction 181 Health impact assessments: key concepts and methods 182 Methods for climate-change impact assessments 183 Review of national health assessments 185 Developed countries 187 Developing countries 190 Small island developing states 191 Recommendations for developing methods and tools 192 Literature reviews 192 Predictive modelling 193 Use of climate scenarios 194 Integrated assessment 194 Integration between sectors 194 Integration across a region 195 Adaptation assessment 196 Review of National Communications to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 197 Conclusions 199 References 200 Chapter 10. Monitoring the health effects of climate change 204 Introduction 204 Methodological considerations 204 Evidence of climate change 204 Attribution 205 Effect modification 206 General principles 207 Evidence of climate sensitivity 207 Public health burden 207 Practicality 207 Data requirements and data sources 208 Meteorology 208 Health markers 209 Other explanatory factors 210 Examples 211 Vector-borne disease 213 Diarrhoeal illness 215 Conclusions 216 References 218 Chapter 11. Adaptation and adaptive capacity in the public health context 220 Introduction 220 Adaptation 220 Adaptation, climate impacts, and vulnerability assessment 221 Adaptation and prevention 222 Coping with climate 223 Adaptive capacity 225 Determinants of adaptive capacity 226 Economic resources 226 Technology 227 Information and skills 228 Infrastructure 229 Institutions 230 Equity 230 Health status and pre-existing disease burdens 231 Research needs 231 Conclusions 233 References 233 Chapter 12. From science to policy: developing responses to climate change 237 Introduction 237 Boundaries between assessment and policy formation 240 Decision-making criteria 240 Decision-support tools 241 Response options 241 Case Study 1: Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the south-western United States of America 242 Building the bridge from science to policy: policy-focused assessment 244 Assessment as a multidisciplinary activity 245 Stakeholder engagement 246 Evaluation of adaptation options 247 Case Study 2: Preparing for a changing climate in the Great Lakes region 248 Case Study 3: Hot weather watch/warning systems 250 Characterization of uncertainties 253 Case Study 4: Human dependence on food from coral reef fisheries 254 Case Study 5: Dengue simulation modelling and risk reduction 258 Formulating a research agenda 259 Increasing public awareness: importance of communicating assessment results 261 Conclusions 262 References 263 Chapter 13. Conclusions and recommendations for action 267 Introduction 267 Conclusions and recommendations 271 Climate related exposures 271 Reaching consensus on the science 273 Remaining challenges for scientists 274 Extreme climate events 274 Infectious diseases 275 The burden of disease 276 Stratospheric ozone depletion, climate change and health 277 National assessments 277 Monitoring climate change impacts on human health 278 Adapting to climate change 278 Responses: from science to policy 280 Concluding remarks 281 References 282 Glossary 284 Index 306