| Term | Definition | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Abrupt change/abrupt climate change | Abrupt change refers to a change that is substantially faster than the rate of change in the recent history of the affected components of a system. Abrupt climate change refers to a large-scale change in the climate system that takes place over a few decades or less, persists (or is anticipated to persist) for at least a few decades and causes substantial disruptions in human and natural systems. {WGI, II, III} | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| absolute humidity | The mass of water vapour in a given volume of air. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| acclimatization | Physiological and/or behavioural adaptation to climate. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| acid rain (deposition) | Precipitation that has a pH lower than about 5.0, the value produced when naturally occurring carbon dioxide, sulfate and nitrogen oxide dissolve into water droplets in clouds. Increases in acidity may occur naturally (e.g. following emissions of aerosols during volcanic eruptions) or as a result of human activities (e.g. emission of sulfur dioxide during fossil fuel combustion). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| acute effect | Short-lived effect (in contrast to chronic effect). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| adaptation | The process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects. In human systems, adaptation seeks to moderate or avoid harm or exploit beneficial opportunities. In some natural systems, human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate and its effects. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| adaptation assessment | The practice of identifying options to adapt to climate change and evaluating them in terms of criteria such as availability, benefits, costs, effectiveness, efficiency, and feasibility. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| adaptation costs | Costs of planning, preparing for, facilitating, and implementing adaptation measures, including transition costs. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| adaptive capacity (adaptability) | The ability of a system to adjust to climate change (including climate variability and extreme events) to moderate potential damages, take advantage of opportunities or cope with the consequences. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| aeroallergen | Any of various airborne substances, such as pollen or spores, which can cause an allergic response. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| aerosol | A collection of airborne solid or liquid particles with a typical size of 0.01-10 µm which are present in the atmosphere. Aerosols are an important source of negative radiative forcing and acid rain. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| affected | People who are affected, either directly or indirectly, by a hazardous event. Directly affected are those who have suffered injury, illness or other health effects; who were evacuated, displaced, relocated or have suffered direct damage to their livelihoods, economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets. Indirectly affected are people who have suffered consequences, other than or in addition to direct effects, over time, due to disruption or changes in economy, critical infrastructure, basic services, commerce or work, or social, health and psychological consequences.
Annotation: People can be affected directly or indirectly. Affected people may experience short-term or long-term consequences to their lives, livelihoods or health and to their economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets. In addition, people who are missing or dead may be considered as directly affected. |
Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| air mass | Synoptic meteorological characterization of the entire body of air and its qualities. Air masses can be determined empirically using a combination of meteorological variables which include temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and barometric pressure. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| air pollution (household) | Household air pollution is one of the leading causes of disease and premature death and is associated with inefficient cooking practices using polluting stoves paired with solid fuels and kerosene (WHO, 2018). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| air pollution (point source) | A point source of air pollution is an identifiable stationary location or fixed facility from which air pollutants are released, which may be manmade or natural in origin (adapted from Kibble and Harrison, 2005 and Dunne et al., 2014). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| air pollution (outdoor / ambient) | Ambient (outdoor) air pollution is a leading environmental risk factor affecting urban and rural populations around the world, resulting in an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths in 2016 (WHO, 2018). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| airborne or aerosol transmission | Infection through exposure to smaller virus-containing respiratory droplets and particles (usually ≤5 μm) that remain suspended in the air over longer distances | First Report of the WMO COVID-19 Task Team on Meteorological and Air Quality (MAQ) factors affecting the COVID-19 pandemic. WMO 2021 |
| airborne diseases | Airborne transmission of infectious agents refers to the transmission of disease caused by dissemination of very small droplets that remain infectious when suspended in air over long distance and time (WHO, 2020). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| albedo (whiteness) | The fraction of solar radiation reflected by a surface or object, often expressed as a percentage. Snow covered surfaces have a high albedo; the albedo of soils ranges from high to low; vegetation covered surfaces and oceans have a low albedo. The Earth’s albedo varies mainly through varying cloudiness, snow, ice, leaf area, and land cover changes. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| algal blooms | Abnormally increased biomass of algae in a lake, river, or ocean. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| amoebiasis | An infection of the large intestine by the protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica. The disease is frequently asymptomatic and varies from dysentery with fever, chills, and bloody or mucoid diarrhoea to mild abdominal discomfort with diarrhoea containing blood or mucus alternating with periods of constipation or remission. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| amplification | The sharp increase in the size of a pathogen population, usually occurring in an amplifying host. See also reservoir host. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| anomaly | An event which is a deviation from normal behaviour that has a finite but very low probability of occurring. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| anthropogenic | Caused or produced by human activity. For example sulfate aerosols which are present in the troposphere due to the industrial emission of sulfur dioxide are called anthropogenic. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| anthropogenic emissions | Emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols associated with human activities. These include fossil fuel burning for energy, deforestation and land use changes that result in net increase in emissions. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| anthroponosis | A disease of humans which can be transmitted to other animals. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| arbovirus | Viruses transmitted by arthropods (arbo=arthropod borne). Examples include the dengue virus, St. Louis encephalitis, Western equine encephalitis and yellow fever. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| arid region/zone | Ecosystem which receives less than 250 mm precipitation per year. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| atmosphere | The gaseous envelope surrounding the Earth. The dry atmosphere consists almost entirely of nitrogen and oxygen, together with a number of trace gases such as argon, helium and radiatively active greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and ozone. In addition, the atmosphere contains water vapour, clouds, and aerosols. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| atopic eczema | Excess inflammation (dermatitis) of the skin and linings of the nose and lungs. It is very common in all parts of the world, mainly affecting infants and young adults. