The impact of climate change is a global threat, and its effect is more pronounced in developing countries. It is vital to link physical data analysis with endogenous knowledge and practices of farmers to strengthen their adaptive capacity. This study was conducted to explore spatial variability and temporal trends of temperature and rainfall in association with farmers’ perceptions and their adaptation strategies in Southwest Ethiopia. Daily rainfall and temperature data of twelve weather stations were collected from the National Meteorological Agency of Ethiopia for the period 1983 to 2016. Farmers’ perceptions about climate change and its impact and their adaptation strategies were assessed through a survey. Spatial variability and temporal trends of rainfall and temperature were analyzed using ArcGIS and R software. Sen’s slope estimator and Mann-Kendall’s trend tests were used to detect the magnitude and statistical significance of changes in rainfall and temperature. Spatial analysis of rainfall showed high variability over the region. There were no consistent and significant temporal trends of annual and seasonal rainfall of the area. Significant and upward trends of annual maximum and minimum temperatures were reported for all stations. Accordingly, annual maximum and minimum temperatures were increased by 0.71 and 0.65 degrees C, respectively, over the period 1983 to 2016. Farmers had a good awareness of climate change and its impact. Adaptation strategies used by farmers included soil and water conservation practices (66.21%), crop diversification (62.16%), modifying planting date (42.56%), agroforestry practices (35.13%), use of drought-tolerant variety (33.95%), use of early maturing crop (27.03%), and livelihood diversification (25.42%). As most of these adaptation strategies were familiarized by a small number of farmers, further effort is needed to identify factors limiting the adoption of these strategies. Furthermore, additional planned strategies and supports that widen available options at the farmers’ disposal should be introduced to strengthen their adaptive capacity.
BACKGROUND: The recent research recommendations on the adaptations of poor are toward local specific investigations, aimed at a comprehensive understanding of the adaptation strategies through in-depth analysis of the status, and the explicit on how climate and non-climate global change processes constrain the inherent strategies. Intent to this idea, we have designed this study to assess the small-scale farmers’ adaptation and coping strategies in southwestern Ethiopia. METHODS: The agroecology approach steered in case-study design was used for the conceptual and analytical framework. The data collected from 335 households were analyzed for descriptive and multivariate analysis of variance and substantiated by qualitative data obtained through focused group discussion, interview, and observations. RESULTS: The significant differences were observed in the watershed among households in the case studies on their adoption of the identified adaptation and coping strategies. The sustainability of preferred strategies was different along case studies, solely determined by the impact magnitude of the adaptations constraining factors. Although free ecosystem-based strategies become less practical and replacing by new strategies in the watershed, the processes were gradual, internal to the community and managed through adaptive learning in the highland. However, the paths were perceived as toward maladaptive, resulted by the state interventions which disrupted free adaptations, deteriorated adaptive learning of the community, and shaped the adaptation responses toward the interventions in the kolla agroecology. CONCLUSIONS: The study implies that the situations of households’ adaptation strategies are beyond the reflections of their respective production ecology, designated within climate variability in the previous studies. The structural land use dynamics and associated resource tenure insecurity have greater constraining effects on the strategies than the impacts of climate variability in the kolla. Thus, subsequent research interested in such contexts, and any plan for the development interventions should (re)consider the impacts of non-climate national/and global environmental change in shaping the adaptation and coping strategies of the local community.
Maize is a major staple and plays an essential role in food and nutrition security in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Conservation agriculture (CA), a climate-smart agriculture practise based on minimum soil disturbance, crop residue retention, and crop diversification, has been widely advocated but without extensive research on the impact it may have on maize nutrient composition, and food and nutrition security. This study assessed the grain yield, macro- and micronutrient mineral content, and nutrient yield of eight maize varieties grown in Malawi, and how these are affected by CA practises over two seasons. The minerals were analysed by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) coupled to optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and to mass spectroscopy (MS). Grain yield and Se content differed among the varieties, while C, N, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, P, and Zn were similar. The local variety Kanjerenjere showed lowest grain and nutrient yields. The open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) concentrated more minerals than the F1 hybrids, but the latter showed higher yields for both grain and nutrients. Typical consumption of the eight maize varieties could fully meet the protein and Mg dietary reference intake (DRIs) of Malawian children (1-3 years), as well as Mg and Mn needs of adult women (19-50 years), but their contribution to dietary requirements was low for Fe (39-41%) and K (13-21%). The trials showed that CA increased grain yield (1.2- to 1.8-fold) and Se content (1.1- to 1.7-fold), but that it had no effect on C, K, Mg, P, and Zn, and that N (1.1- to 1.2-fold), Mn (1.1- to 1.8-fold), and Fe (1.3- to 3.4-fold) were reduced. The high increase in grain yield under CA treatments resulted in increased yields of protein and Se, no effect on the yields of K, Mg, Mn, P, Zn, and reduced Fe yield. Conservation agriculture could contribute in reducing the risk of Se deficiency in Malawian women and children but exacerbates the risk of Fe deficiency. A combination of strategies will be needed to mitigate some of the foreseen effects of climate change on agriculture, and food and nutrition security, and improve nutrient intake.
Considering the feasibility and effectiveness of adaptation options is essential for guiding responses to climate change that reduce risk. Here, we assessed the feasibility of adaptation options for the African context. Using the Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative, a stocktake of adaptation-related responses to climate change from the peer-reviewed literature in 2013–2020, we found 827 records of adaptation actions in Africa. We categorised and evaluated 24 adaptation options and for each option, six dimensions of feasibility were considered: economic, environmental, social, institutional, technological, and evidence of effectiveness. Over half (51%) of all adaptation actions were reported in the food sector where sustainable water management (SWM) was the most reported option. The fewest actions were reported for cities (5%). The majority of actions (53%) were recorded in just six countries: Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria and South Africa. Encouragingly, effectiveness was assessed as medium or high for 95% of adaptation options. However, no options had high feasibility on any other dimension. Technological and institutional factors present major barriers to implementation. Crop management, SWM, sustainable agricultural practices, agroforestry, livelihood diversification, ecosystem governance and planning, health governance and planning, infrastructure and built environment, all had moderate feasibility across three or more dimensions. Human migration has low feasibility but high potential for risk reduction. Major knowledge gaps exist for environmental feasibility, for assessing adaptation limits at increasing levels of climate hazard, for economic trade-offs and synergies, and for Central and Northern Africa. Our results highlight sectors where enablers for adaptation can be increased. Future assessments can apply the method established here to extend findings to other national and local levels.
Global demand for agricultural products continues to grow. However, efforts to boost productivity exacerbate existing pressures on nature, both on farms and in the wider landscape. There is widespread appreciation of the critical need to achieve balance between biodiversity and human well-being in rural tropical crop production landscapes, that are essential for livelihoods and food security. There is limited empirical evidence of the interrelationships between natural capital, the benefits and costs of nature and its management, and food security in agricultural landscapes. Agroforestry practices are frequently framed as win-win solutions to reconcile the provision of ecosystem services important to farmers (i.e., maintaining soil quality, supporting pollinator, and pest control species) with nature conservation. Yet, underlying trade-offs (including ecosystem disservices linked to pest species or human-wildlife conflicts) and synergies (e.g., impact of ecosystem service provision on human well-being) are seldom analysed together at the landscape scale. Here, we propose a systems model framework to analyse the complex pathways, with which natural capital on and around farms interacts with human well-being, in a spatially explicit manner. To illustrate the potential application of the framework, we apply it to a biodiversity and well-being priority landscape in the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania, a public-private partnership for increasing production of cash and food crops. Our framework integrates three main dimensions: biodiversity (using tree cover and wildlife as key indicators), food security through crop yield and crop health, and climate change adaptation through microclimate buffering of trees. The system model can be applied to analyse forest-agricultural landscapes as socio-ecological systems that retain the capacity to adapt in the face of change in ways that continue to support human well-being. It is based on metrics and pathways that can be quantified and parameterised, providing a tool for monitoring multiple outcomes from management of forest-agricultural landscapes. This bottom-up approach shifts emphasis from global prioritisation and optimisation modelling frameworks, based on biophysical properties, to local socio-economic contexts relevant in biodiversity-food production interactions across large parts of the rural tropics.
The increasing number and complexity of urban risk and disasters have a significant bearing on the emotional and mental wellbeing of those who are exposed and hamper their responses. Nevertheless, current discourses and approaches to increase resilience tend to focus on broader socio-economic, physical and environmental systems. This reflects a failure by the academic and practitioner communities to consider the potential contribution of human interior dimensions in adaptation planning. Concomitantly, a growing body of knowledge highlights the need to bridge the gap between internal and external (systems) approaches for achieving sustainable transformations. Against this background, this article aims to increase knowledge on the operationalization of such more integrative approaches in marginal settings. Based on a case study of a flood adaptation project in Kibera, Kenya, we assess the need and potential ways to address interior dimensions in the context of project planning, design and implementation. We show how the integration of such dimensions occurs in existing adaptation projects and why this matters. On this basis, we provide methodological and operational recommendations regarding ways to support more integrative approaches that bridge subjective, intersubjective, objective and interobjective perspectives to support transformation.
With heat stress as a notable climate-related challenge in Africa, the need to limit heat exposure and enhance adaptation becomes important. Behavioural responses and heat-resistant characteristics of residential buildings are key aspects of exposure and adaptation to heat stress. We report a study that investigates heat exposure and adaptation responses across two neighbourhoods of different socio-economic status in Akure, Nigeria. The study involved a survey of 70 residents in each of the neighbourhoods. The study shows differences and commonalities in personal behavioural responses to heat stress, further revealing that education (p < 0.000), household income (p < 0.001) and gender (p < 0.002) were significant predictors of behavioural responses. Heat-resistant features in dwellings in both neighbourhoods were also identified. The poorer neighbourhood was more disadvantaged in this regard as their housing features did not completely prevent heat exposure. People in the richer neighbourhood, much more than the poorer one, were able to include features such as A/C, ceramic tiles, shady plants to cope with heat. These findings highlight intra-urban inequality in heat exposure and adaptation. They show the need for initiatives towards improved awareness and comprehensive retrofitting of dwellings to enhance their heat-resistant capacity.A
The disruptions of anthropogenic climate change are increasingly severe. People living in sub-Saharan Africa are especially exposed to these risks, and amongst them young people. It is well established that climate disruptions have the potential to halt education, displace populations, and wreck infrastructure. This rigorous literature review focuses on climate change in the landlocked East African country of Uganda, demographically the world’s third youngest country, where young people struggle to get by due to insufficient work opportunities. Extended to other countries in the Eastern and Central African region, the review considers what is known about the intersection of youth livelihoods and climate change; young people’s susceptibility to climate disruption due to limited resources and livelihood options; and the constraints around their responses. The review findings suggest the need for substantial youth informed interventions to bolster young people’s economic resilience and adaptive capacity given the worsening climate change and prolonged population growth.
Climate change presents significant threats to human health, especially for low-income urban communities in the Global South. Despite numerous studies of heat stress, surprisingly little is known about the temperatures actually encountered by people in their homes, or the benefits of affordable adaptations. This paper examines indoor air temperature measurements gathered from 47 living rooms within eight low-income communities of Accra and Tamale, Ghana. Using multiple temperature indices and a tiered analysis, we evaluate indoor temperature variations linked to roof type, ceiling insulation, presence of fans, and tree shade, for different housing types and locations. Our data reveal indoor temperatures in the range 22.4 degrees C to 45.9 degrees C for Accra, and 22.2 degrees C to 43.0 degrees C in Tamale. Using dummy regression analysis, we find that tree shade reduces the number of very hot days (>40 degrees C) and nights (>30 degrees C) by about 12 and 15 d per year, respectively. Building materials also strongly moderate indoor temperatures but in opposing ways: rooms with traditional mud walls and thatch roofs are on average 4.5 degrees C cooler than rooms in concrete block houses with uninsulated metal roofs during the day but are 1.5 degrees C warmer at night; rooms with ceiling insulation are on average 6.9 degrees C cooler in the day but 1.4 degrees C warmer at night. We conclude that sub-daily data are necessary for reporting extreme indoor temperatures, and that trade-offs between minimum and maximum temperatures require interventions to be assessed carefully before attempting to counter extreme heat inside homes.
Anatomical, physiologic, and socio-cultural changes during pregnancy and childbirth increase vulnerability of women and newborns to high ambient temperatures. Extreme heat can overwhelm thermoregulatory mechanisms in pregnant women, especially during labor, cause dehydration and endocrine dysfunction, and compromise placental function. Clinical sequelae include hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes, preterm birth, and stillbirth. High ambient temperatures increase rates of infections, and affect health worker performance and healthcare seeking. Rising temperatures with climate change and limited resources heighten concerns. We propose an adaptation framework containing four prongs. First, behavioral changes such as reducing workloads during pregnancy and using low-cost water sprays. Second, health system interventions encompassing Early Warning Systems centered around existing community-based outreach; heat-health indicator tracking; water supplementation and monitoring for heat-related conditions during labor. Building modifications, passive and active cooling systems, and nature-based solutions can reduce temperatures in facilities. Lastly, structural interventions and climate financing are critical. The overall package of interventions, ideally selected following cost-effectiveness and thermal modeling trade-offs, needs to be co-designed and co-delivered with affected communities, and take advantage of existing maternal and child health platforms. Robust-applied research will set the stage for programs across Africa that target pregnant women. Adequate research and climate financing are now urgent.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the global mean temperature is expected to increase from 1.4°C to 5.8°C by 2100. The implications will be particularly significant in urban areas as indoor and outdoor comfort levels will be disrupted, leading to significant health impacts. One of the expected impacts is indoor overheating, as it has been identified as one of the major causes of thermal discomfort and is directly linked to the potential increase in mortality levels in the future. This paper focuses on the potential implications of increased overheating hours on human health in an old low-income residential neighborhood. We study the effect of three main factors: population coping capacity, building thermal performance, and human physiological response to heat exposure. This is achieved by examining an old low-income neighborhood in Cairo, Egypt, whose residents have limited cooling systems access. Results indicate higher overheating risks in older buildings with a projected increase of 18% in indoor temperature and higher health risks, especially for elderly residents. The study’s findings can be considered a starting point to examine the relationship between exposure duration, indoor air temperature range, and potential health risks for vulnerable urban communities with limited access to cooling mechanisms such as AC units.
Flooding is the most frequent natural hazard globally, but evidence of its impact on domestic water point contamination remains limited. This study aimed to assess dam-related flooding’s impact on microbiological contamination of rural water points and to evaluate agreement of satellite-derived flood maps with ground-based observations of water point flooding. Fieldwork took place in two Ghanaian districts frequently flooded following dam overspill. Fifty-seven water points were tested for bacterial parameters during and immediately after flooding. Forty water points were resampled in the dry season, with the remainder having run dry. Ground-based observations of flooding were compared with three satellite-derived flood maps. Boreholes were less contaminated than wells or surface waters (geometric mean E. coli = 20.2, 175.6, and 590.7 cfu/100 ml, respectively). Among groundwater points, a Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated significantly greater median E. coli and thermotolerant coliform contamination during flooding (p = 0.025 and p < 0.001, respectively), but Shigella, salmonella, and intestinal enterococci counts were not significantly different between seasons. In contrast, among surface water points, E. coli, Shigella, and Salmonella counts were significantly greater in dry season samples (p < 0.005 for all parameters), possibly reflecting a "concentration" effect. Satellite-derived flood maps had no or low agreement with ground-based observations of water point flooding. Although groundwater quality deteriorated during and after flooding, surface waters were the most microbiologically contaminated in both seasons. The greatest public health risk thus occurred where households switched to surface water collection during or following flood season. Flood risk should be assessed before borehole installation and existing flood-prone boreholes remediated to mitigate population exposure to contaminated water.
Water scarcity is a global challenge, yet existing responses are failing to cope with current shocks and stressors, including those attributable to climate change. In sub-Saharan Africa, the impacts of water scarcity threaten livelihoods and wellbeing across the continent and are driving a broad range of adaptive responses. This paper describes trends of water scarcity for Africa and outlines climate impacts on key water-related sectors on food systems, cities, livelihoods and wellbeing, conflict and security, economies, and ecosystems. It then uses systematic review methods, including the Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative, to analyse 240 articles and identify adaptation characteristics of planned and autonomous responses to water scarcity across Africa. The most common impact drivers responded to are drought and participation variability. The most frequently identified actors responding to water scarcity include individuals or households (32%), local government (15%) and national government (15%), while the most common types of response are behavioural and cultural (30%), technological and infrastructural (27%), ecosystem-based (25%) and institutional (18%). Most planned responses target low-income communities (31%), women (20%), and indigenous communities (13%), but very few studies target migrants, ethnic minorities or those living with disabilities. There is a lack of coordination of planned adaptation at scale across all relevant sectors and regions, and lack of legal and institutional frameworks for their operation. Most responses to water scarcity are coping and autonomous responses that showed only minor adjustments to business-as-usual water practices, suggesting limited adaptation depth. Maladaptation is associated with one or more dimension of responses in almost 20% of articles. Coordinating institutional responses, carefully planned technologies, planning for projected climate risks including extension of climate services and increased climate change literacy, and integrating indigenous knowledge will help to address identified challenges of water scarcity towards more adaptive responses across Africa.
National climate change policy and strategies set out a framework for planning and undertaking climate change adaptation as well as mitigation activities at the national and local levels. In this article, we examine the coherence and contradictions between national policies and plans, and its impacts on the implementation of adaptation measures at the local level. We undertook a content review of key climate change policy documents (n = 4) of Nepal. In addition, we conducted a field study in the Rajdevi Community Forest User Group (CFUG) located in the mid-hills of Nepal, which has developed and implemented a community level adaptation plan of action (CAPA). The field study involved household interviews, focus group discussions, and an in-depth analysis of CAPA implementation. The paper found that while policies are coherent for targeting highly affected areas and communities, they deviate from discerning an appropriate planning and implanting unit. The local adaptation plan of action (LAPA) considers the local government as an implementing unit, while the national adaptation program of action (NAPA) puts an emphasis on the local community groups. It suggests that the existing LAPA implementation breaches the provision of community-level institutions for the implementation conceived in the central framework. Despite little attention to promoting food security in climate change policy, through the CAPA, local communities have planned and implemented adaptation measures envisioned in the thematic areas identified in the climate change policy of Nepal: agriculture and food security; forests and biodiversity; water resources and energy; climate-induced disasters; public health; and urban settlements and infrastructure. Nevertheless, the CAPA is not institutionalized under government policies and the institutional framework as a local level implementing unit. So, the consensus for a local implementing unit in the policies has remained a key issue. We suggest identifying a suitable and acceptable unit for implementing climate change adaptation at the community level. Only if an appropriate implementing unit is identified can the policies be successful with a broader acceptance and desirable outcomes enshrined in the climate change policy.
Climate-induced pressures spur on the need for urban green infrastructure (UGI) planning. This approach offers a possible way to improve ecosystem functionality and human well-being in adversely affected urban regions, wherein UGI is perceived as a green and nature-based climate change mitigation/adaptation strategy. In Pakistan, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province lacks such urban landscape and greening policies (ULGP) or legislative frameworks for transitioning to green action plans (GAP), to alleviate the risk of multi-climatic hazards. Thus, this study aims to investigate a sustainable UGI-indicator-based framework model, based on the due inclusion of the concerned stakeholders. The relative importance index (RII) and inter-quartile range (IQR) techniques are employed for field data analysis. The findings proclaim excellent reliability (alpha > 0.7) and internal consistency, wherein sustainable UGI indicators are grouped based on their importance. The results portray the ecological and economic sustainability dimensions as being important (RII = 0.835 and RII = 0.807, respectively), socio-cultural dimensions as being moderately important (RII = 0.795), and a set of UGS elements (RII >= 0.77) as vital for bolstering individual UGI indicators. The main UGS elements emerging in each category can be grouped as follows: ecological category-“reducing rainwater runoff” (RII = 0.94); socio-cultural category-“enhancement of mental and physical health” (RII = 0.90); and eco category-“minimizing the risk of flood disasters” (RII = 0.96). The simulation results demonstrate the need for an inclusive perspective when building the urban green space (UGS) infrastructure (and standards) that will be most suitable for ensuring climate-resilient urban regions. This study contributes to putting the scientific research knowledge of the natural green-landscape-based (NBLB) approach into practice. The study calls for the establishment of an effective, pragmatic relationship between the urban landscape and greening policies, alongside a constructive relationship with the native inhabitants to ensure eco-friendly and resilient settlements.
Pakistan is an agrarian nation that is among the most vulnerable countries to climatic variations. Around 20% of its GDP is produced by agriculture, and livestock-related production contributes more than half of this value. However, few empirical studies have been conducted to determine the vulnerability and knowledge of livestock herders, and particularly the smaller herders. Comprehending individual perceptions of and vulnerabilities to climate change (CC) will enable effective formulation of CC mitigation strategies. This study intended to explore individual perceptions of and vulnerabilities to CC based on a primary dataset of 405 small livestock herders from three agro-ecological zones of Punjab. The results showed that livestock herders’ perceptions about temperature and rainfall variations/patterns coincide with the meteorological information of the study locations. The vulnerability indicators show that Dera Ghazi Khan district is more vulnerable than the other two zones because of high exposure and sensitivity to CC, and lower adaptive capacity. However, all zones experience regular livelihood risks due to livestock diseases and deaths resulting from extreme climatic conditions, lower economic status, and constrained institutional and human resource capabilities, thus leading to increased vulnerability. The results indicate that low-cost local approaches are needed, such as provision of improved veterinary services, increased availability of basic equipment, small-scale infrastructure projects, and reinforcement of informal social safety nets. These measures would support cost-effective and sustainable decisions to enable subsistence livestock herders to adopt climate smart practices.
Natural hazards disrupt the social-ecological system, causing much suffering, death, injury, and devastation of property and the environment. This study explores the factors influencing the disaster psychology and psychological adaptation of people living in disaster-vulnerable areas in Bangladesh. Data have been collected from 100 households in Bangladesh’s riverine island areas (char) of northern Bangladesh. Several criteria have been used to measure char dwellers’ disaster psychology (vulnerability concern, factor, and intensity) and psychological adaptation (weakness concern and emotional response). This study reveals that char dwellers perceived several hazards like floods (100%), riverbank erosion (83%), drought (29%), and earthquakes (14%). It is also found that females (88%) are more concerned about earthquakes than males (12%). The key vulnerability factors in the char areas are geographic position (100%), no access to migration (75%), resources (76%), housing (83%), training (18%), and alternative livelihood (24%). Flood and drought are identified as the most destructive hazards in char areas. Most household heads also felt anxiety (88%). fear (54%), helplessness, sadness, and anger due to natural hazards. The government should implement a context-specific disaster management plan to reduce household vulnerability and create livelihood opportunities in char areas to enhance char dwellers’ psychological resilience against disasters.
