Climate Change and Health

  

Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre

Health in a changing climate

Health impacts due to climate change, noticeable through:

• Increase of disaster related diseases
• (Shift of) high temperatures & vectors

Water

  Both extremes can have health effects

  Too much Too little

  3

  Too much water...

Flooding

• Diarrhoeal diseases
• Vector-borne diseases
• Rodent borne diseases
• Food borne diseases
• Mental Health

  4

  

More intense tropical storms:

  Injuries and death Flooding related disease

  5

  Diarrhoea / cholera Too little water...

  Drought

  Diarrhoea Skin - scabies Eye - trachoma Malnutrition

  7 Heat

  Vulnerable people: Elderly people with other diseases (heart, respiratory)

  8

  Heatwaves

  Air quality Ground level ozone

  9

  Heatwaves

  Manual labourers Cardio-respiratory diseases Dehydration

  10

  Heatwaves

  Diarrhoeal diseases Food borne diseases Bacteria multiplying faster

  11

  _{Mosquitoes: Te mperature and Rainfall} Why are El Niño/La Niña Important?

  To o cold ^{To o hot} _{Cases Of Malaria} Number

Vector - borne diseases

  Malaria Dengue Fever

  

Let us look at dengue as an example

  Dengue

• Immense burden on urban public health systems
• Continues to get worse with no end in site

  Urban dengue transmission water temperature ambient temperature ^{mosquito growth, development, metabolism}

  Dengue Fever

  50M infections, 500k hospitalizations

Household water security Climate

  

For dengue - higher temperature means:

Mosquitoes

• Develop faster
• Fly further
• Survive longer
• BITE more

  The dengue VIRUS (inside the mosquito)

• Replicates faster

Rain means:

  MORE rain Increase breeding sites for mosquitoes

  LESS rain

Can also increase breeding sites for dengue mosquitoes

• Low, stagnant river flow
• Water storage in homes

  Dengue

• Community clean up of breeding sites

  Dengue

• Messages about water storage

For health effects? EARLY DETECTION EARLY ACTION

• Flooding • Drought • Heatwaves • Air quality
• Vector Borne Diseases ( malaria-dengue,etc)

  

Baseline resilience also important

• Water and sanitation

  Access to water, sanitation

   Knowledge about hygiene

• Vector borne disease

  Vector control Knowledge, behaviour

From the how-to guide:

  1. Collect background info - in contact with correct partners. Monitor!

  2. Integrate CC into NS - awareness, health or disaster programmes Consider priority areas, impacts

  3. Need to train more volunteers? More resources?

  

Read more in the climate guide! Timeframe Forecast Action?

  Years Increased risk of rainfall due to CC Months Forecast of strongly above average rainfall for coming season Weeks High ground saturation Forecast of continued rainfall. High risk of floods Days High water levels upstream, more rain. Hours Flood water moving to affected areas

  Timeframe Forecast Action? Years Increased risk of rainfall due to CC

  Map risk-areas. Planning Improve watsan coverage Months Forecast of strongly above average rainfall for coming season

  Recruit/train more volunteers Stockpiling Weeks High ground saturation Forecast of continued rainfall. High risk of floods

  Refresher training for volunteers. Preposition stocks

  Days High water levels upstream, more rain.

  Equipment is ready for dispatch. Mobilize volunteers.

  Hours Flood water moving to affected areas Evacuate? Assess needs in evacuation shelters.

  

Summary

• Same problems - changing patterns
• Combine detection, surveillance and baseline with the use of climate information to enhance early action

  Early detection, early action