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| attribution | See detection and attribution. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| autoimmune diseases | Any disorder in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the cells, tissues, and organs of a person’s own body. There are many different autoimmune diseases, and they can each affect the body in different ways. For example, the autoimmune reaction is directed against the brain in multiple sclerosis and the gut in Crohn’s disease. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| basal metabolic rate | The minimal caloric requirements needed to sustain life in a resting person (i.e. a measure of the energy used by the body to maintain those processes necessary for life). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| basic reproduction rate (R0) | A quantitative measure of the ability of a vector-borne disease to spread through a population. It is defined as the number of new cases of a disease which will arise from one current case when introduced into a non-immune host population during a single transmission cycle. A disease with a basic reproduction rate less than 1 will not spread in the community (i.e. become endemic). This rate will apply during the initial stages of spreading as the rate of disease spread will slow once the population has acquired some immunity. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| biodiversity | The variability among living organisms from terrestrial, marine and other ecosystems. Biodiversity includes variability at the genetic, species and ecosystem levels. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| biodiversity loss | Biodiversity loss refers to the reduction of any aspect of biological diversity (i.e., diversity at the genetic, species and ecosystem levels) in a particular area through death (including extinction), destruction or manual removal; it can refer to many scales, from global extinctions to population extinctions, resulting in decreased total diversity at the same scale (IPBES, no date). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| biofuel | A fuel produced from dry organic matter or combustible oils produced by plants | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| biomass | The total mass of living organisms in a given area or volume: recently dead plant material is often included as dead biomass. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| biome | A grouping of similar plant and animal communities that reflects the ecological and external character of the fauna in question. Biomes correspond approximately climatic regions, e.g. tropical rain forest biome, desert biome, and tundra biome. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| biosphere | The part of the Earth’s system comprising all ecosystems and living organisms in the atmosphere, on land (terrestrial biosphere), or in the oceans (marine biosphere), including derived dead organic matter such as litter, soil organic matter, and oceanic detritus. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| biotoxin | Toxin produced by a living organism. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| blizzard | A blizzard is a severe snow storm characterised by poor visibility, usually occurring at high-latitude and in mountainous regions (WMO, 1992). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| blood borne viruses | Blood-borne viruses are viruses transmitted by direct contact with infected blood or other body fluids (WHO, 2012). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| build back better | The use of the recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction phases after a disaster to increase the resilience of nations and communities through integrating disaster risk reduction measures into the restoration of physical infrastructure and societal systems, and into the revitalization of livelihoods, economies and the environment. Annotation: The term “societal” will not be interpreted as a political system of any country. | Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| Capacity | The combination of all the strengths, attributes and resources available within an organization, community or society to manage and reduce disaster risks and strengthen resilience. Annotation: Capacity may include infrastructure, institutions, human knowledge and skills, and collective attributes such as social relationships, leadership and management. | Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| Capacity assessment | Capacity assessment is the process by which the capacity of a group, organization or society is reviewed against desired goals, where existing capacities are identified for maintenance or strengthening and capacity gaps are identified for further action. | Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| capacity development / building | 1. Capacity development is the process by which people, organizations and society systematically stimulate and develop their capacities over time to achieve social and economic goals. It is a concept that extends the term of capacity -building to encompass all aspects of creating and sustaining capacity growth over time. It involves learning and various types of training, but also continuous efforts to develop institutions, political awareness, financial resources, technology systems and the wider enabling environment.
2. In the context of climate change, capacity building is a process of developing the technical skills and institutional capability in developing countries and economies in transition to enable them to participate in all aspects of adaptation to, mitigation of, and research on climate change. |
1. Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016
2. Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| carbon dioxide (CO2) | A naturally occurring gas as well as a by-product of burning fossil fuels and land-use changes and other industrial processes. It is the principal greenhouse gas which affects the Earths radiative balance and the reference gas against which other greenhouse gases are measured. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| carbon sink | Repository for carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. Oceans appear to be major sinks for storage of atmospheric CO2. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| carrying capacity | The number of individuals in a population that the resources of a habitat can support at a given point in time. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) | Greenhouse gases which are used for refrigeration, air conditioning, packaging, insulation, solvents, or aerosol propellants. They are all covered under the 1987 Montreal Protocol. Since they are not destroyed in the lower atmosphere, CFCs drift into the upper atmosphere where, given suitable conditions, they break down ozone. These gases are being replaced by other compounds, including hydrochlorofluorocarbons, covered under the Kyoto Protocol. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| chloroquine | Medication used to treat and prevent malaria. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| cholera | Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Cholera remains a global threat to public health (WHO, 2019). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| chronic effect | Long-lasting effect (in contrast to acute effect). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| ciguatera fish poisoning | Food-borne disease caused by ingestion of neurotoxins in certain fish. The toxins may become concentrated in higher predators, such as reef fish, which may remain toxic for more than two years after becoming contaminated. The symptoms of acute poisoning include gastrointestinal distress, followed by neurological and cardiovascular problems which are rarely fatal. Ciguatera is considered a major health and economic problem on many tropical islands where fish forms a large part of the diet. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| climate | Climate in a narrow sense is usually defined as the average weather, or more rigorously, as the statistical description in terms of the mean and variability of relevant quantities over a period of time ranging from months to thousands or millions of years. The classical period for averaging these variables is 30 years, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization. The relevant quantities are most often surface variables such as temperature, precipitation and wind. Climate in a wider sense is the state, including a statistical description, of the climate system. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| climate change | Climate change refers to a change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g., by using statistical tests) by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer. Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external forcings such as modulations of the solar cycles, volcanic eruptions and persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use. Note that the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in its Article 1, defines climate change as: ‘a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods’. The UNFCCC thus makes a distinction between climate change attributable to human activities altering the atmospheric composition and climate variability attributable to natural causes. See also Detection and Attribution. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| climate information products | Climate information products are the result of processing and presenting climate data or climate information, alone or in combination with other types of data or information, in such a way that allows for their application to a specific practical purpose. It covers a range of spatial scales and can include derived variables related to impacts, such as crop water satisfaction indices and epidemic disease risk factors or climate summary statistics, historical records, near real-time monitoring, predictive information from daily weather to seasonal to interannual timescales and climate change scenarios. | Climate Services for Health: improving public health decision-making in a new climate. WHO, WMO, 2018 |
| climate model (spectrum or hierarchy) | A numerical representation of the climate system based on the physical, chemical and biological properties of its components, their interactions and feedback processes and accounting for some of its known properties. The climate system can be represented by models of varying complexity; that is, for any one component or combination of components a spectrum or hierarchy of models can be identified, differing in such aspects as the number of spatial dimensions, the extent to which physical, chemical or biological processes are explicitly represented, or the level at which empirical parametrizations are involved. Coupled Atmosphere–Ocean General Circulation Models (AOGCMs) provide a representation of the climate system that is near or at the most comprehensive end of the spectrum currently available. There is an evolution towards more complex models with interactive chemistry and biology. Climate models are applied as a research tool to study and simulate the climate and for operational purposes, including monthly, seasonal and interannual climate predictions. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| climate projection | A climate projection is the simulated response of the climate system to a scenario of future emission or concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and aerosols, generally derived using climate models. Climate projections are distinguished from climate predictions by their dependence on the emission/concentration/radiative forcing scenario used, which is in turn based on assumptions concerning, for example, future socio-economic and technological developments that may or may not be realized. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| climate services | Climate services are missionoriented processes driven by societal needs, which result in the production and delivery of relevant, authoritative, timely and usable information about climate change, climate variability, trends, and impacts to improve decision-making in climate sensitive sectors. Examples are early warning systems, integrated monitoring systems or risk forecasting systems. | Climate Services for Health: improving public health decision-making in a new climate. WHO, WMO, 2018 |
| climate services for health | The entire iterative process of joint collaboration between relevant multidisciplinary partners to identify, generate and build capacity to access, develop, deliver, and use relevant and reliable climate knowledge to enhance health decisions. | |
| climate system | The climate system is the highly complex system consisting of five major components: the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the lithosphere and the biosphere and the interactions between them. The climate system evolves in time under the influence of its own internal dynamics and because of external forcings such as volcanic eruptions, solar variations and anthropogenic forcings such as the changing composition of the atmosphere and land-use change. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| climate variability | Climate variability refers to variations in the mean state and other statistics (such as standard deviations, the occurrence of extremes, etc.) of the climate on all spatial and temporal scales beyond that of individual weather events. Variability may be due to natural internal processes within the climate system (internal variability), or to variations in natural or anthropogenic external forcing (external variability). See also Climate change. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| co-benefits | The positive effects that a policy or measure aimed at one objective might have on other objectives, irrespective of the net effect on overall social welfare. Co-benefits are often subject to uncertainty and depend on local circumstances and implementation practices, among other factors. Co-benefits are also referred to as ancillary benefits. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| cold wave | A cold wave is a period of marked and unusual cold weather characterised by a sharp and significant drop in air temperatures near the surface (maximum, minimum and daily average) over a large area and persisting below certain thresholds for at least two consecutive days during the cold season (WMO, 2020). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| confidence interval | An estimated range of values which is likely to include an unknown population parameter, the estimated range being calculated from a given set of sample data. If independent samples are taken repeatedly from the same population, and a confidence interval calculated for each sample, then a certain percentage (confidence level) of the intervals will include the unknown population parameter. Confidence intervals are usually calculated so that this percentage is 95%. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| confounding factors | Any factor associated with the exposure under study and considered risk factors for the disease in their own right (i.e. not just intermediate variables on the pathway between exposure and disease). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| contact transmission | Infection through direct contact with an infectious person or indirect human-to-human contact via contaminated surfaces or objects | First Report of the WMO COVID-19 Task Team on Meteorological and Air Quality (MAQ) factors affecting the COVID-19 pandemic. WMO 2021 |
| Contingency planning | A management process that analyses disaster risks and establishes arrangements in advance to enable timely, effective and appropriate responses. Annotation: Contingency planning results in organized and coordinated courses of action with clearly identified institutional roles and resources, information processes and operational arrangements for specific actors at times of need. Based on scenarios of possible emergency conditions or hazardous events, it allows key actors to envision, anticipate and solve problems that can arise during disasters. Contingency planning is an important part of overall preparedness. Contingency plans need to be regularly updated and exercised. | Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| copepods | Small crustaceans which are the most numerous multi-celled animals in the aquatic community. Their habitats range from the highest mountains to the deepest ocean trenches, and from the cold polar ice-water interface to the hot active hydrothermal vents. Copepods may be free-living, symbiotic, or internal or external parasites on almost every phylum of animals in water. They also have the potential to control malaria by consuming mosquito larvae and are thought to be intermediate hosts for many human and animal parasites. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| coping ability/capacity | 1. The variation in climatic stimuli that a system can absorb without producing significant impacts.