With accelerating climate change, US coastal communities are experiencing increased flood risk intensity, resulting from accelerated sea level rise and stronger storms. These conditions place pressure on municipalities and local residents to consider a range of new disaster risk reduction programs, climate resilience initiatives, and in some cases transformative adaptation strategies (e.g., managed retreat and relocation from highly vulnerable, low-elevation locations). Researchers have increasingly understood that these climate risks and adaptation actions have significant impacts on the quality of life, well-being, and mental health of urban coastal residents. We explore these relationships and define conditions under which adaptation practices will affect communities and residents. Specifically, we assess climate and environmental stressors, community change, and well-being by utilizing the growing climate change literature and the parallel social science literature on risk and hazards, environmental psychology, and urban geography work, heretofore not widely integrated into work on climate adaptation.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report highlights the projected increase in heat wave (HW) frequency, intensity, and duration. Globally, HW events have caused massive deaths in the past. India has also experienced severe HWs and thousands have reportedly died during the past decade. The study uses the Local Climate Zone (LCZ) classification developed by Stewart and Oke (2012) for evaluating heat stress at the city level during the summer period. Stationery surveys were conducted to collect micro-meteorological data in different LCZs. The study analyses the unique behaviour of mapped LCZs in Nagpur, a tropical landlocked Indian city using widely adopted heat indices (heat index and humidex). It investigates two kinds of probabilities, the distribution of heat stress levels in a particular LCZ and how vulnerable are various LCZs to a given heat stress level. It adopts a statistical approach fitting a predictive logit model to estimate the probability of heat stress in various LCZs. The results show that temperature regimes differ significantly across the LCZs. Secondly, heat stress varies greatly depending upon the LCZs. The mapping scheme and the corresponding heat stress provides indispensable information for targeted heat response planning and heat stress mitigation strategies in heat-prone areas.
The unplanned and uncontrolled urbanization of Indian cities has put them under different ecological and environmental threats. Urban heat island (UHI) is one such critical ecological hazard, whereby an urban area is experiencing higher land surface temperature (LST) as compared to the surrounding rural area. In the present study, the relationship of LST and surface urban heat island (SUHI) with the degree of impervious surface (IS) and green spaces (GS) in four rapidly growing Indian cities is presented. This study utilizes different geospatial techniques, including urban-rural gradient analysis, surface urban heat island estimation using Landsat OLI/TIRS data. The results signify a strong negative correlation of LST with the IS for Ahmedabad, Jodhpur, and Nagpur, while a positive correlation is seen over Guwahati. The negative correlation is the manifestation of the urban cool island, pertaining to higher LST over rural areas. On the other hand, Guwahati is surrounded by green vegetation, which provides natural cooling and thus lowers the LST, resulting in positive SUHI. The density of GS is found to be a significant contributor of SUHI in Guwahati city, whereas in the other three cities, its impact is insignificant due to its presence in very less amount in rural surroundings.
In a rapidly warming world, sustainable cooling is directly related to the protection of fresh and nutritious food, medicines, and the population from extreme heat for work conditions, the economic productivity of the working population, and income generation. This study aimed to understand how rural communities are meeting their nutrition, livelihood, health, living space, and mobility requirements regarding the role of cooling. We selected three villages as case studies in Maharashtra, India and conducted household surveys, in-depth interviews of key informants, focus group discussions (FGDs), and social mapping building typology study. The objective was to assess the rural community cooling to propose a community cooling hub (CCH) framework that could be economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable for the three villages. Our study showed that agriculture, dairy, buildings (domestic and commercial), and healthcare require cooling intervention in the studied communities. Based on the needs assessment for cooling, we proposed a CCH framework to provide cooling solutions in an integrated system for rural contexts.
Extreme heat and heat waves have been established as disasters which can lead to a great loss of life. Several studies over the years, both within and outside of India, have shown how extreme heat events lead to an overall increase in mortality. However, the impact of extreme heat, similar to other disasters, depends upon the vulnerability of the population. This study aims to assess the extreme heat vulnerability of the population of four cities with different characteristics across India. This cross-sectional study included 500 households from each city across the urban localities (both slum and non-slum) of Ongole in Andhra Pradesh, Karimnagar in Telangana, Kolkata in West Bengal and Angul in Odisha. Twenty-one indicators were used to construct a household vulnerability index to understand the vulnerability of the cities. The results have shown that the majority of the households fell under moderate to high vulnerability level across all the cities. Angul and Kolkata were found to be more highly vulnerable as compared to Ongole and Karimnagar. Further analysis also revealed that household vulnerability is more significantly related to adaptive capacity than sensitivity and exposure. Heat Vulnerability Index can help in identifying the vulnerable population and scaling up adaptive practices.
Climate change and rapid urbanization currently pose major challenges for equitable development in megacities of the Global South, such as Delhi, India. This study considers how urban social inequities are distributed in terms of burdens and benefits by quantifying exposure through an urban heat risk index (UHRI), and proximity to greenspace through the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), at the ward level in Delhi. Landsat derived remote sensing imagery for May and September 2011 is used in a sensitivity analysis of varying seasonal exposure. Multivariable models based on generalized estimating equations (GEEs) reveal significant statistical associations (p < 0.05) between UHRI/NDVI and several indicators of social vulnerability. For example, the proportions of children (β = 0.922, p = 0.024) and agricultural workers (β = 0.394, p = 0.016) are positively associated with the May UHRI, while the proportions of households with assets (β = -1.978, p = 0.017) and households with electricity (β = -0.605, p = 0.010) are negatively associated with the May UHRI. In contrast, the proportions of children (β = 0.001, p = 0.633) and agricultural workers (β = 0.002, p = 0.356) are not significantly associated with the May NDVI, while the proportions of households with assets (β = 0.013, p = 0.010) and those with electricity (β = 0.008, p = 0.006) are positively associated with the May NDVI. Our findings emphasize the need for future research and policies to consider how socially vulnerable groups are inequitably exposed to the impact of climate change-related urban heat without the mitigating effects of greenspace.
The combined effects of global warming, urbanization, and demographic change influence climate risk for urban populations, particularly in metropolitan areas with developing economies. To inform climate change adaptation and spatial planning, it is important to study urban climatic hazards and populations at risk in relation to urban growth trends and development patterns. However, this relationship has not been adequately investigated in studies dedicated to climate vulnerability. This study identifies the typologies of development patterns within Lahore, Pakistan, investigates the heat vulnerability of residents at a neighborhood scale, and establishes a relationship between both of these factors. We identified urban clusters with diverse development patterns. Fourteen context- and site-specific indicators were selected to construct a human heat vulnerability index. Weighted sum, cluster analysis, and ANOVA test of variance were conducted to analyze the data. Our results demonstrate that development patterns significantly influence human vulnerability to heat stress, e.g., vulnerability is higher in older cities and undeveloped neighborhoods with less diverse land uses. These findings are essential for informing policy-makers, decision-makers and spatial planners about proactive adaptation planning in dynamic urban environments.
We examine the impact of flooding in Pakistan on child health using satellite data and two household datasets. Flooding may influence child health, as measured by weight-for-height z-score, through two key channels. First, excessive flood waters can catalyze the spread of diarrheal disease, negatively impacting child health. Second, excessive flood waters – even when damaging in some areas – provide water to rice paddies and other agriculture, increasing food availability in the post-flood period. This may positively influence child health. In Pakistan, we find evidence of both channels: floods increase incidence of morbidity (diarrhea and fever) as well as meal frequency in the post flood season. We also find that floods increase dietary diversity, but only in districts with high rice harvesting intensity where flooding may predict favorable growing conditions. Because these mechanisms (disease incidence and dietary adequacy) act against one another, we find weak overall impact of floods on child health. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
We examined the extent to which cities’ climate change adaptation plans, in U.S. cities broadly and in shrinking cities, discuss health equity/justice, including injustices related to green spaces. Using content analysis of 88 cities’ climate change adaptation plans, we coded for health, equity/justice, parks/green space, and joint usage of these terms. We made comparisons of keyword usage between shrinking and non-shrinking cities to examine how shrinking cities-with overlapping vulnerabilities and industrial legacies-differ from stronger market cities. Although health (97%) and equity/justice (81%) were common, only half of the cities discussed health and equity/justice concurrently, with overrepresentation from shrinking cities. Parks/green space were discussed alongside these themes in 28% of cities. Health equity emerged more in shrinking cities and recent plans (e.g., since 2018), suggesting recent shifts toward equity. Many cities vaguely described health equity solutions, necessitating clearer solutions for injustices, including parks/green space as climate adaptation and health infrastructure.
Climate change is reshaping the geostrategic, operational, and tactical environments with significant implications for U.S. national security and defense. Increasing temperatures; changing precipitation patterns; and more frequent, intense, and unpredictable extreme weather conditions caused by climate change are exacerbating existing risks and creating new security challenges for U.S. interests. The risks of climate change to Department of Defense (DoD) strategies, plans, capabilities, missions, and equipment, as well as those of U.S. allies and partners, are growing. Global efforts to address climate change – including actions to address the causes as well as the effects – will influence DoD strategic interests, relationships, competition, and priorities. To train, fight, and win in this increasingly complex environment, DoD will consider the effects of climate change at every level of the DoD enterprise. The DoD Climate Risk Analysis (DCRA) responds to requirements specified in Executive Order (EO) 14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.” The DCRA is organized as follows:
– Section I introduces key security implications of climate change to DoD, including DoD’s role supporting whole-of-government and international efforts in concert with allies and partners.
– Section II reviews DoD climate policy and responsibilities, highlighting key documents.
– Section III presents a review of climate hazards, risks, and security implications. Sections on specific regions have been identified as Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and not releasable to the public. These sections were removed to allow this to be a publicly-releasable document.
– Section IV outlines how DoD will incorporate consideration of climate into relevant strategy, planning, and processes.
– Section V describes interagency scientific and intelligence products and experts, which could support future analyses of climate risk, as well as expected funding for exercises, wargames, analyses, and studies related to climate change.
– Section VI concludes the DCRA.
The DCRA is an important step towards integration of climate change considerations at DoD. To understand specific climate effects on plans, resourcing, operations, and missions, DoD Components will include climate considerations in relevant risk analyses, leveraging high-quality data, scenarios, and analytical tools tailored to DoD needs. Working within the whole-of-government, and in coordination with allies and partners, DoD will strive to prevent, mitigate, account for, and respond to defense and security risks associated with climate change.
Climate change education in advanced practice registered nursing curricula prepares nurse practitioners to respond to the health effects of climate change. Knowledge of the relationship between human and environmental health is essential for nurse practitioners to identify, teach, and respond to the health effects of climate change in clinical and community settings. This article describes a webinar hosted by the Sarah P. Duke Gardens in partnership with the Duke University School of Nursing. Our webinar provided an opportunity for attendees to understand how gardening can mitigate climate change, the important relationship between human and environmental health, and nurses’ role in climate crisis.(c) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The Urban Climate and Resiliency-Science Working Group (i.e., The WG) was convened in the summer of 2018 to explore the scientific grand challenges related to climate resiliency of cities. The WG leveraged the presentations at the 10th International Conference on Urban Climate (ICUC10) held in New York City (NYC) on 6–10 August 2018 as input forum. ICUC10 was a collaboration between the International Association of Urban Climate, American Meteorological Society, and World Meteorological Organization. It attracted more than 600 participants from more than 50 countries, resulting in close to 700 oral and poster presentations under the common theme of “Sustainable & Resilient Urban Environments”. ICUC10 covered topics related to urban climate and weather processes with far-reaching implications to weather forecasting, climate change adaptation, air quality, health, energy, urban planning, and governance. This article provides a synthesis of the analysis of the current state of the art and of the recommendations of the WG for future research along each of the four Grand Challenges in the context of urban climate and weather resiliency; Modeling, Observations, Cyber-Informatics, and Knowledge Transfer & Applications.
How do older people’s living environments influence their vulnerabilities to climate change? Much has been written about the physiological consequences of climate change for older individuals, particularly the dangers of increased incidence of severe heat. Less is known about how older people’s residential settings moderate their exposure to climate stressors, their particular sensitivities to the effects of climate change, or their capacities to respond to extreme events or adapt to long-term environmental changes. Drawing on literature in English, with a focus on work relevant to the United States, we examine how the housing, neighborhood, and urban or rural contexts in which older people live shape their experiences of climate change, moderating their exposure to risks related to climate change, sensitivity to those events and trends, and their capacities to adapt and recover. Older people face multiple life changes, making prioritizing climate readiness more challenging. They are also diverse, with different vulnerabilities and perceptions of risks and the ability to manage them. This paper lays out an agenda where additional research can inform policy and planning efforts aimed at reducing older individuals’ risk and building the capacity to adapt to climate change. The agenda includes understanding specific vulnerabilities and how older people and their housing providers are already responding.
The concept of biophilic urban planning has inspired neighborhood greening projects in many older urban communities in the USA and beyond. The strengths (e.g., environmental management, biodiversity, heat island mitigation) and challenges (e.g., greenwashing, green gentrification) of such projects are well-documented. Additional research on the relationship between these projects and various social factors (e.g., public perceptions, feelings, and mental health and well-being) is necessary to better understand how people adapt to said projects while struggling to navigate other more pressing socioeconomic issues, especially in communities facing environmental injustice and health inequity. In this article, we focus on one aspect of biophilic urban planning-green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) (e.g., rain gardens, bio-swales, pervious pavements, and wildflower meadows)-in Waterfront South, a post-industrial neighborhood in Camden, NJ, USA, where residents have faced environmental injustices for decades. Our qualitative analysis of in-depth semi-structured interviews of sixteen residents offered a thorough insight into their perceptions and emotions regarding different types of urban GSI projects. Residents acknowledge the many benefits that GSI offers to combat the neighborhood’s social and environmental injustices, but they are cautious about the possibility of some projects prompting new issues and concerns within the community. Our findings reveal potential implications in GSI planning, research, and practice in this neighborhood and similar urban places elsewhere that have yet to undergo gentrification.
BACKGROUND: Despite having the tools at our disposal to enable an adequate food supply for all people, inequities in food acquisition, distribution, and most importantly, food sovereignty, worsen food insecurity. The detrimental impact of climate change on food systems and mental health is further exacerbated by a lack of food sovereignty. We urgently require innovative solutions to enable food sovereignty, minimize food insecurity, and address climate change-related mental distress (ie, solastalgia). Indigenous communities have a wealth of Traditional Knowledge for climate change adaptation and preparedness to strengthen food systems. Traditional Knowledge combined with Western methods can revolutionize ethical data collection, engagement, and knowledge mobilization. OBJECTIVE: The Food Equity and Environmental Data Sovereignty (FEEDS) Project takes a participatory action, citizen science approach for early detection and warning of climate change impacts on food sovereignty, food security, and solastalgia. The aim of this project is to develop and implement a sustainable digital platform that enables real-time decision-making to mitigate climate change-related impacts on food systems and mental well-being. METHODS: Citizen science enables citizens to actively contribute to all aspects of the research process. The FEEDS Project is being implemented in five phases: participatory project planning, digital climate change platform customization, community-led evaluation, digital platform and project refinement, and integrated knowledge translation. The project is governed by a Citizen Scientist Advisory Council comprising Elders, Traditional Knowledge Keepers, key community decision makers, youth, and FEEDS Project researchers. The Council governs all phases of the project, including coconceptualizing a climate change platform, which consists of a smartphone app and a digital decision-making dashboard. Apart from capturing environmental and health-related big data (eg, weather, permafrost degradation, fire hazards, and human movement), the custom-built app uses artificial intelligence to engage and enable citizens to report on environmental hazards, changes in biodiversity or wildlife, and related food and mental health issues in their communities. The app provides citizens with valuable information to mitigate health-related risks and relays big data in real time to a digital dashboard. RESULTS: This project is currently in phase 1, with the subarctic Métis jurisdiction of Île-à-la-Crosse, Saskatchewan, Canada. CONCLUSIONS: The FEEDS Project facilitates Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination, governance, and data sovereignty. All citizen data are anonymous and encrypted, and communities have ownership, access, control, and possession of their data. The digital dashboard system provides decision makers with real-time data, thereby increasing the capacity to self-govern. The participatory action research approach, combined with digital citizen science, advances the cocreation of knowledge and multidisciplinary collaboration in the digital age. Given the urgency of climate change, leveraging technology provides communities with tools to respond to existing and emerging crises in a timely manner, as well as scientific evidence regarding the urgency of current health and environmental issues. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/31389.
Widespread implementation of nature-based solutions like green infrastructure, provides a multi-functional strategy to increase climate resilience, enhance ecological connectivity, create healthier communities, and support sustainable urban development. This paper presents a decision-support framework to facilitate adoption of green infrastructure within communities using the Climate Change Local Adaptation Action Model (CCLAAM) developed for this purpose. It also presents an ecosystems-based approach to bridging the gap between climate change mitigation and adaptation actions in Ontario, Canada. Green infrastructure could be a viable strategy to address multiple climate change impacts and support the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Climate change adaptation is an increasingly important topic addressed in the face of the current and expected future impacts by climate change that the social, economic and ecological systems are experiencing worldwide. Despite the advances reported in the literature, adaptation to climate change is still considered a challenge to move from planning to the practical implementation of successful interventions. In this regard, identifying international key barriers, exchanges of experiences and lessons learned may facilitate the progress of the coasts’ sustainable and resilient future. The coast of Mexico is an excellent study area. High population densities occur along the coastal zone, whose main economic activity is related to primary and tertiary sectors. Additionally, a great diversity of coastal ecosystems exists, which are threatened by anthropogenic and hydrometeorological impacts. Under these circumstances, the population is becoming aware of the urgent need to adapt to the consequences of climate change. In this sense, this paper reviews research contributions concerning population perception to climate change and adaptation strategies in Mexico’s coastal zone. The findings highlight critical institutional difficulties and social barriers that have impeded the effective implementation of adaptation strategies to climate change in Mexico and consider steps to address them. However, adaptation strategies that show the prevention culture of some coastal communities have been found and also results of successful projects carried out, especially on mangrove forest and coral reef restoration, which are of essential importance to consider to progress on the path of a successful adaptation to climate change in Mexico.
Excess phosphorus loading to waterbodies has led to increasing frequency and severity of harmful algal blooms, negatively impacting economic activity and human health. While interventions to improve water quality can create large societal benefits, these investments are costly and the value of benefits is often unknown. Understanding the social and economic impacts of reduced phosphorus loading is critical for developing effective land use policies and for generating public and political support for these initiatives. Here, we quantify the social benefits and costs of improving water quality in Lake Champlain under a range of phosphorus reduction and climate change scenarios between 2016 and 2050. We use statistical models to link water quality outputs from an established integrated assessment model with three categories of benefits: tourism expenditures, property sales, and avoided human health impacts. We estimate the costs of reducing phosphorus loading using data reported by the State of Vermont. We find that under the most aggressive phosphorus reduction scenario, the total benefits of improved water quality are $55 to $60 million between 2016 and 2050. Over this 35 year time horizon, the combined benefits do not outweigh the costs under any scenario. If the time horizon is extended to 2100 or beyond, however, the benefits may exceed the costs if the applied discount rate is less than 3%. Importantly, we almost certainly underestimate the value of clean water, due to the omission of other types of benefits. Despite this uncertainty, our study provides a tractable framework for disentangling the complex relationships between water quality and human well-being, and illuminates the value of reductions in phosphorus loading to society.
The health benefits of green space are well known, but the health effects of green infrastructure less so. Green infrastructure goes well beyond the presence of green space and refers more to a strategically planned network of natural and seminatural areas, with other environmental features designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services and possibly to improve human health. In this narrative review, we found that small green infrastructure, such as green roofs and walls, has the potential to mitigate urban flooding, attenuate indoor temperatures and heat islands, improve air quality, and muffle noise, among other benefits, but these effects have not been linked directly to health. Larger green infrastructure has been associated with reduced temperatures, air pollution, and crimes and violence, but less so with health, although some evidence suggests that it may be beneficial for health (e.g., good health, decreased mortality). Finally, parks and street trees show many health benefits, but it is not clear if they can always be considered green infrastructure.
BACKGROUND: British Columbia, Canada, was impacted by a record-setting heat dome in early summer 2021. Most households in greater Vancouver do not have air conditioning, and there was a 440% increase in community deaths during the event. Readily available data were analyzed to inform modifications to the public health response during subsequent events in summer 2021 and to guide further research. METHODS: The 434 community deaths from 27 June through 02 July 2021 (heat dome deaths) were compared with all 1,367 community deaths that occurred in the same region from 19 June through 09 July of 2013-2020 (typical weather deaths). Conditional logistic regression was used to examine the effects of age, sex, neighborhood deprivation, and the surrounding environment. Data available from homes with and without air conditioning were also used to illustrate the indoor temperatures differences. RESULTS: A combined index of material and social deprivation was most predictive of heat dome risk, with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.88 [1.85, 4.49] for the most deprived category. Heat dome deaths also had lower greenness within 100 m than typical weather deaths. Indoor temperatures in one illustrative home without air conditioning ranged between 30°C and 40°C. CONCLUSIONS: Risk of death during the heat dome was associated with deprivation, lower neighborhood greenness, older age, and sex. High indoor temperatures likely played an important role. Public health response should focus on highly deprived neighborhoods with low air conditioning prevalence during extreme heat events. Promotion of urban greenspace must continue as the climate changes.
Extreme heat events are becoming more frequent and more severe in the Pacific Northwest and in comparable dry-summer climates worldwide, increasing the occurrence of heat-related illness and death. Much of this risk is attributed to overheating in multifamily dwellings, particularly in neighborhoods with abundant asphalt, few trees, and limited financial resources. Air-conditioning expansion is problematic, however, because it creates vulnerability to operational costs and power outages, while expelled hot air intensifies urban heat island effects. In contrast, passive cooling strategies that deflect solar radiation and recruit the cool night air typical of Mediterranean, semi-arid, and arid climates are quite promising, but their abilities to improve residential survivability during extreme heat have not yet been explored. To understand this potential, here we investigate the extent to which well-controlled shading and natural ventilation, in some cases with fan assistance, could have diminished the hours in which indoor heat index levels exceeded ‘caution’, ‘extreme caution’, ‘danger’, and ‘extreme danger’ thresholds during the June 2021 heat wave in the Pacific Northwest; building thermal performance was simulated in EnergyPlus under conditions experienced by Vancouver BC, Seattle WA, Spokane WA, Portland OR, and Eugene OR. Strikingly, we find that in Portland, where the highest temperatures occurred, integrated shading and natural ventilation eliminated all hours above the danger threshold during the 3-day event, lowering peak indoor air temperatures by approximately 14 degrees C (25 degrees F); without cooling, all 72h exceeded this threshold. During the encompassing 10-day period, these passive measures provided 130-150h of thermal relief; baseline conditions without cooling provided none. Additionally, passive cooling reduced active cooling loads by up to 80%. Together, these results show the immediate, substantial value of requiring effective operable shading and secure operable windows in apartments in mild dry-summer climates with rising heatwave intensity, as well as public health messaging to support the productive operation of these elements.