2. Coping capacity is the ability of people, organizations and systems, using available skills and resources, to manage adverse conditions, risk or disasters. The capacity to cope requires continuing awareness, resources and good management, both in normal times as well as during disasters or adverse conditions. Coping capacities contribute to the reduction of disaster risks. |
1. Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003
2. Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| coral bleaching | The paling in colour of corals resulting from a loss of symbiotic algae. Bleach occurs in response to physiological shock in response to abrupt changes in temperature, salinity, and turbidity. Mass-bleaching events have been associated with small changes in sea temperature. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| coriolis force | A bending force causing any movement on the Northern hemisphere to be diverted to the right when the globe is rotating (in the Southern hemisphere it is bent to the left). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| cost-effective | A criterion that specifies if a technology of measure delivers a service at an equal or lower cost than current practice, or the least-cost alternative for the achievement of a given target. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| COVID-19 | COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the SARS Coronavirus 2 (SARS CoC2), a virus first identified in human populations in late 2019. Transmission occurs through droplets containing infectious virus, either by direct face to face contact (splash) generated by speaking, singing, coughing or sneezing; or by aerosolisation for up to 1 metre. Virus-containing aerosols that travel further than 1 metre are defined as airborne. The virus is thought to infect humans through the mucus membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth. Living virus has been isolated from faeces and urine but neither is thought to represent a major means of transmission. Fomites are thought to represent a low risk of transmission, but the risk has not yet been quantified. The risk of transmission is greatest in closed, poorly ventilated spaces where humans are in close proximity for ten to fifteen minutes and do not physically distance or wear a protective face covering (WHO, 2020). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| critical infrastructure | The physical structures, facilities, networks and other assets which provide services that are essential to the social and economic functioning of a community or society | Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| cryosphere | The component of the climate system consisting of all snow, ice, and permafrost on and beneath the surface of the earth and ocean. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| cryptosporidium | Genus of parasites of the intestinal tracts of fishes, reptiles, birds, and mammals. A particular species isolated in humans has been identified as Cryptosporidium parvum. Cryptosporidiosis, or Cryptosporidium infection, is today recognized as an important opportunistic infection, especially in immunocompromised hosts. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| cyclone / depression (low pressure area) | A depression or cyclone is a region of the atmosphere in which the pressures are lower than those of the surrounding region at the same level (WMO, 1992). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| cyclone (extra-tropical) | An extra-tropical cyclone is a low-pressure system which develops in latitudes outside the tropics (WMO, 1992). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| cyclone (sub-tropical) | A sub-tropical cyclone is a non-frontal low-pressure system that has characteristics of both tropical and extratropical cyclones. Like tropical cyclones, they are non-frontal, synoptic-scale cyclones that originate over tropical or subtropical waters and have a closed surface wind circulation about a welldefined centre (WMO, 2017). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| cyclone (tropical) | A tropical cyclone is a cyclone of tropical origin of small diameter (some hundreds of kilometres) with a minimum surface pressure in some cases of less than 900 hPa, very violent winds and torrential rain; sometimes accompanied by thunderstorms. It usually contains a central region, known as the ‘eye’ of the storm, with a diameter of the order of some tens of kilometres, and with light winds and a more or less lightly clouded sky (WMO, 2017).
Alternative definition: A tropical cyclone is a warm-core, non-frontal synoptic-scale cyclone, originating over tropical or subtropical waters, with organised deep convection and closed surface wind circulation about a well-defined centre (WMO, 2017). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| Cytomegalovirus (CMV) | A virus related to the herpes virus. It is so common that almost 100 percent of adults in developing countries and 50 percent to 85 percent of adults in developed world are infected. Usually the virus causes no serious problems, however in immunocompromised hosts and newborns of infected mothers cytomegalovirus can be fatal. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| deforestation | Conversion of forest to non-forest. For a discussion of the term forest and related terms such as afforestation, reforestation and deforestation, see the IPCC Special Report on Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry (IPCC, 2000b). See also information provided by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, 2013) and the report on Definitions and Methodological Options to Inventory Emissions from Direct Human-induced Degradation of Forests and Devegetation of Other Vegetation Types (IPCC, 2003). | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| demography | The study of populations, especially with reference to size and density, fertility, mortality, growth, age distribution, migration, and the interaction of all these factors with social and economic conditions. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| dengue | Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease that is caused by a virus of the Flaviviridae family and transmitted by female mosquitoes mainly of the species Aedes aegypti and, to a lesser extent, A. albopictus (WHO, 2020). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| desert | An ecosystem which receives less than 100 mm precipitation per year. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| desertification | Desertification refers to land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry subhumid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities (UNCCD, 2017). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| detection and attribution | Detection of climate change is the process of demonstrating that climate has changed in some defined statistical sense, without providing a reason for that change. Attribution of causes and effects of climate change is the process of establishing the most likely causes for the detected change or effect with some defined level of confidence. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| diphtheria | An acute toxin-mediated bacterial disease which usually affects the tonsils, throat, nose and/or skin. It is passed from person to person by droplet transmission, usually by breathing in diphtheria bacteria after an infected person has coughed, sneezed or even laughed. Diphtheria can lead to breathing problems, heart failure, paralysis and sometimes death. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| direct transmission | Transmission of an infectious disease from human to human (or animal to animal), without the involvement of intermediate hosts or reservoirs (e.g. TB, sexually transmitted diseases). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY) | An indicator of life expectancy combining mortality and morbidity into one summary measure of population health to account for the number of years lived in less than optimal health. It is a health measure developed for calculating the global burden of disease which is also used by WHO, the World Bank and other organizations to compare the outcomes of different interventions. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| disaster | Severe alterations in the normal functioning of a community or a society due to hazardous physical events interacting with vulnerable social conditions, leading to widespread adverse human, material, economic or environmental effects that require immediate emergency response to satisfy critical human needs and that may require external support for recovery | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| disaster management / emergency management | The organization, planning and application of measures preparing for, responding to and recovering from disasters. Annotation: Disaster management may not completely avert or eliminate the threats; it focuses on creating and implementing preparedness and other plans to decrease the impact of disasters and “build back better”. Failure to create and apply a plan could lead to damage to life, assets and lost revenue.
Emergency management is also used, sometimes interchangeably, with the term disaster management, particularly in the context of biological and technological hazards and for health emergencies. While there is a large degree of overlap, an emergency can also relate to hazardous events that do not result in the serious disruption of the functioning of a community or society. |
Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| disaster risk | The potential loss of life, injury, or destroyed or damaged assets which could occur to a system, society or a community in a specific period of time, determined probabilistically as a function of hazard, exposure, vulnerability and capacity.
Annotation: The definition of disaster risk reflects the concept of hazardous events and disasters as the outcome of continuously present conditions of risk. Disaster risk comprises different types of potential losses which are often difficult to quantify. Nevertheless, with knowledge of the prevailing hazards and the patt erns of population and socioeconomic development, disaster risks can be assessed and mapped, in broad terms at least. It is important to consider the social and economic contexts in which disaster risks occur and that people do not necessarily share the same perceptions of risk and their underlying risk factors. |
Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| disaster risk assessment | A qualitative or quantitative approach to determine the nature and extent of disaster risk by analysing potential hazards and evaluating existing conditions of exposure and vulnerability that together could harm people, property, services, livelihoods and the environment on which they depend.
Annotation: Disaster risk assessments include: the identification of hazards; a review of the technical characteristics of hazards such as their location, intensity, frequency and probability; the analysis of exposure and vulnerability, including the physical, social, health, environmental and economic dimensions; and the evaluation of the effectiveness of prevailing and alternative coping capacities with respect to likely risk scenarios. |
Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| disaster risk management | Disaster risk management is the application of disaster risk reduction policies and strategies to prevent new disaster risk, reduce existing disaster risk and manage residual risk, contributing to the strengthening of resilience and reduction of disaster losses. | Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| disaster risk reduction | Disaster risk reduction is aimed at preventing new and reducing existing disaster risk and managing residual risk, all of which contribute to strengthening resilience and therefore to the achievement of sustainable development. | Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| diurnal temperature range | The difference between minimum and maximum temperature over a period of 24 hours. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| dose-response | Association between dose and the incidence of a defined biological effect in an exposed population. Dose-response relationships are used to determine the probability of a specific outcome or disease, or risk of a disease, by extrapolating from high doses to low doses and from laboratory animals to humans, and using mathematical models that define risk as a function of exposure dose. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| downburst | A downburst is a violent and damaging downdraught reaching the ground surface, associated with a severe thunderstorm (WMO, 1992). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| droplet nuclei | Respiratory droplets ≤5 μm in diameter, remaining suspended in the air for longer distances and time periods | First Report of the WMO COVID-19 Task Team on Meteorological and Air Quality (MAQ) factors affecting the COVID-19 pandemic. WMO 2021 |
| droplet transmission | Infection through exposure to virus-containing respiratory droplets within shorter distances between the infected and exposed person | First Report of the WMO COVID-19 Task Team on Meteorological and Air Quality (MAQ) factors affecting the COVID-19 pandemic. WMO 2021 |
| drought | A drought is a period of abnormally dry weather characterised by a prolonged deficiency of precipitation below a certain threshold over a large area and a period longer than a month (WMO, 2020). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| dust storm / sand storm | A dust storm is an ensemble of particles of dust or sand energetically lifted to great heights by a strong and turbulent wind (WMO, 2017). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| dysentery | An infection of the gut caused by shigella bacteria. Symptoms include acute bloody diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pains and fever. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| early warning system (EWS) | 1. The set of capacities needed to generate and disseminate timely and meaningful warning information to enable individuals, communities and organizations threatened by a hazard to prepare to act promptly and appropriately to reduce the possibility of harm or loss.