Rising global temperatures and the urban heat island effect can amplify heat-related health risks to urban res-idents. Cities are considering various heat adaptation actions to improve public health, enhance social equity, and cope with future conditions beyond past experience. We present the City-Heat Equity Adaptation Tool (City -HEAT), which suggests optimal investments for mitigating urban heat and reducing health impacts through modifications of built (cool roofs/pavements) and natural (urban afforestation) environments and reductions of people’s heat exposure (cooling centers). The optimization considers multiple public health and social objectives under a wide range of future scenarios. An application to Baltimore, MD (USA) demonstrates how City-HEAT can generate Pareto-efficient multi-year heat adaptation plans. We quantify effectiveness-efficiency-equity tradeoffs among alternative plans and show the advantages of flexible decision-making. City-HEAT can be adapted to the natural, built, and social environments of other cities to support their urban heat adaptation planning, recog-nizing local objectives and uncertainty.
Although research indicates health and well-being benefits of greenspace, little is known regarding how greenspace may influence adaptation to health risks from heat, particularly how these risks change over time. Using daily hospitalization rates of Medicare beneficiaries ≥65 years for 2000-2016 in 40 U.S. Northeastern urban counties, we assessed how temperature-related hospitalizations from cardiovascular causes (CVD) and heat stroke (HS) changed over time. We analyzed effect modification of those temporal changes by Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), approximating greenspace. We used a two-stage analysis including a generalized additive model and meta-analysis. Results showed that relative risk (RR) (per 1 °C increase in lag0-3 temperature) for temperature-HS hospitalization was higher in counties with the lowest quartile EVI (RR = 2.7, 95% CI: 2.0, 3.4) compared to counties with the highest quartile EVI (RR = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.14, 1.13) in the early part of the study period (2000-2004). RR of HS decreased to 0.88 (95% CI: 0.31, 2.53) in 2013-2016 in counties with the lowest quartile EVI. RR for HS changed over time in counties in the highest quartile EVI, with RRs of 0.4 (95% CI: -0.7, 1.4) in 2000-2004 and 2.4 (95% CI: 1.6, 3.2) in 2013-2016. Findings suggest that adaptation to heat-health associations vary by greenness. Greenspace may help lower risks from heat but such health risks warrant continuous local efforts such as heat-health plans.
Cooling centers have played a significant role in reducing the risks of adverse health impacts of extreme heat exposure. However, there have been no comparative studies investigating cooling center preparedness in terms of population coverage, location efficiency, and population coverage disparities among different subpopulation groups. Using a catchment area method with a 0.8 km walking distance, we compared three aspects of cooling center preparedness across twenty-five cities in the U.S. We first calculated the percentage of the population covered by a single cooling center for each city. Then, the extracted values were separately compared to the city’s heat indexes, latitudes, and spatial patterns of cooling centers. Finally, we investigated population coverage disparities among multiple demographics (age, race/ethnicity) and socioeconomic (insurance, poverty) subpopulation groups by comparing the percentage of population coverage between selected subpopulation groups and reference subpopulation groups. Our results showed that cooler cities, higher latitude cities, and cities with dispersed cooling centers tend to be more prepared than warmer cities, lower latitude cities, and cities with clustered cooling centers across the U.S. Moreover, older people (≥65) had 9% lower population coverage than younger people (≤64). Our results suggest that the placement of future cooling centers should consider both the location of other nearby cooling centers and the spatial distribution of subpopulations to maximize population coverage and reduce access disparities among several subpopulations.
A wet-bulb temperature of 35°C has been theorized to be the limit to human adaptability to extreme heat, a growing concern in the face of continued and predicted accelerated climate change. Although this theorized threshold is based in physiological principles, it has not been tested using empirical data. This study examined the critical wet-bulb temperature (T(wb,crit)) at which heat stress becomes uncompensable in young, healthy adults performing tasks at modest metabolic rates mimicking basic activities of daily life. Across six experimentally determined environmental limits, no subject’s T(wb,crit) reached the 35°C limit and all means were significantly lower than the theoretical 35°C threshold. Mean T(wb,crit) values were relatively constant across 36°C -40°C humid environments and averaged 30.55 ± 0.98°C but progressively decreased (higher deviation from 35°C) in hotter, dry ambient environments. T(wb,crit) was significantly associated with mean skin temperature (and a faster warming rate of the skin) due to larger increases in dry heat gain in the hot-dry environments. As sweat rates did not significantly differ among experimental environments, evaporative cooling was outpaced by dry heat gain in hot-dry conditions, causing larger deviations from the theoretical 35°C adaptability threshold. In summary, a wet-bulb temperature threshold cannot be applied to human adaptability across all climatic conditions and where appropriate (high humidity), that threshold is well below 35°C.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study is the first to use empirical physiological observations to examine the well-publicized theoretical 35°C wet-bulb temperature limit for human to extreme environments. We find that uncompensable heat stress in humid environments occurs in young, healthy adults at wet-bulb temperatures significantly lower than 35°C. In addition, uncompensable heat stress occurs at widely different wet-bulb temperatures as a function of ambient vapor pressure.
In this study, we examine how climatic heat stress can be mediated by green infrastructure outcomes and how energy justice effort contributes to health adaptation within the U.S. Great Lakes regions and their primary metropolitan areas over a recent 10-year period (2005–2015). Through the lens of policy innovation and the vulnerability-readiness nexus, we explore how climate policy intervention contributes to the mitigation of heat stress by using a quantitative approach. Empirical results suggest that green infrastructure outcomes and energy justice efforts have the potential to mitigate heat stress and enhance health adaptation. Additional results reflect that climate policy innovation and readiness efforts were viable factors in health adaptation to heat events.
OBJECTIVES: To derive an empirical model for the impact of aerobic fitness (maximal oxygen consumption; V̇O(2max) in mL∙kg(-1)∙min(-1)) on physical work capacity (PWC) in the heat. DESIGN: Prospective, repeated measures. METHODS: Total work completed during 1 h of treadmill walking at a fixed heart rate of 130 b∙min(-1) was assessed in 19 young adult males across a variety of warm and hot climate types, characterised by wet-bulb globe temperatures (WBGT) ranging from 12 to 40 °C. For data presentation and obtaining initial parameter estimates for modelling, participants were grouped into low (n = 6, 74 trials), moderate (n = 8, 76 trials), and high (n = 5, 29 trials) fitness, with group mean V̇O(2max) 42, 52, and 64 mL∙kg(-1)∙min(-1)(,) respectively. For the heated conditions (WBGT 18 to 40 °C), we calculated PWC% by expressing total energy expenditure (kJ above resting) in each trial relative to that achieved in a cool reference condition (WBGT = 12 °C = 100% PWC). RESULTS: The relative reduction in energy expenditure (PWC%) caused by heat was significantly smaller by up to 16% for the fit participants compared to those with lower aerobic capacity. V̇O(2max) also modulated the relationship between sweat rate and body temperature changes to increasing WBGT. Including individual V̇O(2max) data in the PWC prediction model increased the predicting power by 4%. CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating individual V̇O(2max) improved the predictive power of the heat stress index WBGT for Physical Work Capacity in the heat. The largest impact of V̇O(2max) on PWC was observed at a WBGT between 25 and 35 °C.
BACKGROUND: Latinx children in the United States are at high risk for nature-deficit disorder, heat-related illness, and physical inactivity. We developed the Green Schoolyards Project to investigate how green features-trees, gardens, and nature trails-in school parks impact heat index (i.e., air temperature and relative humidity) within parks, and physical activity levels and socioemotional well-being of these children. Herein, we present novel methods for a) observing children’s interaction with green features and b) measuring heat index and children’s behaviors in a natural setting, and a selection of baseline results. METHODS: During two September weeks (high temperature) and one November week (moderate temperature) in 2019, we examined three joint-use elementary school parks in Central Texas, United States, serving predominantly low-income Latinx families. To develop thermal profiles for each park, we installed 10 air temperature/relative humidity sensors per park, selecting sites based on land cover, land use, and even spatial coverage. We measured green features within a geographic information system. In a cross-sectional study, we used an adapted version of System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) to assess children’s physical activity levels and interactions with green features. In a cohort study, we equipped 30 3rd and 30 4th grade students per school during recess with accelerometers and Global Positioning System devices, and surveyed these students regarding their connection to nature. Baseline analyses included inverse distance weighting for thermal profiles and summing observed counts of children interacting with trees. RESULTS: In September 2019, average daily heat index ranged 2.0 °F among park sites, and maximum daily heat index ranged from 103.4 °F (air temperature = 33.8 °C; relative humidity = 55.2%) under tree canopy to 114.1 °F (air temperature = 37.9 °C; relative humidity = 45.2%) on an unshaded playground. 10.8% more girls and 25.4% more boys interacted with trees in September than in November. CONCLUSIONS: We found extreme heat conditions at select sites within parks, and children positioning themselves under trees during periods of high heat index. These methods can be used by public health researchers and practitioners to inform the redesign of greenspaces in the face of climate change and health inequities.
Concurrent with a rapid rise in temperatures within US cities, the frequency of regional electric grid system failures is also rising in recent decades, resulting in a growing number of blackouts during periods of extreme heat. As mechanical air conditioning is a primary adaptive technology for managing rising temperatures in cities, we examine in this paper the impact of a prolonged blackout on heat exposure in residential structures during heat wave conditions, when air conditioning is most critical to human health. Our approach combines a regional climate modeling system with a building energy model to simulate how a concurrent heat wave and grid failure event impacts residential building-interior temperatures across Phoenix. Our results find a substantial increase in heat exposure across residential buildings in response to the loss of electrical power and mechanical cooling systems, with such an event potentially exposing more than one million residents to hazardous levels of heat. We further find the installation of cool roofing to measurably lower the risk of extreme heat exposure for residents of single-story structures.
The urban heat island (UHI) effect is caused by intensive development practices in cities and the diminished presence of green space that results. The evolution of these phenomena has occurred over many decades. In many cities, historic zoning and redlining practices barred Black and minority groups from moving into predominately white areas and obtaining financial resources, a practice that still affects cities today, and has forced these already disadvantaged groups to live in some of the hottest areas. In this study, we used a new dataset on the spatial distribution of temperature during a heat wave in Richmond, Virginia to investigate potential associations between extreme heat and current and historical demographic, socioeconomic, and land use factors. We assessed these data at the census block level to determine if blocks with large differences in temperature also had significant variation in these covariates. The amount of canopy cover, percent impervious surface, and poverty level were all shown to be strong correlates of UHI when analyzed in conjunction with afternoon temperatures. We also found strong associations of historical policies and planning decisions with temperature using data from the University of Richmond’s Digital Scholarship Lab’s “Mapping Inequality” project. Finally, the Church Hill area of the city provided an interesting case study due to recent data suggesting the area’s gentrification. Differences in demographics, socioeconomic factors, and UHI were observed between north and (more gentrified) south Church Hill. Both in Church Hill and in Richmond overall, our research found that areas occupied by people of low socioeconomic status or minority groups disproportionately experienced extreme heat and corresponding impacts on health and quality of life.
This paper presents findings from an online survey that explored public experiences of wildfire smoke, public health advisory information, risk perceptions, and protective actions in response to wildfire smoke in western Canada. Most respondents had wildfire smoke experiences lasting several days with decreased visibility, and many had difficulty breathing and changes to their health. While a majority of respondents were aware of the Air Quality Health Index and how to respond on a high risk day, some did not. Most respondents perceived the risk from wildfire smoke during their most recent experience to be extreme, severe, or moderate, with only 20% perceiving low risk from wildfire smoke. Wildfire smoke experiences affected risk perceptions, and female respondents perceived the risk from wildfire smoke to be higher in comparison to male respondents. Most respondents took protective actions during their most recent exposure to wildfire smoke, with the most popular measures including keeping windows and doors shut, and limiting time spent outdoors. Perceptions of wildfire smoke risks, experiencing health impacts from wildfire smoke, sex and highest level of education, and firefighting experience influenced protective actions. Recommendations to improve public health during wildfire smoke events and future research are included.
Indigenous people are among the populations most vulnerable to climate change. However, indigenous societies’ potential contributions to addressing climate change and related issues of food security are vast but poorly recognized. The objective of this report is to inform the nutrition and public health communities about the potential contributions of ancient Andean technologies to address these contemporary challenges. Our research examines these ancient farming technologies within the frame of climate change and dietary potential. Specifically, we focus on 4 technologies derived from 3 case studies from Ecuador. These technologies were analyzed using evidence mainly of adaptation to climate change in indigenous-based agriculture. Our examination of these technologies suggests they could be effective mechanisms for adapting to climate change and protecting food sovereignty. Thus, although highly vulnerable to climate change, indigenous peoples in the Andes should also be seen as “agents of change.”
Climate change has been recognised as a multiplier of risk factors affecting public health. Disruptions caused by natural disasters and other climate-driven impacts are placing increasing demands on healthcare systems. These, in turn, impact the wellness and performance of healthcare workers (HCWs) and hinder the accessibility, functionality and safety of healthcare systems. This study explored factors influencing HCWs’ disaster management capabilities with the aim of improving their resilience and adaptive capacity in the face of climate change. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirteen HCWs who dealt with disasters within two hospitals in Queensland, Australia. Analysis of the results identified two significant themes, HCWs’ disaster education and HCWs’ wellness and needs. The latter comprised five subthemes: HCWs’ fear and vulnerability, doubts and uncertainty, competing priorities, resilience and adaptation, and needs assessment. This study developed an ‘HCWs Resilience Toolkit’, which encourages mindfulness amongst leaders, managers and policymakers about supporting four priority HCWs’ needs: ‘Wellness’, ‘Education’, ‘Resources’ and ‘Communication’. The authors focused on the ‘Education’ component to detail recommended training for each of the pre-disaster, mid-disaster and post-disaster phases. The authors conclude the significance of the toolkit, which provides a timely contribution to the healthcare sector amidst ongoing adversity.
Amazonia and the Northeast region of Brazil exhibit the highest levels of climate vulnerability in the country. While Amazonia is characterized by an extremely hot and humid climate and hosts the world largest rainforest, the Northeast is home to sharp climatic contrasts, ranging from rainy areas along the coast to semiarid regions that are often affected by droughts. Both regions are subject to extremely high temperatures and are susceptible to many tropical diseases. This study develops a multidimensional Extreme Climate Vulnerability Index (ECVI) for Brazilian Amazonia and the Northeast region based on the Alkire-Foster method. Vulnerability is defined by three components, encompassing exposure (proxied by seven climate extreme indicators), susceptibility (proxied by sociodemographic indicators), and adaptive capacity (proxied by sanitation conditions, urbanization rate, and healthcare provision). In addition to the estimated vulnerability levels and intensity, we break down the ECVI by indicators, dimensions, and regions, in order to explore how the incidence levels of climate-sensitive infectious and parasitic diseases correlate with regional vulnerability. We use the Grade of Membership method to reclassify the mesoregions into homoclimatic zones based on extreme climatic events, so climate and population/health data can be analyzed at comparable resolutions. We find two homoclimatic zones: Extreme Rain (ER) and Extreme Drought and High Temperature (ED-HT). Vulnerability is higher in the ED-HT areas than in the ER. The contribution of each dimension to overall vulnerability levels varies by homoclimatic zone. In the ER zone, adaptive capacity (39%) prevails as the main driver of vulnerability among the three dimensions, in contrast with the approximately even dimensional contribution in the ED-HT. When we compare areas by disease incidence levels, exposure emerges as the most influential dimension. Our results suggest that climate can exacerbate existing infrastructure deficiencies and socioeconomic conditions that are correlated with tropical disease incidence in impoverished areas.
BACKGROUND: Minimum mortality temperature (MMT) is an important indicator to assess the temperature-mortality association, indicating long-term adaptation to local climate. Limited evidence about the geographical variability of the MMT is available at a global scale. METHODS: We collected data from 658 communities in 43 countries under different climates. We estimated temperature-mortality associations to derive the MMT for each community using Poisson regression with distributed lag nonlinear models. We investigated the variation in MMT by climatic zone using a mixed-effects meta-analysis and explored the association with climatic and socioeconomic indicators. RESULTS: The geographical distribution of MMTs varied considerably by country between 14.2 and 31.1 °C decreasing by latitude. For climatic zones, the MMTs increased from alpine (13.0 °C) to continental (19.3 °C), temperate (21.7 °C), arid (24.5 °C), and tropical (26.5 °C). The MMT percentiles (MMTPs) corresponding to the MMTs decreased from temperate (79.5th) to continental (75.4th), arid (68.0th), tropical (58.5th), and alpine (41.4th). The MMTs indreased by 0.8 °C for a 1 °C rise in a community’s annual mean temperature, and by 1 °C for a 1 °C rise in its SD. While the MMTP decreased by 0.3 centile points for a 1 °C rise in a community’s annual mean temperature and by 1.3 for a 1 °C rise in its SD. CONCLUSIONS: The geographical distribution of the MMTs and MMTPs is driven mainly by the mean annual temperature, which seems to be a valuable indicator of overall adaptation across populations. Our results suggest that populations have adapted to the average temperature, although there is still more room for adaptation.
Food choice impacts human health and planetary sustainability. The feeding patterns that reduce risk factors for noncommunicable diseases and various mortality causes are recognized as healthy eating habits. The average world population is far from reaching these habits due to the lack of access to healthy foods and a high prevalence of malnutrition. Understanding the impact of healthy sustainable food systems is growing worldwide to reach food security for the global population and future generations. A systemic perspective of this concept includes the health and well-being of individuals and the environmental, economic, socio-cultural, public policies context, besides food, agriculture, and ecological sciences. We need to confront the menaces and challenges represented by the ongoing changes of our era, which strongly generate global food insecurity. This issue is relevant not only for human health but also for climate change and other threats, based on modifications in production, handling, and consumption of foods that consider health and welfare impact at individual and planetary levels. In this review, some key concepts related to healthy and sustainable food systems are presented.
BACKGROUND: The relationship between climate adaptation strategies and nutrition security is poorly understood and often unclear. Although several adaptation strategies have been implemented to mitigate the impact of climate change, there is still a lack of conclusive evidence or studies on the interrelationships between adopted climate change adaptation strategies and nutrition outcomes. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop a conceptual framework that links climate change, adaptation strategies and nutrition and to show the indicators that can be used to assess the impact of climate adaptation strategies on nutrition. METHODOLOGY: The proposed conceptual framework was developed through a literature review. RESULTS: A generic conceptual framework that could be used to assess the impact of adopted climate change adaptation strategies on nutrition outcomes was developed. The framework consists of 5 key elements: agro-food system, context characteristics, adaptation strategies, climatic shocks and stress, and system output. The principles used in designing the conceptual framework include systems approach, contingency theory, and system output. CONCLUSION: The developed framework offers a channel to evaluate adopted climate change adaptation strategies and their impact on nutrition outcomes. Such a conceptual framework can also be used in selecting and identifying more suitable climate adaptation strategies given specific contextual environments.
Obesity is a chronic disease associated with increased metabolic and cardiovascular risk, excessive morbidity and mortality worldwide. The authors of the present consensus, clinicians representing medical specialties related to the treatment of obesity and its complications, reviewed a number of European and American guidelines, published mostly in 2019-2021, and summarized the principles of obesity management to provide a practical guidance considering the impact that increased adiposity poses to health. From a clinical perspective, the primary goal of obesity treatment is to prevent or slow down the progression of diseases associated with obesity, reduce metabolic and cardiovascular risk, and improve the quality of life by achieving adequate and stable weight reduction. However, obesity should be not only considered a disease requiring treatment in an individual patient, but also a civilization disease requiring preventive measures at the populational level. Despite the evident benefits, obesity management within the health care system-whether through pharmacotherapy or bariatric surgery-is only a symptomatic treatment, with all its limitations, and will not ultimately solve the problem of obesity. The important message is that available treatment options fail to correct the true drivers of the obesity pandemic. To this end, new solutions and efforts to prevent obesity in the populations are needed.
Climate change increases risks to natural and human systems. Green infrastructure (GI) has been increasingly recognized as a promising nature-based solution for climate change adaptation, mitigation, and other societal objectives for sustainable development. Although the climate contribution of GI has been extensively addressed in the literature, the linkages between the climate benefits and associated co-benefits and trade-offs remain unclear. We systematically reviewed the evidence from 141 papers, focusing on their climate benefits, relevant co-benefits and trade-offs, and the GI types that provide such climate (co-)benefits. This study presents a comprehensive overview of the links between climate benefits, co-benefits and types of GI, categorized along a green-grey continuum so that researchers/practitioners can find information according to their topic of interest. We further provide an analysis of trade-offs between various GI benefits. ‘Bundles’ of major co-benefits and trade-offs for each climate benefit can be identified with recommendations for strategies to maximize benefits and minimize trade-offs. To promote climate-resilient pathways through GI, it is crucial for decision-makers to identify opportunities to deliver multiple ecosystem services and benefits while recognizing disservices and trade-offs that need to be avoided or managed.
A plant-based diet, which can include small amounts of meat, is the foundation for healthy sustainable diets, which will have co-benefits for health, climate and the environment. Studies show that some of the barriers to making this dietary change and reducing meat consumption are perceptions that plant-based diets are inconvenient, it takes too much time and skills to prepare meals and ingredients are expensive. The food environment is changing and the industry is responding with the exponential increase in the market of highly processed, convenient and cheap plant-based foods. This overcomes some of the barriers, but there is concern about whether they are healthy and environmentally sustainable. Plant-based foods have a halo effect around health and the environment, but many being produced are ultra-processed foods that are high in energy, fat, sugar and salt and have a higher environmental impact than minimally processed plant-based foods. The trend towards eating more highly processed plant-based convenience foods is a concern with regard to both public health and the targets set to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The ‘modern day’ plant-based diet emerging is very different to a more traditional one comprising pulses, vegetables and wholegrain. Studies show that those who are younger and have been a vegetarian for a shorter duration are eating significantly more ultra-processed plant-based foods. While there is a place for convenient, desirable and affordable plant-based food to encourage dietary change, care should be taken that this does not subconsciously set a path which may ultimately be neither healthy nor sustainable.
Climate change represents a serious threat to the health and well-being of populations. Today, many countries, regions, and cities around the world are implementing policies and strategies to adapt to climate change and mitigate its effects. A scoping review was performed to identify tools and methods that help integrate health into climate change adaptation and mitigation policies and strategies. The literature search includes scientific and grey literature. The scientific literature was conducted using PubMed, Elsevier Embase, and Web of Science databases. A grey literature web search was performed to complement the results. A total of 35 studies (28 from the scientific literature and 7 from the grey literature) were finally included. A large majority of research articles (24/28) and almost all reports (6/7) from the grey literature were published after 2010. Results show that the tools that were found most frequently are the nested models (12/35), health impact assessment (6/35), vulnerability and adaptation assessment (3/35), conceptual frameworks (3/35), and mixed methods (3/35). This review shows an increasing interest in the topic of developing tools to better manage health issues in adaptation and mitigation strategies, with a recent increase in the number of publications. Additional analyses of tools’ effectiveness should be conducted in further studies.
The recent and projected upward trends in the frequency and intensity of climate-induced events in cities have enhanced the focus on adaptation. In addition to enhancing the capacity of cities to prepare for and absorb risks, adaptation measures provide multiple co-benefits. However, health co-benefits are among the least explored. These are now seen as increasingly important with the renewed focus on public health since the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reviews literature focused on the health co-benefits of urban climate change adaptation measures. Health co-benefits of seven different categories of adaptation measures are discussed. Results showed that existing evidence is mainly related to some categories such as critical infrastructure, nature-based solutions, and urban planning and design measures. Other adaptation categories like early warning systems; policy, management & governance, including local adaptation policies; and measures and strategies related to ‘knowledge, perceptions & behavior’ that mainly involve people’s understanding and individual responses to climate change, are relatively underexplored. Moreover, it was discussed that some adaptation measures may result in health trade-offs and these needs to be further studied. Overall, through identifying health co-benefits, results of this review can make a strong case for further promotion of climate change adaptation in cities.
Record climate extremes are reducing urban liveability, compounding inequality, and threatening infrastructure. Adaptation measures that integrate technological, nature-based, and social solutions can provide multiple co-benefits to address complex socioecological issues in cities while increasing resilience to potential impacts. However, there remain many challenges to developing and implementing integrated solutions. In this Viewpoint, we consider the value of integrating across the three solution sets, the challenges and potential enablers for integrating solution sets, and present examples of challenges and adopted solutions in three cities with different urban contexts and climates (Freiburg, Germany; Durban, South Africa; and Singapore). We conclude with a discussion of research directions and provide a road map to identify the actions that enable successful implementation of integrated climate solutions. We highlight the need for more systematic research that targets enabling environments for integration; achieving integrated solutions in different contexts to avoid maladaptation; simultaneously improving liveability, sustainability, and equality; and replicating via transfer and scale-up of local solutions. Cities in systematically disadvantaged countries (sometimes referred to as the Global South) are central to future urban development and must be prioritised. Helping decision makers and communities understand the potential opportunities associated with integrated solutions for climate change will encourage urgent and deliberate strides towards adapting cities to the dynamic climate reality.
Experiences of ‘climate anxiety’ are considered an adaptive response to a real threat, as well as a potential cause of impairment. To date, little attention has been paid to how children and adolescents may be uniquely predisposed to climate anxiety, despite being an age cohort particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. This Review uses a social-ecological framework to identify the influences on climate anxiety for young people. We explore the directionality and interplay between individual factors, the physical environment and the influence of micro- (family, peers), meso- (school, community), exo- (government, media) and macro- (culture) systems on children’s and adolescents’ experience of climate anxiety. The Review highlights future research considerations and key issues relevant to professionals working with youth. Children and adolescents may be the age cohort most vulnerable to climate anxiety. This Review uses a social-ecological theoretical framework to outline how they are uniquely susceptible to climate anxiety and identify potential protective factors.
Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) can be defined as solutions based on natural processes that meet societal challenges and simultaneously provide human well-being and biodiversity benefits. These solutions are envisioned to contribute to operationalizing sustainable development strategies, especially in the context of adaptation to climate change (e.g. flood risk reduction). In order to quantify NBS performance, ease their uptake and advocate for them as alternatives to “business-as-usual” infrastructures, a comprehensive, holistic valuation of their multiple benefits (multiple advantages and disadvantages) is needed. This entails quantifying non-market benefits for people and nature in addition to determining the (direct) cost-benefit of the risk-reduction measure. Despite the importance given to the assessment of non-tangible benefits for people and nature in the literature, systematic data collection on these dimensions seems to be missing. This study reviews publications that used stated preference methods to assess non-market human benefits of NBS and NBS-like strategies. Its aim is to highlight any biases or knowledge gaps in this kind of evaluation. Our results show that the valuation of non-tangible benefits of NBS (e.g. increased recreation and well-being, enhanced biodiversity) still suffers from a lack of common framing. Despite some steps being taken on enabling interconnected benefit assessments, unexploited opportunities concerning the integrated assessment of non-market human and nature benefits predominate. Moreover, the research to-date appears based on a case-to-case approach, and thus a shared holistic method does not emerge from the present literature, potentially delaying the uptake of NBS. We argue that future research could minimize missed opportunities by focusing on and systematically applying holistic benefits assessments. Methods based on stated preference surveys may help to ensure holistic approaches are taken, as well as contributing to their replicability and application when upscaling NBS.
Facing complex issues such as climate change and its effects on public health require the participation of various actors. The research tool citizen science is one way for people to get involved. Through it, citizens collaborate with scientists to find solutions to problems in their territories. From a participatory work with citizens, we designed a taxonomy proposal, which can facilitate citizen and community action in suggesting research ideas. We expect stakeholders to use it to systematically classify and code initial questions and answers on public health and climate change issues. The development of this taxonomy integrates the global agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in such a way that citizens not only help their communities but also, the direct fulfillment of SDGs such as Climate Action (SDG 13), indirectly impacting other SDGs – given their interdependent nature (SDG 3, SDG 5, SDG 6, SDG 7, SDG 11, SDG 12). The systematic classification and coding of citizens’ contributions worldwide will contribute to the large-scale organized collection of information to be analyzed in proposing better responses to reduce the impacts of climate change on health.
BACKGROUND: Compared with other health areas, the mental health impacts of climate change have received less research attention. The literature on climate change and mental health is growing rapidly but is characterised by several limitations and research gaps. In a field where the need for designing evidence-based adaptation strategies is urgent, and research gaps are vast, implementing a broad, all-encompassing research agenda will require some strategic focus. METHODS: We followed a structured approach to prioritise future climate change and mental health research. We consulted with experts working across mental health and climate change, both within and outside of research and working in high, middle, and low-income countries, to garner consensus about the future research priorities for mental health and climate change. Experts were identified based on whether they had published work on climate change and mental health, worked in governmental and non-governmental organisations on climate change and mental health, and from the professional networks of the authors who have been active in the mental health and climate change space. RESULTS: Twenty-two experts participated from across low- and middle-income countries (n = 4) and high-income countries (n = 18). Our process identified ten key priorities for progressing research on mental health and climate change. CONCLUSION: While climate change is considered the biggest threat to global mental health in the coming century, tackling this threat could be the most significant opportunity to shape our mental health for centuries to come because of health co-benefits of transitioning to more sustainable ways of living. Research on the impacts of climate change on mental health and mental health-related systems will assist decision-makers to develop robust evidence-based mitigation and adaptation policies and plans with the potential for broad benefits to society and the environment.
The United Nations has signalled a ‘code red’, marking climate change as an existential threat for humanity. The world is rapidly warming, and the consequences of climate change include an increase and intensification in flooding, droughts, wildfires, and other traumatic exposures. Although countries in the Global South have contributed least to global warming, they are the most vulnerable owing to historical inequities. The concept of ‘climate justice’ recognises that historical racial discrimination, class disenfranchisement, political misrecognition, and other social injustices make surviving climate change and thriving within it more challenging. This narrative review considers the psychological consequences of the climate emergency through a climate justice lens. The article discusses the unequal exposures to psychological adversities, socio-historical barriers to adaptations and, finally, institutional betrayal that complicates the experience of psychological distress. The review concludes by pragmatically discussing how psychology could support climate justice ends.
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our times. Its impact on human populations is not yet completely understood. Many studies have focused on single aspects with contradictory observations. However, climate change is a complex phenomenon that cannot be adequately addressed from a single discipline’s perspective. Hence, we propose a comprehensive conceptual framework on the relationships between climate change and human responses. This framework includes biological, psychological, and behavioural aspects and provides a multidisciplinary overview and critical information for focused interventions. The role of tipping points and regime shifts is explored, and a historical perspective is presented to describe the relationship between climate evolution and socio-cultural crisis. Vulnerability, resilience, and adaptation are analysed from an individual and a community point of view. Finally, emergent behaviours and mass effect phenomena are examined that account for mental maladjustment and conflicts.
This research highlights the mismatch between food security and climate adaptation literature and practice in the Global North and South by focusing on nested case studies in rural India and the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but also has one of the largest wealth gaps. Comparatively, India has one of the largest populations of food insecure people. To demonstrate how adaptive food security approaches to climate change will differ, we first review the unique climate, agricultural, demographic, and socio-economic features; and then compare challenges and solutions to food security posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. While both countries rely on rural, low-income farmworkers to produce food, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how agricultural and food security policies differ in their influence on both food insecurity and global hunger alike. Emphasis on agricultural production in developing regions where a majority of individuals living in rural areas are smallholder subsistence farmers will benefit the majority of the population in terms of both poverty alleviation and food production. In the Global North, an emphasis on food access and availability is necessary because rural food insecure populations are often disconnected from food production.
PurposeAs global warming intensifies, climatic conditions are changing dramatically, potentially affecting specific businesses and cities’ livability. The temperature increase in cities significantly affects urban residents whose percentage is to reach about 70% by 2050. This paper aimed at highlighting the climate change risks in cities, particularly focusing on the threats to people’s health due to a continuous temperature increase. Design/methodology/approachThis study was conducted in three main steps. First, the literature review on the effects of climate change, particularly on the continuous temperature rise in cities, was conducted based on the publications retrieved from PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar and Research Gate. Second, the survey was conducted for the sample cities for one month. Third, the questionnaire was used to assess possible climate change threats to the livability of cities. FindingsThe findings showed that urban areas are usually warmer than the surrounding rural areas, mainly due to the urban heat island effect, causing more hot days in metropolitan areas compared to rural areas. This paper outlines some mitigation and adaptation measures, which can be implemented to improve the livability in cities, their sustainability and the well-being of their populations. Originality/valueThis study reports on the climate change impacts on the health and livability of 15 cities, in industrialized and developing countries. It examines the average and maximum temperature and relative humidity of each city and its correlation with their livability. It was complemented by a survey focused on 109 cities from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America and Oceania.
The definitions and conceptualizations of health, and the management of healthcare have been challenged by the current global scenarios (e.g., new diseases, new geographical distribution of diseases, effects of climate change on health, etc.) and by the ongoing scholarship in humanities and science. In this paper we question the mainstream definition of health adopted by the WHO-‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ (WHO in Preamble to the constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the international health conference, The World Health Organization, 1948)-and its role in providing tools to understand what health is in the contemporary context. More specifically, we argue that this context requires to take into account the role of the environment both in medical theory and in the healthcare practice. To do so, we analyse WHO documents dated 1984 and 1986 which define health as ‘coping with the environment’. We develop the idea of ‘coping with the environment’, by focusing on two cardinal concepts: adaptation in public health and adaptivity in philosophy of biology. We argue that the notions of adaptation and adaptivity can be of major benefit for the characterization of health, and have practical implications. We explore some of these implications by discussing two recent case studies of adaptivity in public health, which can be valuable to further develop adaptive strategies in the current pandemic scenario: community-centred care and microbiologically healthier buildings.
Climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. In addition to short-term reproductive health impacts, climate-related events will influence the risks of long-term and intergenerational mortality and morbidity for both birthing parents and offspring. As climate conditions continue to deteriorate in future generations, less healthy parents will give birth to less healthy offspring, who themselves will experience increased risk of reproductive outcomes. This intergenerational process causes a repeating cycle of poor parental preconception health, gestational complications, and poor offspring health, which leads to suboptimal preconception health among those offspring when they reach reproductive age. Because our ongoing efforts mostly focus on helping families achieve and maintain a healthy pregnancy, a critical need to think beyond the infant in our arms and consider the long-term implications of climate change exists. Such efforts may involve policy strengthening efforts to reduce emissions, further engaging health care providers as active advocates, ensuring equitable and sustainable mitigation and adaptable strategies, and conducting more research that yields actionable data to guide policy efforts, especially in regions and populations most affected by climate change.
INTRODUCTION: Climate change (CC) has been identified as the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. Although health care facilities (HCF) play a central role in the care of populations, there has been no comprehensive assessment of the impact of CC on HCF. The objective of our study was to highlight the components of HCFs affected by CC through a mapping review of the literature. METHODS: To meet our objective, we first assessed the place of HCFs in relation to CC in the scientific literature and in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. Bibliometric data from the PubMed database were analyzed between 1979 and 2021 to assess the penetration of keywords on CC alone, and in relation to health and HCF in particular. Second, we analyzed the changes in HCF keywords in the IPCC reports. Finally, we conducted a mapping review in five databases, of the international scientific literature published between 1979 and 2019, and identified the components of HCF affected by CC using the Ishikawa diagram. RESULTS: From the 2000s, the number of publications on CC and HCF increased gradually with 137 articles in 2005, and even more sharply since 2008 with 358 articles published and 813 in 2021. Even though CC is only recently present in the biomedical literature, all climatic events (warming and heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, storms, hurricanes and cyclones, floods and sea-level rise, and other indirect effects) have had an impact on at least one component of HCF. CONCLUSION: HCFs are already impacted, in all their components, by CC. By enhancing our understanding of the impacts of CC on HCF, this work could contribute to the engagement of health professionals in the implementation of mitigation and adaptation actions, thereby limiting the consequences of CC on patient care.
This paper explores the extent to which participatory budgeting (PB) contributes to climate change adaptation and mitigation, based on an analysis of initiatives from 15 cities and regions in the global South and North. PB contributions are far from marginal, with significant investments decided by local people. The paper highlights some of the numerous innovations introduced to integrate PB into climate adaptation and mitigation efforts. Through a scrutiny of 4,400 PB projects, the research identified six categories of climate-related projects encompassing hardware as well as software approaches, such as awareness-raising activities, community-based early warning projects and research. The paper advocates for solidarity PBs for climate justice, and raises awareness of the huge (and as yet largely untapped) potential for this to help address the dramatic impacts that climate change has on millions of people’s lives. It also points to questions for future research.
The purpose of this study is to study the life cycle assessment of biocementitious materials production in comparison to traditional cement materials production. The environmental impact of production processes over the life cycle was evaluated on the basis of global warming and ozone depletion, human health, land, freshwater, marine ecotoxicity, and natural water system eutrophication. LCA uses endpoint methods (ECO indicators) and SimaPro 8 software to assess the health and environmental impact of raw materials used in the production process, including cement, Ca(NO3)(2)center dot 4H(2)O, urea, molasses, and electricity. The results showed that cement materials made 82.88% of the world’s warming in all raw materials used in production processes, 87.24% of the world’s health, 89.54% of the deforestation of freshwater, and 30.48% to marine eutrophication. Ca(NO3)(2)center dot 4H(2)O contributes by 58.88% to ozone depletion, 15.37 to human carcinogenic toxicity, 3.19% to freshwater eutrophication, and 11.76% to marine eutrophication. In contrast, urea contributes 38.15% to marine eutrophication and 5.25% to freshwater eutrophication. Molasses contribute by 13.77% to marine eutrophication. Cement contributes 74.27% to human health damage, 79.36% to ecosystem damage; Ca(NO3)(2)center dot 4H(2)O contributes 13.54% to human health damage and 9.99% to ecosystem damage; while urea contributes 6.5% to human health damage and 5.91% to ecosystem damage. Bio-cementitious wastewater should undergo a treatment process to remove urea and molasses residues, as well as nitrates, before final disposal into the environment.
It is widely accepted that climate change is the biggest threat to human health. The pandemic of diabetes is also a major threat to human health, especially in rapidly developing nations. Climate change and diabetes appear to have common global vectors, including increased urbanisation, increased use of transportation, and production and ingestion of ultra-processed foods. People with diabetes appear to be at higher risk of threats to health from climate change, including effects from extreme heat or extreme cold, and natural disasters. Solutions to climate change offer some benefits for the prevention of diabetes and diabetes-related complications. Moving towards lower carbon economies is likely to help reduce reliance on intensive agriculture, reduce physical inactivity, reduce air pollution and enhance quality of life. It may enable a reduction in the prevalence of diabetes and reduced morbidity from the condition.
BACKGROUND: Climate change presents an increasing challenge for food-nutrition security. Nutrition metrics calculated from quantitative food system projections can help focus policy actions. OBJECTIVES: To estimate future chronic and hidden hunger disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)-due to protein-energy undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, respectively-using food systems projections to evaluate the potential impact of climate change and agricultural sector investment for adaptation. METHODS: We use a novel combination of a chronic and hidden hunger DALY estimation procedure and food system projections from quantitative foresight modeling to assess DALYs under alternative agricultural sector scenarios to midcentury. RESULTS: Total chronic and hidden hunger DALYs are projected to increase globally out to 2050-by over 30 million compared with 2010-even without climate change. Climate change increases total DALY change between 2010 and 2050 by nearly 10% compared with no climate change. Agricultural sector investments show promise for offsetting these impacts. With investments, DALY incidence due to chronic and hidden hunger is projected to decrease globally in 2050 by 0.24 and 0.56 per 1000 capita, respectively. Total global DALYs will still rise because projected population growth will outpace the rate reduction, especially in Africa south of the Sahara. However, projections also show important regional reductions in total DALYs due to chronic (13.9 million in South Asia, 4.3 million in East Asia and the Pacific) and hidden hunger (7.5 million in East Asia and the Pacific) with investments. CONCLUSIONS: Food system projections to 2050 show a decreasing DALY incidence from both chronic and hidden hunger. Population growth is projected to outpace these improvements and lead to increasing total chronic and hidden hunger DALYs globally, concentrated in Africa south of the Sahara. Climate change increases per-capita chronic and hidden hunger DALY incidence compared with no climate change. Agricultural sector investments show the potential to offset the climate impact on DALYs.
BACKGROUND: Instituted under the Paris Agreement, nationally determined contributions (NDCs) outline countries’ plans for mitigating and adapting to climate change. They are the primary policy instrument for protecting people’s health in the face of rising global temperatures. However, evidence on engagement with health in the NDCs is scarce. In this study, we aimed to examine how public health is incorporated in the NDCs, and how different patterns of engagement might be related to broader inequalities and tensions in global climate politics. METHODS: We analysed the NDCs in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change registry submitted by 185 countries. Using content analysis and natural language processing (NLP) methods, we developed measures of health engagement. Multivariate regression analyses examined whether country-level factors (eg, population size, gross domestic product [GDP], and climate-related exposures) were associated with greater health engagement. Using NLP methods, we compared health engagement with other climate-related challenges (ie, economy, energy, and agriculture) and examined broader differences in the keyword terms used in countries with high and low health engagement in their NDCs. FINDINGS: Countries that did not mention health in their NDCs were clustered in high-income countries, whereas greater health engagement was concentrated in low-income and middle-income countries. Having a low GDP per capita and being a small island developing state were associated with higher levels of health engagement. In addition, higher levels of population exposure to temperature change and ambient air pollution were associated with more health coverage included in a country’s NDC. Variation in health engagement was greater than for other climate-related issues and reflected wider differences in countries’ approaches to the NDCs. INTERPRETATION: A focus on health in the NDCs follows broader patterns of global inequalities. Poorer and climate-vulnerable countries that contribute least to climate change are more likely to engage with health in their NDCs, while richer countries focus on non-health sectors in their NDCs, such as energy and the economy. FUNDING: This work was in part funded through an unrestricted grant from the Wellcome Trust and supported by The Economic and Social Research Council.
Climate change causes global effects on multiple levels. The anthropogenic input of greenhouse gases increases the atmospheric mean temperature. It furthermore leads to a higher probability of extreme weather events (e.g., heat waves, floods) and thus strongly impacts the habitats of humans, animals, and plants. Against this background, research and innovation activities are increasingly focusing on potential health-related aspects and feasible adaptation and mitigation strategies. Progressing urbanization and demographic change paired with the climate change-induced heat island effect exposes humans living in urban habitats to increasing health risks. By employing scientometric methods, this scoping study provides a systematic bird’s eye view on the epistemic landscapes of climate change, its health-related effects, and possible technological and nature-based interventions and strategies in order to make urban areas climate proof. Based on a literature corpus consisting of 2614 research articles collected in SCOPUS, we applied network-based analysis and visualization techniques to map the different scientific communities, discourses and their interrelations. From a public health perspective, the results demonstrate the range of either direct or indirect health effects of climate change. Furthermore, the results indicate that a public health-related scientific discourse is converging with an urban planning and building science driven discourse oriented towards urban blue and green infrastructure. We conclude that this development might mirror the socio-political demand to tackle emerging climate change-induced challenges by transgressing disciplinary boundaries.
BACKGROUND: In hot weather, electric fans can potentially provide effective cooling for people, with lower greenhouse gas emissions and cost than air conditioning. However, international public health organisations regularly discourage fan use in temperatures higher than 35°C, despite little evidence. We aimed to determine humidity-dependent temperature thresholds at which electric fans would become detrimental in different age groups. METHODS: We used biophysical modelling to determine the upper humidity-dependent temperature thresholds at which fan use would become detrimental (ie, worsen heat stress) for healthy young adults (aged 18-40 years), healthy older adults (aged ≥65 years), and older adults taking anticholinergic medication. We also obtained hourly environmental data for the period Jan 1, 2007, to Dec 31, 2019, for 108 populous cities to determine the number of days fan use would be effective for cooling, standardised to a 31-day hot weather month. We established simplified temperature thresholds for future fan use recommendations on the basis of temperatures below which fan use would never have been detrimental between Jan 1, 2007, and Dec 31, 2019, across all prevailing levels of ambient humidity. FINDINGS: According to our model, fan use would have been beneficial on 30·0 (96·6%) of 31 hot weather days for healthy young adults and 29·4 (94·9%) of 31 hot weather days for both older adults and older adults taking anticholinergic medication between Jan 1, 2007, and Dec 31, 2019. Adherence to the current WHO recommendation of fan use below temperatures of 35°C only, fan use would have been recommended on 27·2 days (87·7%) of 31 hot weather days. According to our simplified thresholds for fan use (at temperatures <39·0°C for healthy young adults, <38·0°C for healthy older adults, and <37·0°C for older adults taking anticholinergic medication), fan use would have been recommended on 29·6 (95·5%) of 31 hot weather days in healthy young adults, 29·4 (94·8%) days in healthy older adults, and 28·8 (93·0%) days in older adults taking anticholinergic medication between Jan 1, 2007, and Dec 31, 2019. INTERPRETATION: Electric fan use, particularly for healthy young adults, would not have worsened heat stress on the majority of study days between 2007 and 2019. Our newly proposed thresholds for fan use provide simple guidelines that improve future heatwave fan use recommendations. FUNDING: None.
The ambition to develop sustainable and healthy cities requires city-specific policy and practice founded on a multidisciplinary evidence base, including projections of human-induced climate change. A cascade of climate models of increasing complexity and resolution is reviewed, which provides the basis for constructing climate projections-from global climate models with a typical horizontal resolution of a few hundred kilometres, through regional climate models at 12-50 km to convection-permitting models at 1 km resolution that permit the representation of urban induced climates. Different approaches to modelling the urban heat island (UHI) are also reviewed-focusing on how climate model outputs can be adjusted and coupled with urban canopy models to better represent UHI intensity, its impacts and variability. The latter can be due to changes induced by urbanisation or to climate change itself. City interventions such as greater use of green infrastructure also have an effect on the UHI and can help to reduce adverse health impacts such as heat stress and the mortality associated with increasing heat. Examples for the Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health (CUSSH) partner cities of London, Rennes, Kisumu, Nairobi, Beijing and Ningbo illustrate how cities could potentially make use of more detailed models and projections to develop and evaluate policies and practices targeted at their specific environmental and health priorities. PRACTICE RELEVANCE: Large-scale climate projections for the coming decades show robust trends in rising air temperatures, including more warm days and nights, and longer/more intense warm spells and heatwaves. This paper describes how more complex and higher resolution regional climate and urban canopy models can be combined with the aim of better understanding and quantifying how these larger scale patterns of change may be modified at the city or finer scale. These modifications may arise due to urbanisation and effects such as the UHI, as well as city interventions such as the greater use of grey and green infrastructures.There is potential danger in generalising from one city to another-under certain conditions some cities may experience an urban cool island, or little future intensification of the UHI, for example. City-specific, tailored climate projections combined with tailored health impact models contribute to an evidence base that supports built environment professionals, urban planners and policymakers to ensure designs for buildings and urban areas are fit for future climates.
Urban heat island and regional climate change raise the ambient temperature in cities and increase the levels of heat related mortality. Higher albedo values lower the ambient temperature and reduce the impact of excess urban heat on health. The present work reviews and analyses fourteen detailed studies investigating the impact of increased urban albedo on the ambient temperature and heat related mortality. It is found that the real magnitude of the afternoon temperature drop caused by the albedo increase is close to 0.09C per 0.1 rise of the albedo, and it is highly determined by the specific climatic, landscape and layout characteristic of cities. A statistically significant association of the temperature drop with the albedo increase, the greenery and street ratio in cities is found. It is observed that the levels of heat related mortality increase significantly as a function of the population size of the cities and the local poverty levels, Increased urban albedo is found to reduce heat related mortality between 0.1 and 4 deaths per day, corresponding to an average decrease of deaths close to 19.8% per degree of temperature drop, or 1.8% per 0.1 increase of the albedo. Mortality drop is found to be in statistically significant association with the initial heat related mortality levels, albedo increase and socioeconomic parameters like the local poverty levels. Accurate parametric functions to predict the magnitude of the temperature drop and heat mortality reduction are developed.
The relationship between sport and the environment has been primarily examined to understand how sport impacts the natural environment. However, as the influence of climate change has become more apparent, there is a need to establish a systematic understanding of the impacts of climate change on the operations of sport. The aim of this review is to take stock of existing literature on climate change’s impacts on organized competitive sport entities, with further attention paid to their adaptation efforts. A scoping review was conducted to identify relevant studies published between 1995 and 2021. After evaluating more than 2100 publications, we retained 57 articles and analyzed them to answer the research questions: (1) What evidence is available regarding the impacts of climate change on the operation of organized competitive sport entities? (2) What is known from the literature about the measures taken by organized competitive sport entities to adapt to the impacts of climate change? Our analysis yielded five major themes: (1) Heat impacts on athlete and spectator health; (2) heat impacts on athlete performance; (3) adaptive measures taken in sport; (4) suitability of various cities for event hosting; and (5) benchmarking and boundary conditions. This review reveals that there is evidence of some climate change impacts on sport, but the literature reflects only a small share of the global sport sector. Equally, much remains to be understood about the nature of adaptation. This article is categorized under: Assessing Impacts of Climate Change > Evaluating Future Impacts of Climate Change
Projections show that Earth’s climate will continue to warm concurrent with increases in the percentage of the world’s elderly population. With an understanding that the body’s resilience to the heat degrades as it ages, these coupled phenomena point to serious concerns of heat-related mortality in growing elderly populations. As many of the people in this age cohort choose to live in managed long-term care facilities, it’s imperative that outdoor spaces of these communities be made thermally comfortable so that connections with nature and the promotion of non-sedentary activities are maintained. Studies have shown that simply being outside has a positive impact on a broad range of the psychosocial well-being of older adults. However, these spaces must be designed to afford accessibility, safety, and aesthetically pleasing experiences so that they are taken full advantage of. Here, we employ an integrative review to link ideas from the disciplines of climate science, health and physiology, and landscape architecture to explain the connections between heat, increased morbidity and mortality in aging adults, existing gaps in thermal comfort models, and key strategies in the development of useable, comfortable outdoor spaces for older adults. Integrative reviews allow for new frameworks or perspectives on a subject to be introduced. Uncovering the synergy of these three knowledge bases can contribute to guiding microclimatic research, design practitioners, and care providers as they seek safe, comfortable and inviting outdoor spaces for aging adults.
The Urban Heat Islands (UHI) effect is a microclimatic phenomenon that especially affects urban areas. It is associated with significant temperature increases in the local microclimate, and may amplify heat waves. Due to their intensity, UHI causes not only thermal discomfort, but also reductions in the levels of life quality. This paper reviews the important role of green infrastructure as a means through which the intensity of UHI may be reduced, along with their negative impact on human comfort and wellbeing. Apart from a comprehensive review of the available literature, the paper reports on an analysis of case studies in a set of 14 cities in 13 countries representing various geographical regions and climate zones. The results obtained suggest that whereas UHI is a common phenomenon, green infrastructure in urban areas may under some conditions ameliorate their impacts. In addition, the study revealed that the scope and impacts of UHI are not uniform: depending on peculiarities of urban morphologies, they pose different challenges linked to the microclimate peculiar to each city. The implications of this paper are threefold. Firstly, it reiterates the complex interrelations of UHIs, heat waves and climate change. Secondly, it outlines the fact that keeping and increasing urban green resources leads to additional various benefits that may directly or indirectly reduce the impacts of UHI. Finally, the paper reiterates the need for city planners to pay more attention to possible UHI effects when initiating new building projects or when adjusting current ones.
In buildings, energy is primarily consumed by mechanical air conditioning systems. Low energy alternatives, such as natural ventilation, are needed. However, they need to be able to cope with increasing heatwaves and pollution, particularly in warm climates. This review paper looked at the ability of natural ventilation to provide adequate thermal comfort, resilience against heatwaves, and good Indoor Air Quality in warm climates. Single sided ventilation demonstrates the poorest ability to provide thermal comfort, while cross ventilation highlights better performance in terms of reducing indoor air temperatures compared to outdoor. However, windcatchers and solar chimneys displayed even better performance by producing relatively high ventilation rates. During heatwaves and future climatic scenarios, natural ventilation, by cross-ventilation, was not able to meet internal thermal comfort standards. A potential low energy solution could be combining solar chimneys or windcatchers with water evaporation cooling. A critical synthesis of the literature suggests that these systems can generate high ventilation rates and keep indoor temperatures around 8 degrees C cooler than outdoor temperatures in warm weather (>35 degrees C). However, no studies were found testing these systems against future climate scenarios, and further studies are recommended. The literature supported natural ventilation being effective in removing pollution generated indoors due to adequate ventilation rates. However, using unfiltered natural ventilation for areas with high outdoor pollution can increase the indoor deposition of harmful particulate matter. With increasing air pollution, further studies are urgently required to investigate filter enabled natural ventilation, particularly with solar chimney/windcatcher incorporated.
Hot and humid working environments exist in civil engineering, exploration, shipping, and so on. Especially in mines and textile workplaces, the air humidity is usually close to saturation. Frontline workers perform physically demanding work, which will make the body sweat greatly and increase the occurrence of heat-related illnesses. The microenvironment under clothing can be improved by a ventilation cooling vest with pressurized air (denoted VCV), and the trunk skin temperature will be decreased. However, the amount of heat that a VCV removes from a working human body in hot and humid environments is unclear. In this study, human experiments were carried out, the ambient temperature was controlled at 30 degrees C, 32 degrees C or 34 degrees C, and the air humidity was 90%. The subjects wore a labor suit (denoted LS) or a VCV, running on a treadmill at 5 km/h or 7.5 km/h. The results showed that the total trunk heat loss was increased by 169-237%, and the cooling power of the VCV was between 79.5 and 97.6 W when wearing the VCV. However, the actual skin wettedness is often less than the calculated value, and the calculated cooling power should be considered the upper limit. The study indicated that the cooling capacity of the VCV increased as the ambient temperature and labor intensity increased, and the heat dissipation of the body also increased.
Working in hot and potentially humid conditions creates health and well-being risks that will increase as the planet warms. It has been proposed that workers could adapt to increasing temperatures by moving labor from midday to cooler hours. Here, we use reanalysis data to show that in the current climate approximately 30% of global heavy labor losses in the workday could be recovered by moving labor from the hottest hours of the day. However, we show that this particular workshift adaptation potential is lost at a rate of about 2% per degree of global warming as early morning heat exposure rises to unsafe levels for continuous work, with worker productivity losses accelerating under higher warming levels. These findings emphasize the importance of finding alternative adaptation mechanisms to keep workers safe, as well as the importance of limiting global warming.
BACKGROUND: Identifying how greenspace impacts the temperature-mortality relationship in urban environments is crucial, especially given climate change and rapid urbanization. However, the effect modification of greenspace on heat-related mortality has been typically focused on a localized area or single country. This study examined the heat-mortality relationship among different greenspace levels in a global setting. METHODS: We collected daily ambient temperature and mortality data for 452 locations in 24 countries and used Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) as the greenspace measurement. We used distributed lag non-linear model to estimate the heat-mortality relationship in each city and the estimates were pooled adjusting for city-specific average temperature, city-specific temperature range, city-specific population density, and gross domestic product (GDP). The effect modification of greenspace was evaluated by comparing the heat-related mortality risk for different greenspace groups (low, medium, and high), which were divided into terciles among 452 locations. FINDINGS: Cities with high greenspace value had the lowest heat-mortality relative risk of 1·19 (95% CI: 1·13, 1·25), while the heat-related relative risk was 1·46 (95% CI: 1·31, 1·62) for cities with low greenspace when comparing the 99(th) temperature and the minimum mortality temperature. A 20% increase of greenspace is associated with a 9·02% (95% CI: 8·88, 9·16) decrease in the heat-related attributable fraction, and if this association is causal (which is not within the scope of this study to assess), such a reduction could save approximately 933 excess deaths per year in 24 countries. INTERPRETATION: Our findings can inform communities on the potential health benefits of greenspaces in the urban environment and mitigation measures regarding the impacts of climate change. FUNDING: This publication was developed under Assistance Agreement No. RD83587101 awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to Yale University. It has not been formally reviewed by EPA. The views expressed in this document are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Agency. EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this publication. Research reported in this publication was also supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01MD012769. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Also, this work has been supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (2021R1A6A3A03038675), Medical Research Council-UK (MR/V034162/1 and MR/R013349/1), Natural Environment Research Council UK (Grant ID: NE/R009384/1), Academy of Finland (Grant ID: 310372), European Union’s Horizon 2020 Project Exhaustion (Grant ID: 820655 and 874990), Czech Science Foundation (22-24920S), Emory University’s NIEHS-funded HERCULES Center (Grant ID: P30ES019776), and Grant CEX2018-000794-S funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 The funders had no role in the design, data collection, analysis, interpretation of results, manuscript writing, or decision to publication.
The kidneys’ integrative responses to heat stress aid thermoregulation, cardiovascular control, and water and electrolyte regulation. Recent evidence suggests the kidneys are at increased risk of pathological events during heat stress, namely acute kidney injury (AKI), and that this risk is compounded by dehydration and exercise. This heat stress related AKI is believed to contribute to the epidemic of chronic kidney disease (CKD) occurring in occupational settings. It is estimated that AKI and CKD affect upwards of 45 million individuals in the global workforce. Water and electrolyte disturbances and AKI, both of which are representative of kidney-related pathology, are the two leading causes of hospitalizations during heat waves in older adults. Structural and physiological alterations in aging kidneys likely contribute to this increased risk. With this background, this comprehensive narrative review will provide the first aggregation of research into the integrative physiological response of the kidneys to heat stress. While the focus of this review is on the human kidneys, we will utilize both human and animal data to describe these responses to passive and exercise heat stress, and how they are altered with heat acclimation. Additionally, we will discuss recent studies that indicate an increased risk of AKI due to exercise in the heat. Lastly, we will introduce the emerging public health crisis of older adults during extreme heat events and how the aging kidneys may be more susceptible to injury during heat stress.
Climate change and rapid urbanization increase/amplify urban heat islands (UHIs). Green infrastructure (GI) is an effective and popularly strategy used to moderate UHIs. This paper aims to better understand the progress of different GI types (urban parks, urban forests, street trees, green roofs, green walls) in mitigating UHIs, and what benefits they provide. Firstly, this paper used CiteSpace to analyze 1243 publications on the Web of Science from 1990 to 2021, then analyzed the function/regulation of ecosystem services/benefits and values of GI types in reducing UHIs. The historical review results show that research on all GI types showed rapid growth since 2013, and their GR increased rapidly. The highest-ranking keywords were urban heat island/heat island, climate/climate change/microclimate, and temperature/land surface temperature/air temperature. “Design,” “vegetation,” “quality,” and “reduction” are the top four strongest keyword bursts. The most published countries are the People’s Republic of China, USA, Australia, Germany, and Italy, and the top three institutions are the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Arizona State University, and the National University of Singapore. Landscape and Urban Planning, Building and Environment, Energy and Building, and Urban Forestry and Urban Greening are the most published journals. In urban areas, different GI types as a form of ecosystem hardware provide multiple functions (reduced land surface temperatures, lower building energy usage, improved thermal comfort and enhanced human health, reduced morbidity and mortality, etc.). GI thus provides a regulated ecosystem service to ameliorate UHIs primarily through temperature regulation and shade. At the same time, GI provides benefits and values (ecological, economic, social, and cultural) to humans and urban sustainable development. GI types determine the functions they provide, afford corresponding regulated ecosystem services, and provide benefits and values in a logical/recycle system. Overall, this review highlights the development and importance of GI, as well as the relationship of GI types and functions of regulating the ecosystem service benefits and values to mitigate UHI, and advances the study of climate change adaptation in cities.
Urban areas are expanding due to rural-urban migration and due to population increases. Their resilience is being challenged due to socio-political consequences of increasingly frequent and severe storms, due to climate changes, influx of human and animal refugees and as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors prepared a systematic literature of ways cities can be transformed into more resilient, and sustainable regions by creatively enhancing the quality and quantity of blue and green areas in and around them. The literature review was conducted to provide holistic insights into selection, implementation monitoring, assessment, and valuation of Nature-based Solutions in diverse urban regions. The authors reviewed no fewer than 298 articles from 109 academic journals and related sources, published within 1997-2020. The focus of the articles was upon ‘nature-based’ changes that are being implemented in urban areas, globally to enhance their resilience and the ‘quality-of-life’ of humans and other species. By implementing nature-based solutions, and complimentary ‘urban wilding’ approaches, urban areas and their hinterlands are expanding their ‘blue’ and ‘green’ areas and are thereby decreasing the ‘heat-island’ effects, while improving human health by surrounding them with rich bio-diversities of locally adapted, aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals. Although, many NBS options have been documented to be beneficial, their environmental, economic and social/psychological dimensions have not been adequately quantified, especially in the context of climate changes, and with regard to COVID-19. It is essential that the benefits of NBS are quantified with easily measurable outcomes, that are readily understood by practitioners, city policy-makers and members of community organizations, based upon specific geographical and climatological contexts. This will help them accelerate implementation of NBS and wilding into their urban systems. The reviewers found that more research is needed on anticipatory learning, backcasting and community participation to help to effectively implement the appropriate NBS for improving the sustainability of urban systems. The reviewers provide guidance for urban leaders to incorporate NBS into their policies and strategies to improve urban resilience and equity and to more effectively reduce impacts of climate change, population growth and pandemics. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The present systematic review was conducted by gathering the impacts of climate change on occupational heat strain, gathering risk factors that may increase susceptibility to climate-related occupational hazards, and gathering measures for controlling the impacts of climate change on occupational heat strain in outdoor workers. Materials and methods: In this study, three main databases PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched to find relevant literature on climate change and its effects using subject headings, appropriate Mesh terms and experts’ opinion. Results: The evidence suggests an imprecise but positive relationship between climate change and occupational heat strain in outdoor workers, and the most likely mechanism involves dehydration, fatigue, dizziness, confusion, reduced brain function, loss of concentration and discomfort. Conclusion: With predictions of increasing temperatures, the baseline heat strain incidence data from this systematic review study in tropical and subtropical countries with low and middle income may be used to help stakeholders in policy-making, promotion campaigns, occupational health interventions, and choosing appropriate control methods. Strong evidence indicates that, to manage adverse effects of heat stress on outdoor workers, key factors include anticipating, recognizing, evaluating, controlling, researching, risk management, and applying suitable policy development may be useful tools.
Heat exposure is a well-known health hazard, which causes several problems ranging from thermal discomfort or productivity reduction to the aggravation of existing illnesses and death. Climate projections foresee an increase in the frequency and intensity of heat-related impacts on human health. To reduce these climate risks, governments need a better understanding of not only the scale and the factors affecting those risks, but also how to prepare and protect the city and citizens against these risks and prevent them through effective policy making. Therefore, climate adaptation decisions need to be made in complex systems with manifold uncertainties. In response to these deep uncertainties, different planning approaches have been developed to assist policymakers in decision making. This paper is focused on one of the dynamic adaptive policy planning approaches: the adaptation pathway. This approach allows designing alternative feasible plans that are flexible and can respond when new information appears or when conditions in the environment change. This paper presents a structured methodology for designing adaptation pathways. The work describes a high-level adaptation pathway covering heatwave impacts on productivity and health at city level in Antwerp to ensure the city adapts to future conditions. Lastly, a summary is provided of the lessons learned and the challenges of this approach are discussed.
The negative cardiorespiratory health outcomes due to extreme temperatures and air pollution are widely studied, but knowledge about the effectiveness of the implementation of adaptive mechanisms remains unclear. The objective of this paper is to explore the evidence of adaptive mechanisms for cardiorespiratory diseases regarding extreme temperatures and air pollution by comparing the results of two systematic literature review (SLR) processes sharing the same initial research question but led by two research groups with different academic backgrounds working in the same multidisciplinary team. We start by presenting the methodological procedures and the results of the SLR triggered by the research group mainly composed by researchers with a background in geography (named geographical strategy). We then compare these results with those achieved in the SLR led by the research group with a background in epidemiology (named epidemiological strategy). Both SLR were developed under the EU Horizon 2020 Project “EXHAUSTION “. The results showed: 1) the lack of evidence regarding the effectiveness of adaptation measures, namely due to the limited number of studies about the topic, the preponderance of studies dedicated to heat extremes or the unbalance between different adaptation measures; 2) that the choice of search terms in the geographical strategy, despite being more comprehensive at first sight, ended up retrieving less results, but it brought new studies that can complement the results of the epidemiological strategy. Therefore, it is suggested that to strengthen the empirical evidence of the effectiveness of adaptation measures, powerful multidisciplinary teams should work together in the preparation of SLR in topics of great complexity, such as the one presented in this paper.
BACKGROUND: Climate change is expected to alter the global footprint of many infectious diseases, particularly vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue. Knowledge of the range and geographical context of expected climate change impacts on disease transmission and spread, combined with knowledge of effective adaptation strategies and responses, can help to identify gaps and best practices to mitigate future health impacts. To investigate the types of evidence for impacts of climate change on two major mosquito-borne diseases of global health importance, malaria and dengue, and to identify the range of relevant policy responses and adaptation strategies that have been devised, we performed a scoping review of published review literature. Three electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus and Epistemonikos) were systematically searched for relevant published reviews. Inclusion criteria were: reviews with a systematic search, from 2007 to 2020, in English or French, that addressed climate change impacts and/or adaptation strategies related to malaria and/or dengue. Data extracted included: characteristics of the article, type of review, disease(s) of focus, geographic focus, and nature of the evidence. The evidence was summarized to identify and compare regional evidence for climate change impacts and adaptation measures. RESULTS: A total of 32 reviews met the inclusion criteria. Evidence for the impacts of climate change (including climate variability) on dengue was greatest in the Southeast Asian region, while evidence for the impacts of climate change on malaria was greatest in the African region, particularly in highland areas. Few reviews explicitly addressed the implementation of adaptation strategies to address climate change-driven disease transmission, however suggested strategies included enhanced surveillance, early warning systems, predictive models and enhanced vector control. CONCLUSIONS: There is strong evidence for the impacts of climate change, including climate variability, on the transmission and future spread of malaria and dengue, two of the most globally important vector-borne diseases. Further efforts are needed to develop multi-sectoral climate change adaptation strategies to enhance the capacity and resilience of health systems and communities, especially in regions with predicted climatic suitability for future emergence and re-emergence of malaria and dengue. This scoping review may serve as a useful precursor to inform future systematic reviews of the primary literature.
ABSTRACT: Throughout the past decades, climate change has been one of the most complex global issues. Characterized by worldwide alterations in weather patterns, along with a concomitant increase in the temperature of the Earth, climate change will undoubtedly have significant effects on food security and food safety. Climate change engenders climate variability: significant variations in weather variables and their frequency. Both climate variability and climate change are thought to threaten the safety of the food supply chain through different pathways. One such pathway is the ability to exacerbate foodborne diseases by influencing the occurrence, persistence, virulence and, in some cases, toxicity of certain groups of disease-causing microorganisms. Food safety can also be compromised by various chemical hazards, such as pesticides, mycotoxins, and heavy metals. With changes in weather patterns, such as lower rainfall, higher air temperature, and higher frequency of extreme weather events among others, this translates to emerging food safety concerns. These include the shortage of safe water for irrigation of agricultural produce, greater use of pesticides due to pest resistance, increased difficulty in achieving a well-controlled cold chain resulting in temperature abuse, or the occurrence of flash floods, which cause runoff of chemical contaminants in natural water courses. Together, these can result in foodborne infection, intoxication, antimicrobial resistance, and long-term bioaccumulation of chemicals and heavy metals in the human body. Furthermore, severe climate variability can result in extreme weather events and natural calamities, which directly or indirectly impair food safety. This review discusses the causes and impacts of climate change and variability on existing and emerging food safety risks and also considers mitigation and adaptation strategies to address the global warming and climate change problem.
The present paper aims at verifying the awareness and preparedness of urban and local planners to cope with NaTech risk, together with the availability of dedicated tools. Since most of the natural events that can trigger technological hazards are influenced by climate change (i.e. flood, heavy rains, storms, etc.), NaTech risk is expected to be strongly increasing in the next years. However, dedicated NaTech planning actions and methods or tools to support them are still rarely available. The requirements of European Adaptation Strategy for Climate were examined considering the issues posed by the Seveso III Directive in terms of NaTech, focusing on the strategies adopted in the European countries, and in particular in Italy. Based on such analysis, a ‘NaTech tool’ dedicated to local planners was developed. Practical and easy to use methods and procedures were proposed in order to allow the use of the method by the local authorities, in the absence of sectorial experts.
Understanding of public health adaptation (PHA) to climate change and implementation is limited. This study therefore focuses on one specific PHA issue: adaptation to the oak processionary moth (OPM). The aim is to examine the development of OPM adaptation in order to offer a problem description of the complexities involved in OPM adaptation. In this explorative case study, we investigate adaptation strategies based on semi-structured interviews with 26 actors involved in OPM adaptation in The Netherlands. The results indicate that the context of OPM adaptation is relatively complex, given the involvement of many interdependent actors. OPM adaptation was developed with limited knowledge and strategies were based on ad hoc approaches in which there was ambiguity about tasks and expertise. In addition, different actors have different perceptions and values concerning health, sustainability, risks and responsibilities influencing decision-making processes, while also posing a challenge to collaboration and the development of a coordinated approach. The generation of knowledge and its translation into practical strategies calls for interdisciplinary cooperation in knowledge development. PHA adaptation involves more than technical and organisational solutions alone. It also entails the development of a shared problem perception and solution space in which citizens are also engaged.
The consequences of climate change are becoming increasingly evident and highlight the important interdependence between the well-being of people and ecosystems. Although climate change is a global phenomenon, its causes and consequences vary dramatically across territories and population groups. Among settings particularly susceptible to health impacts from climate change are cities with a Mediterranean climate. Here, impacts will put additional pressure on already-stressed ecosystems and vulnerable economies and societies, increasing health inequalities. Therefore, this article presents and discusses a conceptual framework for understanding the complex relationship between climate change and health in the context of cities with Mediterranean climate from a social and climate justice approach. The different elements that integrate the conceptual framework are: (1) the determinants of climate change; (2) its environmental and social consequences; (3) its direct and indirect impacts on health; and (4) the role of mitigation and adaptation policies. The model places special emphasis on the associated social and health inequalities through (1) the recognition of the role of systems of privilege and oppression; (2) the distinction between structural and intermediate determinants of climate change at the root of health inequalities; (3) the role of individual and collective vulnerability in mediating the effects of climate change on health; and (4) the need to act from a climate justice perspective to reverse health inequities.
Urban and peri-urban areas are subject to major societal challenges, like food security, climate change, biodiversity, resource efficiency, land management, social cohesion, and economic growth. In that context, Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (UPA), thanks to its multifunctionality, could have a high value in providing social, economic, and environmental co-benefits. UPA is an emerging field of research and production that aims to improve food security and climate change impact reduction, improving urban resilience and sustainability. In this paper, a replicable GIS-based approach was used to localize and quantify available areas for agriculture, including both flat rooftop and ground-level areas in the mainland of the city of Venice (Italy). Then, possible horticultural yield production was estimated considering common UPA yield value and average Italian consumption. Climate change mitigation, like CO2 reduction and sequestration, and climate change adaptation, like Urban Flooding and Urban Heat Island reduction, due to the new UPA areas’ development were estimated. Despite the urban density, the identified areas have the potential to produce enough vegetables for the residents and improve climate change mitigation and adaptation, if transformed into agricultural areas. Finally, the paper concludes with a reflection on the co-benefits of UPA multifunctionality, and with some policy suggestions.
The reduction of energy consumption in the built environment by energy renovation strategies is an important target to deal with buildings sector’s negative impact on our planet. Regardless of the potential for energy and emissions savings, building renovation has other relevant effects on users’ quality of life and health that has not been so well assessed. The present study aims to contribute to current building energy efficiency targets, particularly to Spanish residential building sector, from a still non-existing integrated vision. To this end, an evaluation method was developed to discuss the impact of energy renovation interventions on annual energy demand, indoor thermal comfort and indoor thermal health risk variation. The approach was applied to an open linear residential block located in the Basque Country (northern Spain), and twelve scenarios based on three variables were analysed using DesignBuilder tool. The results obtained show a clear contrast in the impacts caused by energy refurbishment interventions. In particular, the generalized decrease in the number of hours in which indoor temperatures are within comfortable ranges is significant in contrast to the noteworthy reduction in annual energy demand. In conclusion, the results suggest new factors to be considered when updating energy renovation policies.
Well-being is transversal to different urban-related challenges such as increasing urbanization or adaptation to the effects of climate change. One possible response to these challenges is the use of nature in cities. The aim of this study is to investigate how the objective quantity of natural space near the home, the perception of these natural elements, and their perceived availability, moderated by the effect of connectedness to nature, could explain levels of well-being. A survey was conducted among a sample of 1343 participants living in seven European cities. Data were collected online via a questionnaire. Indicators of the objective quantity of urban natural space based on remotely sensed satellite imagery were also used. Regression models highlight the association between well-being and perceived amount of nature, accessibility to a community garden, and level of connectedness to nature. A moderating and negative effect of connectedness to nature on the association between the perceived quantity of nature and well-being was also identified. Perception of nature seems to be a better indicator of well-being than the objective one. Results highlight the importance of the social dimension of collective gardens in enhancing well-being. Connectedness to nature could facilitate appropriation of natural elements and its effects on well-being.
Climate change can cause multiply potential health issues in urban areas, which is the most susceptible environment in terms of the presently increasing climate volatility. Urban greening strategies make an important part of the adaptation strategies which can ameliorate the negative impacts of climate change. It was aimed to study the potential impacts of different kinds of greenings against the adverse effects of climate change, including waterborne, vector-borne diseases, heat-related mortality, and surface ozone concentration in a medium-sized Hungarian city. As greening strategies, large and pocket parks were considered, based on our novel location identifier algorithm for climate risk minimization. A method based on publicly available data sources including satellite pictures, climate scenarios and urban macrostructure has been developed to evaluate the health-related indicator patterns in cities. The modelled future- and current patterns of the indicators have been compared. The results can help the understanding of the possible future state of the studied indicators and the development of adequate greening strategies. Another outcome of the study is that it is not the type of health indicator but its climate sensitivity that determines the extent to which it responds to temperature rises and how effective greening strategies are in addressing the expected problem posed by the factor.
Greening and green regeneration have been developed as a major strategy for improving quality of life in cities and neighbourhoods. Greening policies and projects are being applied at both the citywide and the neigh-bourhood level for various reasons, such as adaptation to climate change and the improvement of housing and living conditions as well as wellbeing and health. Urban policies, plans, and programmes have increasingly employed greening strategies to make urban neighbourhoods more attractive, to improve quality of life, and to provide residents with recreational space. At the same time, greening is increasingly “exploited” by market -oriented regeneration and construction strategies. The new critical debates on eco-gentrification-or distribu-tional, procedural, and interactional injustices-are discussing emerging conflicts or trade-offs between green regeneration and the social or housing market impacts, as well as analysing the role of greening and green regeneration with respect to the (re)production of socio-spatial inequalities and injustices.Set against this background, our paper provides a comparative analysis of two cases-L acute accent odz acute accent Stare Polesie (Poland) and Leipzig’s inner east (Germany)-and has a threefold purpose: first, it seeks to analyse in-terconnections between greening policies and justice concerns. To operationalise the aforementioned in-terconnections, we will, second, develop an operational model that looks at interconnections as a process and applies a justice perspective that focuses on a multidimensional, intersectional, relational, and context-and policy-sensitive understanding of justice. Third, the paper seeks to detect how a contrasting comparison can help us to come to a better and more comprehensive understanding of the interconnections between green regen-eration and justice. The study itself builds on primary research about the two cases from earlier projects.
Heatwaves are occurring more frequently and are known to affect particularly night-time temperatures. We review here literature on how night-time ambient temperature changes affect body temperature and sleep quality. We then discuss how these temperature effects impact particularly vulnerable populations such as older adults, children, pregnant women, and those with psychiatric conditions. Several ways of dealing with sleep problems in the context of heatwaves are then suggested, adapted from elements of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, with more specific advice for vulnerable populations. By better dealing with sleep problems during heatwaves, general health effects of heatwaves may be more limited. However, given the sparse literature, many links addressed in this review on sleep problems affected by temperature changes should be the focus of future research.
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in young adults in many Western countries. We examined the short-term association of temperature with cause-specific mortality, comparing suicide with other causes of death and describing possible attenuation of associations with temperature across decades. We considered all deaths that occurred in France between 1968 and 2016. For each cause of death, we conducted a 2-stage meta-analysis of associations with daily temperature. We stratified the association across time periods. A total of 502,017 deaths by suicide were recorded over 49 years. Temperature was monotonically associated with suicide mortality. The strongest association was found at lag 0 days. The relative risk of suicide mortality at the 99th (compared with the 1st) temperature percentile was 1.54 (95% confidence interval, 1.46, 1.63). Among all causes of death, suicide was the only cause displaying a monotonic trend with temperature and ranked seventh for heat-related mortality; 2 other causes of death implying the nervous system ranked third and fourth. Associations with temperature attenuated between the 1968-1984 and 1985-2000 periods for all-cause mortality and suicide mortality, without clear further attenuation in the 2001-2016 period. The robust short-term monotonic association between temperature and suicide risk could be considered in heat effects- and suicide-related prevention campaigns.
Climate change is expected to increase heat-related mortality across the world. Health Impact Assessment (HIA) studies are used to quantify the impact of higher temperatures, taking into account the effect of population adaptation. Although air-conditioning (AC) is one of the main drivers of technological adaptation to heat, the health impacts associated with AC-induced air pollution have not been examined in detail. This study uses the city of Thessaloniki, Greece as a case study and aims to estimate the future heat-related mortality, the residential cooling demand, and the adaptation trade-off between averted heat-related and increased air pollution cardiorespiratory mortality. Using temperature and population projections under different Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CIMP6) Shared Socioeconomic Pathways scenarios (SSPs), a HIA model was developed for the future heat and air pollution cardiorespiratory mortality. Counterfactual scenarios of either black carbon (BC) or natural gas (NG) being the fuel source for electricity generation were included in the HIA. The results indicate that the heat-related cardiorespiratory mortality in Thessaloniki will increase and the excess of annual heat-related deaths in 2080-2099 will range from 2.4 (95% CI: 0.0-20.9) under SSP1-2.6 to 433.7 (95% CI: 66.9-1070) under SSP5-8.5. Population adaptation will attenuate the heat-related mortality, although the latter may be counterbalanced by the higher air pollution-related mortality due to increased AC, especially under moderate SSP scenarios and coal-fired power plants. Future studies examining the health effects of warmer temperatures need to account for the impact of both adaptation and increased penetration and use of AC.
The European Union is currently immersed in policy development to address the effects of climate change around the world. Key plans and processes for facilitating adaptation to high temperatures and for reducing the adverse effects on health are among the most urgent measures. Therefore, it is necessary to understand those factors that influence adaptation. The aim of this study was to provide knowledge related to the social, climate and economic factors that are related to the evolution of minimum mortality temperatures (MMT) in Spain in the rural and urban contexts, during the 1983-2018 time period. For this purpose, local factors were studied regarding their relationship to levels of adaptation to heat. MMT is an indicator that allows for establishing a relationship to between mortality and temperature, and is a valid indicator to assess the capacity of adaptation to heat of a certain population. MMT is obtained through the maximum daily temperature and daily mortality of the study period. The evolution of MMT values for Spain was established in a previous paper. An ecological, longitudinal and retrospective study was carried out. Generalized linear models (GLM) were performed to identify the variables that appeared to be related to adaptation. The adaptation was calculated as the difference in variation in MMT based on the average increase in maximum daily temperatures. In terms of adaptation to heat, urban populations have adapted more than non-urban populations. Seventy-nine percent (n = 11) of urban provinces have adapted to heat, compared to twenty-one percent (n = 3) of rural provinces that have not adapted. In terms of urban zones, income level and habituation to heat (values over the 95th percentile) were variables shown to be related to adaptation. In contrast, among non-urban provinces, a greater number of housing rehabilitation licenses and a greater number of health professionals were variables associated with higher increases in MMT, and therefore, with adaptation. These results highlight the need to carry out studies that allow for identifying the local factors that are most relevant and influential in population adaptation. More studies carried out at a small scale are needed.
The objective of this study was to analyze at the level of Spain’s 52 provinces province level the temporal evolution of minimum mortality temperatures (MMT) from 1983 to 2018, in order to determine whether the increase in MMT would be sufficient to compensate for the increase in environmental temperatures in Spain for the period. It also aimed to analyze whether the rate of evolution of MMT would be sufficient, were it to remain constant, to compensate for the predicted increase in temperatures in an unfavorable (RCP 8.5) emissions scenario for the time horizon 2051-2100. The independent variable was made up of maximum daily temperature data (Tmax) for the summer months in the reference observatories of each province for the 1983-2018 period. The dependent variable was daily mortality rate due to natural causes (ICD 10: A00-R99). For each year and province, MMT was determined using a quadratic or cubic fit (p < 0.05). Based on the annual MMT values, a linear fit was carried out that allowed for determining the time evolution of MMT. These values were compared with the evolution of Tmax registered in each observatory during the 1983-2018 analyzed period and with the predicted values of Tmax obtained for an RCP8.5 scenario for the period 2051-2100. The rate of global variance in Tmax in the summer months in Spain during the 1983-2018 period was 0.41 °C/decade, while MMT across the whole country increased at a rate of 0.64 °C/decade. Variations in the provinces were heterogeneous. For the 2051-2100 time horizon, there was predicted increase in Tmax values of 0.66 °C/decade, with marked geographical differences. Although at the global level it is possible to speak of adaptation, the heterogeneities among the provinces suggest that the local level measures are needed in order to facilitate adaptation in those areas where it is not occurring.
In the context of dense urban environments and climate change, pedestrians’ thermal experience plays an increasingly significant role in people’s health and well-being. In this research, the authors combine the fields of architecture, climate-responsive design, and robotic fabrication with the goal of investigating strategies to improve outdoor thermal comfort for pedestrians in cities with frequent extreme heat events. Based on a case study in the city of Munich, this paper presents findings into the technological approaches and methods for location-specific climate-resilient brick facades using robotic assembly. To achieve this goal, different bricklaying patterns were investigated to create a self-shading effect and thus reduce solar radiation and ultimately achieve an improved thermal condition for pedestrians moving along urban facades at street level. Using computer-aided microclimate simulation, generic self-shading brick pattern designs were tailored to highly location-specific microclimate requirements. Robotic assembly technology was used to produce such tailored, non-standard brickwork facades. The results of this research led to a data-informed design process with a demonstrator object being realized at 1:1 scale with a height of 2 m and a length of 3 m using a collaborative robot on site. Thermal measurements on the built demonstrator provided indications of reduced surface temperatures despite high solar radiation and thus validated the location-specific self-shading effects according to solar radiation simulation.
BACKGROUND: Adapting the urban environment to heat is a public health priority in the context of climate change. Cities are now considering interventions on specific urban characteristics known to contribute to the urban heat island (UHI) such as vegetation and imperviousness. OBJECTIVES: To explore how these urban characteristics influence the temperature-mortality relationship in the Paris region. METHODS: We modeled the temperature-mortality relationship for the 1300 municipalities of the region from 1990 to 2015, while including an interaction with indicators that summarize the municipalities’ main urban characteristics. Four indicators were tested: lack of green spaces, lack of trees, proportion of impervious surface, and overexposed population to a potential night UHI. RESULTS: The shape of the temperature-mortality relationship was similar across all municipalities, but with a higher slope at the highest temperatures in municipalities with less green spaces, less trees, and more impervious soil. For instance, in Paris and its close suburbs, the relative risk associated with a temperature in the 99th percentile of the temperature distribution (compared to the 50th percentile) was 2.17 [IC95% 1.98:2.38] in municipalities with 40% of their surface covered by trees compared to 2.57 [IC 95% 2.47:2.68] in municipalities with only 3% of their surface covered by trees. DISCUSSION: A lack of vegetation and a high degree of imperviousness were associated with a higher risk of heat-related mortality in the Paris region. Therefore, we can assume that interventions targeting these characteristics could reduce the health impacts of extreme heat. Such interventions should be coupled with other initiatives such as protecting the most vulnerable and promoting appropriate behaviors.
Extreme heatwaves will occur more frequently and with higher intensity in future. Their consequences for human health can be fatal if adaptation measures will not be taken. This study analyses factors related to heat adaptation measures in private households in Germany. During the summer months of 2019, indoor temperatures were measured in over 500 private households in the City of Augsburg, Germany, accompanied by a survey to find out about heat perception and adaptation measures. Hypotheses deducted from the Protective Action Decision Model were tested using one-way ANOVAs, regression analysis and in the end a multiple hierarchical regression model. The results of the hypotheses tested imply an influence of knowledge and heat risk perception of heat adaptation behaviour and an influence of age on heat risk perception. The results of the regression model show an influence of the efficacy-related attribute, of age, indoor temperature, subjective heat stress and health implications to heat adaptation behaviour. In the end, this study proposes adjustments to the PADM according to the results of the hierarchical regression analysis.
Urbanization, environmental change and ageing are putting urban health at risk. In many cities, heat stress is projected to increase. Urban green spaces are considered as an important resource to strengthen the resilience of city dwellers. We conducted a questionnaire survey in two structurally distinct parks in Leipzig, Germany, on hot summer days in 2019. We assessed the respondents? activity patterns, satisfaction with the existing infrastructure, heat-related health impairment, changes in park use during heat waves and evaluation of the role of parks in coping with heat stress. We found that the old-grown, tree-rich park was used significantly more frequently for experiencing nature, while the newer, less tree-rich park developed on a former railway-brownfield site was used more often for socializing and having BBQs and picnics. Satisfaction with available drinking fountains and public toilets was generally low and satisfaction with lighting was assessed less satisfactory in the old-grown park. Safety was assessed as satisfactory in general but significantly less satisfactory by female respondents. The heat stress summary score indicating heat-related health impairment was significantly higher for participants in the newer park. A high share of respondents stated that they used parks during heat waves as frequently as usual in the summer (46 %), while some respondents stated that they adapted their park use behaviour (18 %), e.g., by coming later in the evening. Regarding the participants? responses about the role of parks under summer heat conditions, we matched 138 statements to several regulating and cultural ecosystem services, and we found cooling and recreation to be mentioned most often. We concluded that green space planning should diminish usage barriers, such as insufficient lighting and insufficient sanitary infrastructure, to ensure equal park use opportunities for all city dwellers. Specific local environmental and sociocultural conditions, changing environments and climate adaptation must be considered. To maintain ecological processes and functions and to cope with climate change, urban planning should preserve older parks with a large amount of tree coverage while respecting demands for particular built infrastructure.
For both tree-lined sidewalks of a shallow and deep E-W street canyon located in the city of Freiburg (Southwest Germany), the solar elevation impact on the magnitude of the daytime human heat stress mitigation (hhsm) is analysed in dependence of different tree scenarios. Identic ENVI-met simulations are carried out on the summer solstice day 21 June 2003 and heat wave day 4 August 2003. All simulation scenarios indicate an almost negligible solar elevation impact on hhsm in terms of spatiotemporal averaged air temperature. The results achieved on both simulation days for the spatiotemporal averaged mean radiation temperature (T-mrt) and physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) as well as spatially high-resolution PET reflect that the north-facing sidewalk in both street canyons is entirely shaded by the south-bounding building. Secondarily it is influenced by lower radiant flux densities from the trees near the curb edges of both sidewalks. On both simulation days, the south-facing sidewalk in the shallow street canyon is only shaded by the tree crowns. In the deep street canyon, however, the south-facing sidewalk is completely shaded on 4 August by the south-bounding building, while on 21 June this shade is limited to its southern half, i.e. its northern half is directly influenced by the shade of trees. Due to these shading conditions, the results focused on pedestrians on both sidewalks show different patterns of the solar elevation impact on T-mrt and PET as well as hhsm in terms of T-mrt and PET. While increasing tree crown projection areas lead to a lower solar elevation impact on T-mrt and PET, they cause a more distinct hhsm in terms of T-mrt and PET for higher solar elevations. The non-negligible magnitude of the solar elevation impact in all scenarios leads to the recommendation to carry out ensemble simulations in order to achieve T-mrt, PET, hhsm-T-mrt and hhsm-PET results, which are reliable for planning applications.
This paper analyses the probabilistic future behaviour of heat-waves (HWs) in the city of Madrid in the twenty-first century, using maximum daily temperatures from twenty-one climate circulation models under two representative concentration pathways (RCP 8.5 & RCP 4.5). HWs are modelled considering three factors: number per annum, duration and intensity, characterised by three stochastic processes: Poisson, Gamma and truncated Gaussian, respectively. Potential correlations between these processes are also considered. The probabilistic temperature behaviour is combined with an epidemiological model with stochastic mortality risk following a generalized extreme value distribution (gev). The objective of this study is to obtain probability distributions of mortality and risk measures such as the mean value of the 5% of worst cases in the 21st century, in particular from 2025 to 2100. Estimates from stochastic models for characterising HWs and epidemiological impacts on human health can vary from one climate model to another, so relying on a single climate model can be problematic. For this reason, the calculations are carried out for 21 models and the average of the results is obtained. A sensitivity adaptation analysis is also performed. Under RCP 8.5 for 2100 for Madrid city a mean excess of 3.6 °C over the 38 °C temperature threshold is expected as the average of all models, with an expected attributable mortality of 1614 people, but these figures may be substantially exceeded in some cases if the highest-risk cases occur.
Due to phenomena such as urban heat islands, outdoor thermal comfort of the cities’ residents emerges as a growing concern. A major challenge for mega-cities in changing climate is the design of urban spaces that ensure and promote pedestrian thermal comfort. Understanding pedestrian behavioural adaptation to urban thermal environments is critically important to attain this goal. Current research in pedestrian behaviour lacks controlled experimentation, which limits the quantitative modelling of such complex behaviour. Combining well-controlled experiments with human participants and computational methods inspired by behavioural ecology and decision theory, we examine the effect of sun exposure on route choice in a tropical city. We find that the distance walked in the shade is discounted by a factor of 0.86 compared to the distance walked in the sun, and that shadows cast by buildings have a stronger effect than trees. The discounting effect is mathematically formalised and thus allows quantification of the behaviour that can be used in understanding pedestrian behaviour in changing urban climates. The results highlight the importance of assessment of climate through human responses to it and point the way forward to explore scenarios to mitigate pedestrian heat stress.
In recent years, the increasing occurrence of heatwaves raises the cooling need of residential buildings in Scandinavian countries, which are traditionally not equipped with active cooling systems. Indoor overheating caused by such heatwaves leads to severe consequences for occupants, especially kids and seniors. Efficient and economical cooling solutions are urgently needed to cope with frequent heatwaves. The present study investigated the novel usage of the geothermal-assisted mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (GEO-MVHR) system for cooling purposes in typical Swedish multi-family dwellings. The cooling potential of the system and its contributions to thermal comfort were evaluated. Dynamic simulations were conducted to assess the system’s cooling performance under two climate scenarios: the climate of 2018 representing an extreme year with excessively hot summer and the climate of a typical meteorological year. The GEO-MVHR system shows great potential in mitigating indoor overheating with improved thermal comfort. A ventilation airflow rate of 0.50-0.70 l/s/m(2) is suggested for multi-family dwellings to maximize the cooling potential of the GEO-MVHR system. The indoor operative temperature could be reduced by up to 3 degrees C with the GEO-MVHR system operating for cooling. Modulating the supply air temperature of the GEO-MVHR system based on indoor thermal conditions is recommended, as it shows the advantage of avoiding unnecessary overcooling and energy saving.
Adaptation to climate change is often understood as a top-down decision-making and policy-implementing process, as well as application of expert knowledge, to prevent or reduce its (locally specific) negative consequences. In high-income societies, adaptation at the household level then frequently refers to adopting technological fixes distributed through the market, sometimes at a considerable cost. Informed by a study in the context of Central Europe, this article aims to discuss different practices of households and individuals that do not require increased consumption of energy or materials, but still help adapting to climate change in some of its local expressions, such as heatwaves and drought. They were described by participants in focus groups in six cities in the Czech Republic. I argue that such ‘inconspicuous adaptations’ emerge without connection to the climate change debate, or without deeper knowledge about the issue. Yet, they should not be overlooked as unimportant and short-term ‘coping responses’ and underestimated in this debate. They are part and parcel of the ongoing process of societal adaptation to climate change.
Human health can be negatively impacted by hot or cold weather, which often exacerbates respiratory or cardiovascular conditions and increases the risk of mortality. Urban populations are at particular increased risk of effects from heat due to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect (higher urban temperatures compared with rural ones). This has led to extensive investigation of the summertime UHI, its impacts on health, and also the consideration of interventions such as reflective ‘cool’ roofs to help reduce summertime overheating effects. However, interventions aimed at limiting summer heat are rarely evaluated for their effects in wintertime, and thus their overall annual net impact on temperature-related health effects are poorly understood. In this study we use a regional weather model to simulate the winter 2009/10 period for an urbanized region of the UK (Birmingham and the West Midlands), and use a health impact assessment to estimate the impact of reflective ‘cool’ roofs (an intervention usually aimed at reducing the UHI in summer) on cold-related mortality in winter. Cool roofs have been shown to be effective at reducing maximum temperatures during summertime. In contrast to the summer, we find that cool roofs have a minimal effect on ambient air temperatures in winter. Although the UHI in summertime can increase heat-related mortality, the wintertime UHI can have benefits to health, through avoided cold-related mortality. Our results highlight the potential annual net health benefits of implementing cool roofs to reduce temperature-related mortality in summer, without reducing the protective UHI effect in winter. Further, we suggest that benefits of cool roofs may increase in future, with a doubling of the number of heat-related deaths avoided by the 2080s (RCP8.5) compared to summer 2006, and with insignificant changes in the impact of cool-roofs on cold-related mortality. These results further support reflective ‘cool’ roof implementation strategies as effective interventions to protect health, both today and in future.
To derive deeper insight into the dynamic thermal comfort demands of the elderly in response to the seasonal climate shift, 213 people aged above 60 years in nursing homes were surveyed in a long-term field investigation conducted in Xi’an, China. A subjective questionnaire of thermal comfort and objective physical environment tests was administered, and 834 valid questionnaires were collected. Human thermal responses to seasonal climate shift, and their correlations with indoor operative temperatures were analyzed. Seasonal and yearly adaptive thermal comfort models for the elderly were then developed. Results show that clothing regulation during the transition season was most sensitive to temperature changes. Neutral temperatures during winter, transition season, and summer were 19.4 ?, 22.6 ?, and 24.1 ?, respectively. The acceptable temperature ranges that 80% and 90% respondents accepted were 14.9?-30.4 ? and 17.7?-27.7 ?, respectively. Nearly half the older respondents expected indoor temperature to remain unchanged during all seasons, but the percentage of respondents who wanted warmer or cooler indoor temperatures varied in different seasons. The yearly adaptive comfort model for elderly differed from models in ASHRAE 55 and EN 15251, as well as the models for elderly in Shanghai and young people in Xi’an. The results indicate that elderly in Xi’an actively adapt to the indoor thermal environment through behavioral adjustment. Moreover, they have higher acceptability and lower psychological expectations on the thermal environment. The model established in this study may have some limitations for the sample size, but can serve as references while designing comfortable and healthy indoor thermal environments for nursing homes.
WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS TOPIC? An increasing number of studies have projected temperature-related mortality, but few consider the change of population’s adaptability to future temperature and mortality burden from cold and heat effects. WHAT IS ADDED BY THIS REPORT? This study offers a comprehensive characterization of human adaptability and excess mortality burden of temperature across various regions of China. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE? The temperature-related excess mortality was projected to increase in the 2050s and decrease in the 2080s. Heat adaptability was projected to increase in the future, but along with the rising temperatures, the heat-related excess mortality continuously rose, except for the low-speed rising scenario. Although the excess mortality of cold was projected to decrease in the nearer future, it might not keep declining in the long run, due to the decreasing cold-adaptability, which deserves more attention.
China, with its growing population and economic development, faces increasing risks to health from climate change, but also opportunities to address these risks and protect health for generations to come. Without a timely and adequate response, climate change will impact lives and livelihoods at an accelerated rate. In 2020, the Lancet Countdown Regional Centre in Asia, led by Tsinghua University, built on the work of the global Lancet Countdown and began its assessment of the health profile of climate change in China with the aim of triggering rapid and health-responsive actions. This 2021 report is the first annual update, presenting 25 indicators within five domains: climate change impacts, exposures, and vulnerability; adaptation, planning, and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; economics and finance; and public and political engagement. The report represents the contributions of 88 experts from 25 leading institutions in, and outside of, China. From 2020 to 2021, five new indicators have been added and methods have been improved for many indicators. Where possible, the indicator results are presented at national and provincial levels to facilitate local understanding and policy making. In a year marked by COVID-19, this report also endeavours to reflect on China’s pathway for a green recovery, ensuring it aligns with the carbon neutrality goal, for the health of the current and future generations.
Climate change is almost unanimously perceived to be one of the greatest environmental and developmental challenges of this century. Implementing climate change response requires not just huge and prudent utilization of financial resources, but also highly efficient financing institutions and systems especially in developing countries where underlying development issues such as poverty, health, etc. exist. This paper attempts to evaluate the operationalization of the Indonesian Climate Change Trust Fund (ICCTF) as a climate financing prototype in terms of fund mobilization, nature of projects, equity and inclusion, alignment and mainstreaming. This study was conducted through review of relevant and recent literature on climate change governance and financing, supported with information retrieved from relevant official documents as well as interviews of key persons. Our study found the ICCTF most effective in alignment with national development plans and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It has implemented climate change adaptation programmes with the principles of equity and inclusion of various stakeholders. The ICCTF has however struggled to efficiently mobilize funds owing largely to technical ambiguities especially in its legal and institutional frameworks, it therefore yet to be utilized to its maximum potentials.
As climate change increasingly interacts with socioeconomic development factors to contribute to migration, understanding how climate and migration can coalesce to exacerbate health risks is urgent. Our study examines how migration influences the health of Mekong Delta migrants in Ho Chi Minh City and explores the role of weather and climate variability in the migration experience and health status of migrants before and after migration. Using a qualitative approach, we conducted 43 in-depth semi-structured interviews. We found migration is a strategy to cope with livelihood insecurity in the Mekong Delta. Livelihood trade-offs in Ho Chi Minh City produce precarious living and working conditions contributing to changes in the self-reported health status of migrants after migration, while climate variability is a threat multiplier for migrants’ health and livelihoods in both the Mekong Delta region and Ho Chi Minh City. Our findings illustrate the intersections of climate, migration and health where migrants make strategic health trade-offs to pursue better livelihoods, whilst weather and climate variability exacerbate the health risks and livelihood insecurity of migrants. This study supports the need to implement policies that reduce trade-offs, strengthen migrants’ adaptive capacity, and address underlying socioeconomic and political factors shaping vulnerability across the rural-urban continuum.
Support for rural livelihoods to adapt to climate change is a top policy priority around the world. We advance the concept of ‘self-organized adaptation’ to analyze how long-term pathways of transformation come about as the organic outcome of farmers’ incremental and continuous responses to climate and other challenges. Through an analysis of four decades’ responses to changing climate conditions in an agricultural system of the Indian Himalayas, we show how several key policy interventions-institutional support for the dissemination of agricultural knowledge, investments in infrastructure, and strengthening of market linkages-have produced favorable conditions for successful, long-term self-organized adaptation to climate change. This has led to the transformation of an agricultural system specialized in apple production to one with a great diversity of fruit, vegetable, and food grain crops. We find that farmers growing these crops cluster into five distinct agricultural portfolios that reflect the constraints and opportunities that different farmers face, and which are patterned by interaction with rural institutions and household social networks. We highlight the role of distributed decision-making in shaping broader trajectories of systemic transformation, and we argue for the need to move beyond pre-defined climate interventions toward the identification of policy mechanisms that can support more effective self-organization over the long-term.
Climate change impacts the urban environment and landscape changes worldwide. To understand how South Korean citizens perceive these changes and what they expect for the future landscape, this study analyzed urban residents’ perceptions through text mining. Data related to the keywords “future landscape”, “future environment”, “well-being”, and “climate change” were collected from July 2020 to July 2021 from the Korean search engines Naver, Daum, and Google using the tool TEXTOM. Keywords, importance, and related words were derived through word frequency, TF-IDF, and N-gram analysis. CONCOR analysis was used to derive the meaning and relevance of the words. In “future landscape”, results showed a high frequency of the words “complex”, “apartment”, “future value”, and “sale”, and the connection strength was higher between “complex”, “landscape”, and “future value”. In “future environment”, “eco-friendly” showed the highest word frequency, and the words “New Deal”, “hydrogen” and “mobility” showed a high frequency and correlation. For “well-being”, “Green Cross” (a well-being-related company) showed the highest frequency, and the connection strength between satisfaction indexes was high. For “climate change”, “response” showed the highest frequency, and the connection strength between “carbon-neutral”, “UN-convention”, and “plan-establishment” was high. These results showed that South Koreans associate landscaping with the value of apartment complexes, that they expect solutions to mitigate climate change impacts with green and eco-friendly strategies, and lastly that well-being-related companies are receiving a great deal of public attention. Thus, it is expected that the results will help plan effective landscaping approaches to respond to environmental changes.
From the microperspective, climate change restricts human life in many aspects, and it affects the regional economic system from the macroperspective. The paper presents an inoperability input-output model (IIM) that is an extension approach of the Leontief input-output model. The IIM is able to provide a feasible methodology for measuring the impact of vulnerable economic factors on the whole economic system and identifying the key adaptation trajectory of the economic system. The IIM is applied in Tianjin to explore its dilemmas facing the increased demand for electricity, water, and public health service sectors under the RCP2.5, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 climate scenarios. The results indicated that the inoperability ranking of all economic sectors is the same under the three climate scenarios. The key adaptation trajectory in Tianjin is S40, S27, S25, S17, S12, S02, S21, S16, S09, S24, S29, S33, S19, S13, and S15 sector in order. The costs required by the key adaptation trajectory to adapt to climate change account for more than 90% of that required by the whole economic system. These results can be helpful for policy-makers to prioritize sectors in terms of climate adaptation and understand the efficacy of climate change risk mitigation strategies.
The spatial form of a village can affect human comfort by changing microclimatic conditions, which in turn can affect the health of residents. The architectural forms of traditional Jiangnan villages have been adapted to local environmental and landscape characteristics, creating optimal thermal comfort conditions. However, these traditional forms are being lost in China’s rapid drive toward urbanization and modernization, resulting in built environments that offer far less thermal comfort. To explore the elements of traditional adaptation, we conducted microclimate research in Shecun Village, Nanjing, and examined how the form of the surrounding landscape influenced the spatial layout of village streets and public spaces. Air temperature, relative humidity, and average wind speed were measured at locations around the village and were compared to similar data collected from a meteorological station in urban Nanjing. Based on these data, ENVI-met software was used to create a numerical simulation to demonstrate the relationship between the spatial forms of traditional Jiangnan villages and local microclimate factors. We found that the average physiological equivalent temperature (PET) values of all measurement points in the village in the summer were between 42? and 48?, and those in the winter were between 17? and 20?. In general, the thermal comfort in the winter was better than that in the summer, and the overall middle-level climate environment of the village in the winter and summer was comfortable. The PET values at different points followed the order of building complex space (MP1, 3 and 5) > vegetation space (MP2) > water space (MP4). The PET value was positively correlated with comfort sensation in winter, but this value had the opposite correlation in the summer. The average value of PET at the vegetation space was 3.18? higher than that at the water space in the winter, which showed that the water body was beneficial for thermal comfort in the summer, but was the opposite in the winter. These results showed that the traditional village site selection in accordance with local conditions, made use of the surrounding landscape environment to provide villages with a more comfortable and pleasant living environment. This information provides a useful reference for the design of modern public spaces.
In Malaysia, floods are often considered a normal phenomenon in the lives of some communities, which can sometimes cause disasters to occur beyond expectations, as shown during the flood of 2014. The issue of flood disasters, which particularly impacts SDG 13 of the integrated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), still lacks widespread attention from sociology researchers in Malaysia. Similarly, questions related to the welfare of victims, especially in regards to aspects of disaster management from a humanitarian perspective, are still neglected. This study aims to identify the adaptive actions through a solution from a humanitarian perspective in managing flood disaster risks. For the purpose of obtaining data, this study used a qualitative approach with a case study design. Data were collected using in-depth interviews and non-participant observation methods. A total of ten experts, consisting of the flood management teams involved in managing the 2014 flood disaster in Hulu Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia, were selected through a purposive random sampling method. The results showed that adaptive actions in managing flood disaster risks from a humanitarian point of view include the provision of social support, collective cooperation from the flood management teams, and adaptation efforts after the floods.
Heatstroke is defined as severe symptoms of heat-related illness, which could lead to death. Sugarcane farmers are at high risk of heatstroke under extremely hot outdoor working conditions. We explored the prevalence of heat-related illness symptoms and risk factors related to heat-related illness among sugarcane farmers working in the summer. We conducted a cross-sectional study using questionnaire interviews among 200 sugarcane farmers in Kamphaeng Phet Province, Thailand. The questionnaire addressed demographics, heat-related symptoms experienced during summer at work, and occupational factors. Bioelectrical impedance analysis was used to assess body mass index and body fat percentage. Watson formula equations were used to estimate total body water. The prevalence of heat-related illness symptoms was 48%; symptoms included heavy sweating, weakness/fatigue, dizziness, muscle cramps, headache, and vertigo. Factors associated with heat-related illness included women and clothing. Sugarcane farmers wearing two-layer shirts had a higher risk of heat-related illness. Farmers with fluid intake 3.1-5.0 liters per day had a 79% lower risk of heat-related illness. Our findings demonstrated that sugarcane farmers are at risk of heat-related illness. We confirmed that working conditions, including wearing proper clothing and water-drinking habits, can reduce this risk.C
Extreme urban heat alongside higher ambient temperatures in urban areas causes serious energy, comfort, health and environmental problems. The implementation of urban heat mitigation techniques can significantly reduce urban temperatures and counterbalance the impact of extreme urban heat. This study assesses the potential cooling ability of modified urban albedo strategies through the implementation of reflective and super reflective materials, as well as the global climatic impacts on a subtropical desert urban environment in Dubai, UAE. Three scenarios using low, average and high albedo modifications are designed and evaluated in parallel to a reference scenario. A physically-based mesoscale urban modeling system is used to assess the thermal and meteorological impacts of the albedo modifications during both the summer and winter seasons at a city scale. The reduction of ambient temperature during the peak of a summer day (14:00 LT) is shown to be 0.6 degrees C, 1.4 degrees C and 2.6 degrees C when urban albedo is increased by 0.20, 0.45 and 0.60 respectively. The winter cooling penalty ranges between 0.6 degrees C and 1.1 degrees C for the different albedo scenarios. The increase of the urban albedo also significantly reduces the planetary boundary layer (PBL) depth due to the loss of sensible heat and decreases the intensity of the convective mixing and advection flows from the desert to the city, improving the mitigation potential of the reflective materials; however this increases the risk of a higher pollutants concentration. A much higher mitigation potential is observed for the high-density parts of the city when compared to that of the low-density parts of the city. Irrespective of linear function in the drop of ambient temperature and changing fraction of global albedo, our results reported that the cooling potential of reflective materials is highly influenced by the climate, landscape, and urban characteristics of the cities.
Mapping the elderly population exposure to heat hazard in urban areas is important to inform adaptation strategies for increasingly-deadly urban heat under climate change. However, fine-scale mapping is lacking, because global climate change projections have not previously been integrated with urban heat island effects especially with urban three-dimensional characteristics for within-city heat risk analyses. This study compared the spatial patterns of deadly heat exposure for elderly populations in two East Asian megacities, Seoul and Tokyo, using current climate (2006-2015) and two future periods (2040s and 2090s). We integrated global warming projections (the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 5 based on Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5) with local urban characteristics and demographics. We found that, for the historical period, the overall hotspots of elderly population exposure to urban heat was larger in Tokyo because of relatively higher maximum air temperatures and lack of green spaces, whereas in the future periods, Seoul will have larger hotspots because the elderly population density will have increased. About 20% of the area in Seoul and 0.3-1% of Tokyo will be hotpots in the 2040s, and the size of these hotspots increases to 25-26% and 2-3%, respectively, in the 2090s. The spatial patterns of hotspots identify different types of priority areas and suggest that alternative adaptation strategies for two cities are appropriate. The approach introduced here will be useful for identifying sustainable thermal environments in other cities with high density elderly population and severe heat hazard. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Urban heat islands (UHI) exacerbates the heat-related risk associated with global warming, increasing morbidity and mortality of urban residents. While the impacts of the spatial pattern of urban greenspace (UG) and its change on urban heat have been widely examined, there is less understanding of the aggregate effect of the change of UG-considering the loss and gain of UG simultaneously -on urban temperature. This study aims to fill this gap by using Beijing, China as a case study. Using a newly developed index -dynamic index of UG (UGDI) that simultaneously measures the loss and gain of UG in a certain unit of analysis, we investigated how changes in UG affect the daytime and nighttime land surface temperature (LST). We found: (1) A substantial proportion (49.90%) of grids with increased UG cover had increased LST during the daytime, with a magnitude ranging from 0.02 to 1.82 ?, indicating that the increase in UG does not always result in reduction of LST. (2) UGDI had a significantly positive correlation with LST change, suggesting that increase in UG does not necessarily result in decrease of LST, which can be affected by the degree of dynamics of UG. (3) The evapotranspiration (ET) rate of vegetation for lost greenspace was higher than that of new greenspace, indicating that adding the same amount of UG might not able to provide the same amount of cooling effects provided by lost ones. Results can enhance our understanding on how (landscape) process affects ecological effect. Future research and practical manage-ment strategies shall move beyond net increase of UG and focus more on its change process. This finding provides new evidence for explaining the effect of the change of UG on LST, and offers new insights for planning and managing urban natural resource to enhance resilience of cities to climate warming.
Rapid urbanization has led to altered thermal circulations in major cities that are responsible for the increasing occurrence of urban heat islands (UHIs) and events such as tropical nights and heat waves. To effectively mitigate such events, low-impact development (LID) and green infrastructure strategies have been developed. In Korea, LID techniques focus mainly on road pavement materials; however, issues regarding the reliability of measurements due to differences in the measurement equipment and studied specimens persist. This study presents the design of a green infrastructure surface temperature measurement (GSTM) instrument and a reliable methodology developed to evaluate the performance of pavement materials under controlled climate conditions. The developed GSTM instrument and methodology were tested by monitoring the surface temperature of materials based on LID practices and dense-graded asphalt and evaluating their ability to mitigate UHI and tropical night phenomena. The experiments were conducted under controlled climate conditions, using summer climate conditions of Seoul’s typical meteorological year data. The UHI and tropical night phenomena mitigation performance of the pavement materials was evaluated by analyzing the correlation between the pavement materials’ albedo and surface temperature using porous block specimens of different colors and LID-based pavement materials. The greening block recorded the most significant reduction in surface temperature, showing a difference of 22.6 °C, 185 min to the dense-graded asphalt. The white and yellow porous blocks showed surface temperature differences of 10.2 °C and 8.2 °C respectively compared to the dense-graded asphalt. The results revealed that pavement materials with higher albedo, more evaporation, and lower heat capacity have superior performance in mitigating UHI and tropical night events.
Urban areas generally have higher near-surface air temperature and lower air humidity than rural areas. Little is known about how heat stress, the combined effect of high air temperature and high humidity on human physiology, will be affected by future urban land expansion. Here we use a mesoscale numerical weather prediction model to examine the effects of urban land expansion from 2000 to 2050 on heat stress (measured as wet-bulb globe temperature, WBGT) in the urban areas of China, India, and Nigeria, which are projected to account for one-third of global urban population growth through 2050. Our results show that urban expansion slightly reduces heat stress during the day (similar to 0.2 degrees C) but substantially intensifies it at night, by similar to 1 degrees C on average and by up to 2-3 degrees C in five mega-urban regions (MURs). These effects exist with or without climate change induced by rising concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Installing cool roofs-an urban heat island mitigation measures-can reduce the daytime WBGT by 0.5-1 degrees C, partially offsetting the heat stress conditions caused by GHG-induced climate change. However, even with cool roofs, the nighttime WBGTs are higher by 0.3-0.9 degrees C over the whole countries studied, and by 1-2 degrees C in the MURs under the urban expansion scenario, compared to the situation in which urban areas remain unchanged. These results show that future urban expansion and heat island mitigation can result in potential daytime benefits but also persistent nighttime risks.
The intensification of heat stress reduces the labor capacity and hence poses a threat to socio-economic development. The reliable projection of the changing climate and the development of sound adaptation strategies are thus desired for adapting to the decreasing labor productivity under climate change. In this study, an optimization modeling approach coupled with dynamical downscaling is proposed to design the optimal adaptation strategies for improving labor productivity under heat stress in China. The future changes in heat stress represented by the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) are projected with a spatial resolution of 25 × 25 km by a regional climate model (RCM) through the dynamical downscaling of its driving global climate model (GCM). Uncertain information such as system costs, environmental costs, and subsidies are also incorporated into the optimization process to provide reliable decision alternatives for improving labor productivity. Results indicate that the intensification of WBGT is overestimated by the GCM compared to the RCM. Such an overestimation can lead to more losses in working hours derived from the GCM than those from the RCM regardless of climate scenarios. Nevertheless, the overestimated heat stress does not alter the regional measures taken to adapt to decreasing labor productivity. Compared to inland regions, the monsoon-affected regions tend to improve labor productivity by applying air conditioning rather than working overtime due to the cost differences. Consequently, decision-makers need to optimally make a balance between working overtime and air conditioning measures to meet sustainable development goals.
The intensification of heat stress in a changing climate poses great threats to both human health and labor productivity. It is of great practical importance to assess the impacts of climate-induced heat stress on labor productivity and to develop effective adaptation strategies. In this paper, an integrated optimization-based productivity restoration modeling framework is proposed for the first time to develop the optimal policies for adaptation to climate change. To address underlying uncertainties associated with climate and labor management systems, we take into account ensemble projections from five global climate models (GCMs) under two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5) and inexact system costs. The system costs, including direct and indirect costs such as management costs, energy costs, and labor costs, are presented as interval numbers due to inherent uncertainty caused by population growth, technology development, and other social-economic factors. Uncertain information can be effectively communicated into the optimization processes in this study to generate optimal and reliable decision alternatives. We find that the increased Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) will lead to a large reduction in labor capacities over China except for the Tibetan Plateau under both RCPs by the end of the 21st century. The less developed regions tend to achieve the minimum system cost by having labor productivity recovered through working overtime due to the relatively low cost of overtime. This could result in more heat-related work injuries in the less developed regions. Since the less developed regions are not heat-prone areas in China, the changing climate would be a more dangerous threat and cause more damages to these regions where the residents are less acclimatized to heat stress. Moreover, we obtain a range of minimum system costs from 1.86 to 8.97 billion dollars under RCP2.6 and from 9.42 to 32.31 billion dollars under RCP8.5 (about 0.2% of China’s GDP in 2019, 0.01% of China’s GDP projected in 2100 under a sustainable socio-economic development scenario) for the restoration of labor productivity in a warming climate. We argue that urgent actions are needed to mitigate global warming impacts on labor productivity.
Several heat records have been broken in recent years and decades. Extreme high temperature not only damages human health, but also increases the risk of wildfires. As a common urban infrastructure, urban green space has been proved to have a cooling effect. In this study, the physical indicators and temperature data of 36 green spaces in Xi’an were collected, and the influence of different physical indicators of green spaces on their thermal environment was explored through correlation analysis. The results suggest that the area of green space should be between 0.6-0.7 square kilometers or the perimeter should range from 4000 to 4500 m in order to obtain the lowest internal temperature. When the area of water body in the green space is between 0.3-0.4 square kilometers or the perimeter is about 5000 m, its internal temperature is the lowest. Indicators of green space in the conclusion can be directly understood and referred by urban planners and policy makers. Results of this study thus have implications for improving urban thermal comfort by controlling the physical indicators of green space.
Global endeavors to respond to the problems caused by climate change and are leading to higher temperatures inside homes, which can cause skin conditions (such as eczema), lethargy, and poor concentration; disturbed sleep and fatigue are also rising. The energy performance of buildings is influenced by interactions and associations of numerous different variables, such as the envelope specifications as well as the design, technologies, apparatuses, and occupant behaviours. This paper introduces simple and sustainable strategies that are not dependent on expensive or sophisticated technologies, as they rely only on the actions practiced by the building’s occupants (movable window shading, and nighttime natural ventilation) instead of completely relying on high-cost mechanical cooling systems in buildings located in the main Eastern Mediterranean climates represented in the country of Jordan. These low-energy solutions could be applied to low-income houses in hot areas to avoid health problems, such as dermatological diseases, and save a significant amount of energy. The final results indicate that window shading has significant potential in reducing the cooling load in different climate zones. Natural ventilation exhibits high energy-saving abilities in climates that have cool nights, whereas its abilities in hot climates where nights are moderate is limited.
Average global temperatures and frequencies of heat waves are increasing with detrimental effects on health and wellbeing. This study presents a case study from two cities in the Northern Territory with the aim of exploring if and how people make deliberate adaptations to cope with increasing heat. Results show that 37% of all respondents made adjustments, with the most common being increased use of air-conditioning (65% of those responding to heat), followed by staying inside more often (22%) and passive cooling through modifications of house and garden (17%). Young people increasingly refrain from outside activities as temperatures increase. We also found that adaptive capacity was a function of education, long-term residency, home ownership and people’s self-rated wellbeing. Homeowners were more likely to adjust their living environment to the heat and renters less so. Being a property owner was commonly associated with the installation of solar panels to pay for high energy bills needed to run air-conditioning. Those who had solar panels at home were about ten times more likely to use air-conditioning more frequently in response to increasing heat. Our results confirm a growing dependence on artificially controlled environments to cope with heat in cities.
Urban heat island can exacerbate the harmful influence on human health and urban environment in historical and cultural block within Beijing Old City, China. To improve urban resilience and human well-being, protect historical and cultural heritage, nature-based solutions for urban heat mitigation are being the hotspot of research. However, only few studies focused on the comprehensive thermal environment of historical and cultural block from the social, ecological and technical aspects. Thus, we set-up scenarios combining with the three domains, to explore the cooling effect and thermal comfort improvement of Dashilar Block through ENVI-met. The results showed that 1) The areas with highest air temperature (Ta) and physiological equivalent temperature (PET) were mainly distributed in Peizhi Hutong and Zongshu Toutiao. 2) Five mitigation scenarios adapting to historical protection requirements and public preferences were vertical greening, traditional greening, quality improvement greening, high-albedo paving, and comprehensive. 3) The comprehensive and vertical greening scenarios could reduce the mean Ta of whole block by 1.01 degrees C or 0.38 degrees C, decrease the percentage of Ta hotter zone by 13.87% or 19.63%, and reduce the local Ta inside the block by 0.65 degrees C-1.80 degrees C or 0.33 degrees C-1.05 degrees C, respectively, which turned out the cooling effect and thermal comfort improvement of abovementioned two scenarios could significantly alleviate the heat stress. The comprehensive and vertical greening can act as the preferred nature-based solution for heat mitigation in Dashilar Block. We believed that this study would provide novel insights into the balance between urban heat mitigation and heritage protection during the renewal of Beijing Old City.
Extreme heat events caused by climate change have serious adverse effects on residents’ health in many coastal metropolises in southeast China. Adaptive capacity (AC) is crucial to reduce heat vulnerability in the human-environment system. However, it is unclear whether changes in individual characteristics and socioeconomic conditions likely amplify or attenuate the impacts of residents’ heat adaptive capacity (HAC) changes. Moreover, which public policies can be implemented by the authorities to improve the HAC of vulnerable groups remains unknown. We conducted a questionnaire survey of 630 residents of Xiamen, a typical coastal metropolis, in 2018. The effects of individual and household characteristics, and government actions on the residents’ HAC were examined by using ordinal logistic regression analysis. Results show that the majority (48.10%) of Xiamen residents had a “medium” HAC level, followed by a “high” level (37.14%). On Xiamen Island, residents who settled locally for one-three years and spent less than one hour outdoors might report weaker HAC, and their HAC would not improve with increased air conditioning units in household. In other areas of Xiamen, residents with more rooms in their households, no educational experience, and building areas <50 m(2) might report better HAC. Further, vulnerable groups, such as local residents and outdoor workers on Xiamen Island, people lacking educational experience and renters in other areas of Xiamen, showed better AC to hot weather than those in previous studies. Low-income groups should be given more attention by local governments and community groups as monthly household income played a positive role in improving Xiamen residents' HAC. Rational green spaces planning and cooling services, such as street sprinkling operations, provided by municipal departments can effectively bring benefits to Xiamen residents. Identification of basic conditions of AC has significant implications for practical promoting targeted measures or policies to reduce health damages and livelihood losses of urban residents during extreme heat events.
BACKGROUND: Workplace heat exposure can cause a series of heat-related illnesses and injuries. Protecting workers especially those undertake work outdoors from the risk of heat strain is a great challenge for many workplaces in China under the context of climate change. The aim of this study is to investigate the perceptions and adaptation behaviors of heat exposure among construction workers and to provide evidence for the development of targeted heat adaptation strategies nationally and internationally. METHODS: In 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional online questionnaire survey via WeChat Survey Star in China, using a purposive snowball sampling approach. A total of 326 construction workers submitted completed questionnaires. The perceptions of workplace heat exposure were measured using seven indicators: concerns over high temperature, perception of high temperature injury, attitudes towards both heat-related training and regulations, adjustment of working habits during heat, heat prevention measures in the workplace, and reduction of work efficiency. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to identify the factors significantly associated with workers’ heat perceptions and behavioral responses. RESULTS: 33.3% of the respondents were moderately or very concerned about heat exposure in the workplace. Less than half of the workers (43.8%) were worried about heat-related injuries. Workers who have either experienced work-related injuries (OR=1.30, 95% CI 1.03-1.62) or witnessed injuries to others during high temperatures (OR=1.12, 95% CI 1.02-1.27) were more concerned about heat exposure compared to other workers. Most respondents (63.5%) stated that their work efficiency declined during extremely hot weather. The factors significantly associated with a reduction of work efficiency included undertaking physically demanding jobs (OR=1.28, 95% CI 1.07-1.54) and witnessing other workers’ injuries during high temperatures (OR=1.26, 95% CI 1.11-1.43). More than half of the workers were willing to adjust their work habits to adapt to the impact of high temperatures (81.6%). The internet was the most common method to obtain heat prevention information (44.7%), and the most frequently used heat prevention measure was the provision of cool drinking water (64.8%). CONCLUSIONS: Chinese construction workers lack heat risk awareness and are not well prepared for the likely increasing heat exposure in the workplace due to global warming. Therefore, there is a need to improve their awareness of heat-related injuries, strengthen high temperature related education and training, and update the current heat prevention policies to ensure compliance and implementation.
Older people are more vulnerable to climate change and with its increasing elderly population, inadequate research on the health impacts of climate change has focused on this particular population in China. This study evaluates climate change and health-related knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of elderly residents in three cities Suzhou, Hefei and Xiamen. This cross-sectional study included 3466 participants. Data analysis was undertaken using descriptive methods (Chi-square test). Results showed that the elderly were most concerned about heatwaves, flooding and drought and the main perceived health risks included heatstroke and respiratory diseases. Finally, over half of the participants from Suzhou city reported that they did not receive enough government assistance in extreme events (56%). Findings from this work provide important insights for new adaptation strategies targeting the elderly population. It is recommended that the government should focus on creating awareness of the necessary adaptations the elderly will need to take to alleviate the impact of climate change on their physical health.
Background: Short-term heat exposure might induce stroke morbidity and mortality, and there were several studies explored the possible vulnerable populations. At present, the research on the modification effect of intra-urban landscape characteristics on the association between heat and stroke morbidity is limited, especially in China. Methods: We collected data on 22,424 first-ever strokes between 2010 and 2016 in Shenzhen, from June to August of each year. We adopted the case-only study combined with logistic regression models to examine the modification effects of 5 urban landscape characteristics. We studied the characteristics of relevant vulnerable populations through stratification analyses. Results: High values (refer to the median values) of nighttime land surface temperature (LST) and the proportion of impervious surface may aggravate the harmful effects of heat on stroke morbidity, with the OR values (95% CI) of 1.205 (1.053, 1.357) and 1.115 (1.010, 1.220); while, high values of NDVI and the proportion of water bodies may alleviate the harmful effects of heat, with the OR values (95% CI) of 0.772 (0.699, 0.845) and 0.821 (0.741, 0.901). The OR value of daytime LST was 1.004 (0.861, 1.147). Statistically significant modification effects were located in the population without Shenzhen’s household registration; as for nighttime LST, statistically significant modification effects were located in females and the elderly. Conclusions: High values of nighttime LST and the proportion of impervious surface might aggravate the harmful effects of heat on stroke morbidity, while high green space and water cover might alleviate its effects. Immigrants were the related vulnerable populations. The government should take measures to cope with climate warming and pay attention to the health effects of heat on immigrants. (c) 2021 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Playgrounds in urban parks are important for children’s physical and mental health, but global warming has led to a worsening outdoor environment and children’s outdoor activities have been affected. Improving the outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) of playgrounds can encourage children to engage in more and safer outdoor activities. However, there are a limited number of studies focusing on preschoolers’ outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) and most of them have substituted children’s thermal comfort with caregivers’ evaluations. To investigate the differences between children’s and caregivers’ evaluations of thermal sensation, thermal benchmarks and thermal adaptive behavior for children, we conducted meteorological measurements on representative playgrounds in three parks in Wuhan, China, and administered thermal perception questionnaires to preschool children and their caregivers. In addition, the Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) was used to establish evaluation criteria for children’s OTC and to make recommendations for the improvement of the playground environment. We draw five conclusions by analyzing 719 valid questionnaires: (1) Children were less sensitive to changes in meteorological factors than caregivers and had better tolerance of cold environments. (2) The NPET for preschoolers was evaluated by children and by caregivers, respectively, as 22.9 degrees C and 22.3 degrees C in summer and 10.6 degrees C and 11.2 degrees C in winter. (3) Playgrounds in Wuhan’s parks are uncomfortable for a long time in summer and a short time in winter. (4) Both children and caregivers want to improve summer comfort by lowering the temperature and winter comfort by increasing solar radiation. At the same time, children and caregivers show different preferences in adaptive behavior choices. (5) Adding deciduous trees and water play facilities can improve the site thermal environment. Furthermore, the OTC of humans can be improved by adding more service facilities on playgrounds.
Due to limits to standard methods for surveying outdoor thermal comfort (OTC), it is difficult to compare thermal benchmarks and thermal index calibrations among studies and climatic regions. Using uniform standard meteorological measurements and questionnaire surveys, our study conducted an OTC study in urban parks in Beijing, Xi’an and Hami; representative of cities in China’s cold regions. The Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) was used as the thermal comfort index, and differences in residents’ thermal perceptions and outdoor thermal benchmarks among these cities were compared. Results showed that: 1) air temperature (T(a)) and globe temperature (T(g)) were two primary factors affecting residents’ thermal sensations in the three cities during winter. Residents’ thermal sensation in Beijing and Hami was negatively correlated with wind speed (V(a)). Residents in Xi’an and Hami preferred a higher relative humidity (RH). Residents in Beijing and Hami preferred a lower V(a) to improve OTC related to local climatic characteristics. 2) Xi’an residents had the highest neutral UTCI (NUTCI) (17.3 °C), followed by Beijing (17.0 °C) and Hami (6.4 °C). Xi’an residents had slightly wider neutral UTCI range (NUTCIR) (7.9-26.7 °C) compared to Beijing (8.7-25.4 °C), while Hami residents had the narrowest NUTCIR (1.5-11.3 °C). The “no thermal stress” range in the three cities was 6.1-26.0 °C in Beijing, 6.7-25.5 °C in Xi’an, and -2.2-12.2 °C in Hami. 3) Calibrated thermal indices, based on the ASHRAE 7-point scale, were gained to judge the thermal qualities of an environment for all three cities.
BACKGROUND: The existing evidence suggests that pre-existing diabetes may modify the association between heat and hospitalizations for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS: This study included patients who were hospitalized for AMI from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2013 in Brisbane, Australia, and also included those who died within 2 months after discharge. A time-stratified case-crossover design with conditional logistic regression was used to quantify the associations of heat and cold with hospitalizations and post-discharge deaths due to AMI in patients with and without pre-existing diabetes. Stratified analyses were conducted to explore whether age, sex and suburb-level green space and suburb-level socio-economic status modified the temperature-AMI relationship. Heat and cold were defined as the temperature above/below which the odds of hospitalizations/deaths due to AMI started to increase significantly. RESULTS: There were 14 991 hospitalizations for AMI and 1811 died from AMI within 2 months after discharge during the study period. Significant association between heat and hospitalizations for AMI was observed only in those with pre-existing diabetes (odds ratio: 1.19, 95% confidence interval: 1.00-1.41) [heat (26.3°C) vs minimum morbidity temperature (22.2°C)]. Cold was associated with increased odds of hospitalizations for AMI in both diabetes and non-diabetes groups. Significant association between cold and post-discharge deaths from AMI was observed in both diabetes and non-diabetes groups. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with diabetes are more susceptible to hospitalizations due to AMI caused by heat and cold.
Already climate-related hazards are impacting sanitation systems in Indonesia and elsewhere, and climate models indicate these hazards are likely to increase in frequency and intensity. Without due attention, to maintain existing progress on Sustainable Development Goal 6’s target 6.2 and to increase it to meet ambitions for 2030 will be difficult. City governments need new forms of evidence to respond, as well as approaches to enable them to consider sufficient breadth of strategies to adapt effectively. This paper describes a co-production research process which engaged local governments in four cities in Indonesia experiencing different climate hazards. Local government engagement took place across three stages of (i) inception and design, (ii) participation as key informants and (iii) joint analysis and engagement on the findings. We adapted and simplified a risk prioritisation process based on current literature and employed a novel framework of a ‘climate resilient sanitation system’ to prompt articulation of current and proposed climate change adaptation response actions. In contrast to many current framings of climate resilience in sanitation that focus narrowly on technical responses, the results paint a rich picture of efforts needed by city governments across all domains, including planning, institutions, financing, infrastructure and management options, user awareness, water cycle management and monitoring and evaluation. Local government commitment and improved comprehension on the implications of climate change for sanitation service delivery were key outcomes arising from the co-production process. With strengthened policy and capacity building initiatives from national level, this foundation can be supported, and Indonesian city governments will be equipped to move forward with adaptation actions that protect on-going access to sanitation services, public health and the environment.
Worldwide, over half of the global population is living in urban areas. The metropolitan areas are highly populated and environmentally non-green regions on the planet. In green space regions, plants, grass, and green vegetation prevent soil erosion, absorb air pollutants, provide fresh and clean air, and minimize the burden of diseases. Presently, the entire world is facing a turmoil situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigates the effect of the green space environment on air pollutants particulate matter PM2.5, PM10, carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O(3)), incidence and mortality of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in environmentally highly green and less-green countries. We randomly selected 17 countries based on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) data. The 60% of the EPI score is based on seven categories: biodiversity and habitat, ecosystem, fisheries, climate change, pollution emissions, agriculture, and water resources. However, 40% of the score is based on four categories: air quality, sanitation and drinking water, heavy metals, and waste management. The air pollutants and SARS-CoV-2 cases and deaths were recorded from 25 January 2020, to 11 July 2021. The air pollutants PM2.5, PM10, CO, and O(3) were recorded from the metrological websites, Air Quality Index-AQI, 2021. The COVID-19 daily cases and deaths were obtained from the World Health Organization. The result reveals that air pollutants mean values for PM2.5 110.73 ± 1.09 vs. 31.35 ± 0.29; PM10 80.43 ± 1.11 vs. 17.78 ± 0.15; CO 7.92 ± 0.14 vs. 2.35 ± 0.03 were significantly decreased (p < 0.0001) in environmentally highly green space countries compared to less-green countries. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 cases 15,713.61 ± 702.42 vs. 3445.59 ± 108.09; and deaths 297.56 ± 11.27 vs. 72.54 ± 2.61 were also significantly decreased in highly green countries compared to less-green countries. The green environment positively impacts human wellbeing. The policymakers must implement policies to keep the living areas, surroundings, towns, and cities clean and green to minimize air pollution and combat the present pandemic of COVID-19.
Global warming increases the probability of extreme events and heat waves triggering severe impacts on human health, especially the elderly. Taiwan is an aged society, so residential buildings, which cannot withstand extreme temperature events, increase the risk of harm for the elderly. Furthermore, Taiwanese prefer to open the windows to reduce indoor high temperatures, which causes high levels of outdoor PM2.5 to flow indoors, leading to health risks. Therefore, this research proposes a strategy to create a house with a low temperature and a low PM2.5 health risk for the elderly based on building envelope renovation and windows user behavior patterns. The risk day is demonstrated as an index to evaluate the indoor environment quality, which is based on the number of days that exceed the health risk threshold. The results show that the performance improvement of the building envelope and control of the window opening timing can effectively reduce the risk days by 48.5%. This means that passive strategies cannot fully control health risks, and the use of equipment is necessary. Finally, if the current situation is maintained without any adjustment or strategy improvement, an additional 41.3% energy consumption must be paid every year to control health risks.