2. An integrated system of hazard monitoring, forecasting and prediction, disaster risk assessment, communication and preparedness activities systems and processes that enables individuals, communities, governments, businesses and others to take timely action to reduce disaster risks in advance of hazardous events. |
1. IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5)
2. Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| early warning systems (Multi-hazard) | Multi-hazard early warning systems address several hazards and/or impacts of similar or different type in contexts where hazardous events may occur alone, simultaneously, cascadingly or cumulatively over time, and taking into account the potential interrelated effects. A multi-hazard early warning system with the ability to warn of one or more hazards increases the efficiency and consistency of warnings through coordinated and compatible mechanisms and capacities, involving multiple disciplines for updated and accurate hazards identificatio n and monitoring for multiple hazards. | Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| earthquake | Earthquake is a term used to describe both sudden slip on a fault, and the resulting ground shaking and radiated seismic energy caused by the slip, or by volcanic or magmatic activity, or other sudden stress changes in the Earth (USGS, no date). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| ecological study | Study in which the analysis of a relationship is based on aggregate or grouped data (such as rates, proportions and means) – i.e. no data are collected at the individual level. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| ecological system/ecosystem | A system of living organisms together in their physical environment, with specific interactions and exchange of matter, energy and information. The boundaries of an ecosystem depend on the focus of interest and can range from very small spatial scales to the entire Earth. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| economies in transition | A type of national economy in the process of changing from a planned economic system to a market economy. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| ecosystem | An ecosystem is a functional unit consisting of living organisms, their non-living environment and the interactions within and between them. The components included in a given ecosystem and its spatial boundaries depend on the purpose for which the ecosystem is defined: in some cases they are relatively sharp, while in others they are diffuse. Ecosystem boundaries can change over time. Ecosystems are nested within other ecosystems and their scale can range from very small to the entire biosphere. In the current era, most ecosystems either contain people as key organisms, or are influenced by the effects of human activities in their environment. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| effect modifier | A factor that modifies (alters), by variation in intensity or magnitude, the effect of a risk factor under study; a generic term which includes interaction, synergism, and antagonism. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) | The term El Niño was initially used to describe a warm-water current that periodically flows along the coast of Ecuador and Peru, disrupting the local fishery. It has since become identified with a basin-wide warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean east of the dateline. This oceanic event is associated with a fluctuation of a global-scale tropical and subtropical surface pressure pattern called the Southern Oscillation. This coupled atmosphere–ocean phenomenon, with preferred time scales of two to about seven years, is known as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). It is often measured by the surface pressure anomaly difference between Tahiti and Darwin or the sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. During an ENSO event, the prevailing trade winds weaken, reducing upwelling and altering ocean currents such that the sea surface temperatures warm, further weakening the trade winds. This event has a great impact on the wind, sea surface temperature and precipitation patterns in the tropical Pacific. It has climatic effects throughout the Pacific region and in many other parts of the world, through global teleconnections. The cold phase of ENSO is called La Niña. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| EM-DAT | The Emergency Events Database – EM-DAT, created and maintained by the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium. The main objective of the database is to serve the purposes of humanitarian action at national and international levels. For example, it allows one to decide whether floods in a given country are more significant in terms of humans impact than are earthquakes, or whether a country is more vulnerable than another. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| emergency | Emergency is sometimes used interchangeably with the term disaster, as, for example, in the context of biological and technological hazards or health emergencies, which, however, can also relate to hazardous events that do not result in the serious disruption of the functioning of a community or society. | Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| emerging infectious disease | A disease which is new in the population or rapidly increasing in incidence or expanding in geographical range. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| emission | In the climate change context, the release of greenhouse gases and/or aerosols into the atmosphere over a specified area and period of time. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| emission scenario | A possible pattern of net greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions for the next hundred years or more. Emission scenarios provide input for climate models and contribute to the evaluation of future radiative forcing on the atmosphere. Emission scenarios are not predictions of the future but illustrate the effect of a wide range of economic, demographic, and policy assumptions. See also SRES. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| endemic | Term applied to describe sustained, relatively stable pattern of an infection within a specified population in a certain locality or region. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| entomological inoculation rate (EIR) | The number of infectious mosquito bites a person is exposed to in a certain time period, typically a year. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| enzootic disease | An endemic and zoonotic disease -i.e. affecting mainly animals but with an occasional spill-over to humans such as Rift Valley Fever, West Nile virus. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| epidemic | Occurrence in a community or region of cases of an illness, specific health-related behaviour, or other health-related events clearly in excess of normal expectancy. The community or region and the period in which the cases occur are specified precisely. The number of cases indicating the presence of an epidemic varies according to the agent, size, and type of population exposed; previous experience or lack of exposure to the disease; and time and place of occurrence. See also outbreak. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| epidemiology | Study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events in specified populations. Epidemiology is the basic quantitative science of public health. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| epizootic | An out break (epidemic) of disease in an animal population, often with the implication that it may also affect humans. See also enzootic. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| erythema | Reddening of the skin. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| evaporation | The process by which a liquid becomes a gas. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| evapotranspiration | The sum total of water lost from land through physical evaporation and plant transpiration. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| exposure | 1. The presence of people, livelihoods, species or ecosystems, environmental functions, services, and resources, infrastructure, or economic, social, or cultural assets in places and settings that could be adversely affected. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| extreme weather event | An extreme weather event is an event that is rare at a particular place and time of year. Definitions of rare vary, but an extreme weather event would normally be as rare as or rarer than the 10th or 90th percentile of a probability density function estimated from observations. By definition, the characteristics of what is called extreme weather may vary from place to place in an absolute sense. When a pattern of extreme weather persists for some time, such as a season, it may be classed as an extreme climate event, especially if it yields an average or total that is itself extreme (e.g., drought or heavy rainfall over a season). | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| extrinsic incubation period | In blood-feeding arthropod vectors, the time between acquisition of the infectious blood meal and the time when the vector becomes capable of transmitting the agent. In the case of malaria, this is the life stages of the parasite spent within the female mosquito vector. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| falciparum malaria | See Plasmodium falciparum and malaria. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| FAO | Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| feedback | an interaction mechanism between processes in the climate system is called a climate feedback when the result of an initial process triggers changes in a second process that in turn influences the initial one. A positive feedback intensifies the original process, and a negative feedback reduces it. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| first principle | The first law of thermodynamics says that the total quantity of energy in the universe remains constant. This is the principle of the conservation of energy. The first principle establishes the equivalence of the different forms of energy (radiant, chemical, physical, electrical, and thermal), the possibility of transformation from one form to another, and the laws that govern these transformations. This first principle considers heat and energy as two magnitudes of the same physical nature. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| flood | 1. Rise, usually brief, in the water level of a stream or water body to a peak from which the water level recedes at a slower rate. 2. Relatively high flow as measured by stage height or discharge. 3. Overflowing by water of the normal confines of a watercourse or other body of water. 4. Accumulation of drainage water over areas which are not normally submerged. 5. Controlled spreading of water for irrigation. |
International Glossary of Hydrology. WMO 2012. |
| flood (coastal) | Coastal flooding is most frequently the result of storm surges and high winds coinciding with high tides. The surge itself is the result of the raising of sea levels due to low atmospheric pressure. In particular configurations, such as major estuaries or confined sea areas, the piling up of water is amplified by a combination of the shallowing of the seabed and retarding of return flow (WMO, 2011). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| flood (estuarine) | Estuarine flooding is flooding over and near coastal areas caused by storm surges and high winds coincident with high tides, thereby obstructing the seaward river flow. Estuarine flooding can be caused by tsunamis in specific cases (WMO, 2011). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| flood (flash) | A flash flood is a flood of short duration with a relatively high peak discharge (WMO, 2012). | International Glossary of Hydrology. WMO 2012. |
| flood (fluvial / riverine) | A fluvial flood is a rise, usually brief, in the water level of a stream or water body to a peak from which the water level recedes at a slower rate (WMO, 2012). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| flood (glacial lake outburst) | A ‘glacial lake outburst flood’ is a phrase used to describe a sudden release of a significant amount of water retained in a glacial lake, irrespective of the cause (Emmer, 2017). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| flood (groundwater) | A groundwater flood is the emergence of groundwater at the ground surface away from perennial river channels or the rising of groundwater into man-made ground, under conditions where the ‘normal’ ranges of groundwater level and groundwater flow are exceeded (BGS, 2010). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| flood (ice-jam including debris) | An ice jam flood including debris is defined as an accumulation of shuga including ice cakes, below ice cover. It is broken ice in a river which causes a narrowing of the river channel, a rise in water level and local floods (WMO, 2012). Shuga is defined as accumulation of spongy white ice lumps, a few centimetres across, formed from grease ice or slush, and sometimes from anchor ice rising to the surface (WMO, 2012). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| flood (ponding / drainage) | A ponding flood is a flood which results from rainwater ponding at or near the point where it falls because it is falling faster than the drainage system (natural or man-made) can carry it away (WMO, 2006). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| flood (snowmelt) | A snowmelt flood is a significant flood rise in a river caused by the melting of snowpack accumulated during the winter (WMO, 2012). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| flood (surface water) | Surface water flooding is that part of the rain which remains on the ground surface during rain and either runs off or infiltrates after the rain ends, not including depression storage (WMO, 2012). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| food security | A state that prevails when people have secure access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food for normal growth, development and an active and healthy life. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| foodborne diseases | Foodborne diseases are transmitted by consumption of contaminated biological food and drink (WHO, 2012). These diseases are caused by eating food contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances (WHO, no date). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| forcings | See climate system. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| forecast | See prediction. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| fossil CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions | The action of giving off carbon dioxide resulting from the combustion of fuels from fossil carbon deposits such as oil, natural gas and coal. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| fossil fuels | Carbon-based burning materials from fossil carbon deposits, including coal, oil and natural gas. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Fourier analysis (spectral analysis) | A mathematical analysis that attempts to find cycles within a time series of data after detrending the data. For example, a Fourier analysis can be done on a time series of disease prevalence over twenty years, but only after time effects are removed, thereby detrending the data. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| free radical | Any highly reactive chemical molecule that has at least one unpaired electron. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| GEF | Global Environment Facility. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| general circulation | The large scale motions of the atmosphere and the ocean as a consequence of differential heating on a rotating earth, aiming to restore the energy balance of the system through transport of heat and momentum. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| genetic engineering | The techniques used to manipulate genes in an organism in order to study their functions and their interactions in an environment different from the original one. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Geographical Information System (GIS) | System of hardware, software and procedures designed for integrated storing, management, manipulation, analysing, modelling and display of spatially referenced data for solving planning and management problems. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| glacier | A mass of land ice flowing downhill and constrained by the local topography. A glacier is maintained by accumulation of snow at high altitudes, balanced by melting at low altitudes or discharge into the sea. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Global Positioning System (GPS) | A hand-held radio navigation system that allows land, sea, and airborne users to determine their exact location, velocity, and time 24 hours a day, in all weather conditions, anywhere in the world. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| global warming | Global warming refers to the gradual increase, observed or projected, in global surface temperature, as one of the consequences of radiative forcing caused by anthropogenic emissions. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| gonotrophic cycle | For blood-feeding arthropods, the interval between blood meal and egg-laying. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| greenhouse effect | Greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation, emitted by the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere itself due to the same gases and by clouds. Atmospheric radiation is emitted to all sides, including downward to the Earth’s surface. Thus greenhouse gases trap heat within the surface-troposphere system. This is called the ‘natural greenhouse effect’. Atmospheric radiation is strongly coupled to the temperature of the level at which it is emitted. An increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases leads to an increased infrared opacity of the atmosphere and therefore to an effective radiation into space from a higher altitude at a lower temperature. This causes a radiative forcing, an imbalance that can only be compensated for by an increase of the temperature of the surface-troposphere system. This is the ‘enhanced greenhouse effect’. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| greenhouse gases (GHGs) | Those gases in the atmosphere which absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of infrared radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere and clouds. Water vapour, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane and ozone are the primary greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Moreover, there are a number of entirely human-made gases in the atmosphere, such as the halocarbons and others dealt with under the Montreal and Kyoto Protocols. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Gross Domestic Product (GDP) | The sum of gross value added, at purchaser’s prices, by all resident and non-resident producers in the economy in a country or region for a given period of time (normally 1 year), plus any taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. GDP is an often used measure of welfare. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Gulf stream (thermohaline current) | A well-defined western boundary current of the North Atlantic, which carries warm, saline tropical water north and north-eastward along the eastern coast of the United States, joining the Labrador Current at the Grand Banks, about 40°N and 50°W, to become the North Atlantic Current; generally swift and deep, it transports a very large volume of water. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| haemorrhagic | Causing or characterised by haemorrhage or bleeding. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| halocarbons | A group of human-made chemicals that contain carbon and members of the halogen family (fluorine, chlorine or bromide). Halocarbons include chlorofluorocarbons, substances that deplete stratospheric ozone. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| hantavirus pulmonary syndrome | A recently identified zoonotic disease, caused by a virus (hantavirus), carried by rodents. Infection in humans occur via inhalation or ingestion of materials contaminated with rodent excreta, although a tick vector may be involved. Early symptoms include fever, fatigue and muscle aches while late symptoms consist of coughing and shortness of breath (hence the name). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| hard ticks | Ticks of the family Ixodidae, characterised by the presence of a scutum (dorsal plate) and visible mouthparts from the dorsal side. See also soft ticks. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| harmful algal blooms | Harmful algal blooms result from noxious and/or toxic algae that cause direct and indirect negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems, coastal resources, and human health (Kudela et al., 2015). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| hazard | A process, phenomenon or human activity that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation.
Annotations: Hazards may be natural, anthropogenic or socionatural in origin . Natural hazards are predominantly associated with natural processes and phenomena. Anthropogenic hazards, or human-induced hazards, are induced entirely or predominantly by human activities and choices. This term does not include the occurrence or risk of armed conflicts and other situations of social instability or tension which are subject to international humanitarian law and national legislation. Several hazards are socionatural, in that they are associated with a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors, including environmental degradation and climate change. |
Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| hazards, biological | Biological hazards are of organic origin or conveyed by biological vectors, including pathogenic microorganisms, toxins and bioactive substances. Examples are bacteria, viruses or parasites, as well as venomous wildlife and insects, poisonous plants and mosquitoes carrying disease-causing agents. | Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| hazards, environmental | Environmental hazards may include chemical, natural and biological hazards. They can be created by environmental degradation or physical or chemical pollution in the air, water and soil. However, many of the processes and phenomena that fall into this category may be termed drivers of hazard and risk rather than hazards in themselves, such as soil degradation, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, salinization and sea-level rise. | Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| hazards, geological or geophysical | Geological or geophysical hazards originate from internal earth processes. Examples are earthquakes, volcanic activity and emissions, and related geophysical processes such as mass movements, landslides, rockslides, surface collapses and debris or mud flows. Hydrometeorological factors are important contributors to some of these processes. Tsunamis are difficult to categorize: although they are triggered by undersea earthquakes and other geological events, they essentially become an oceanic process that is manifested as a coastal water-related hazard. | Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| hazards, hydrometeorological | Hydrometeorological hazards are of atmospheric, hydrological or oceanographic origin. Examples are tropical cyclones (also known as typhoons and hurricanes); floods, including flash floods; drought; heatwaves and cold spells; and coastal storm surges. Hydrometeorological conditions may also be a factor in other hazards such as landslides, wildland fires, locust plagues, epidemics and in the transport and dispersal of toxic substances and volcanic eruption material. | Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| hazards, technological | Technological hazards originate from technological or industrial conditions, dangerous procedures, infrastructure failures or specific human activities. Examples include industrial pollution, nuclear radiation, toxic wastes, dam failures, transport accidents, factory explosions, fires and chemical spills. Technological hazards also may arise directly as a result of the impacts of a natural hazard event. | Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| Health For All | A new global health policy aimed at meeting the major challenges in health during the next decades has been developed by the World Health Organization in consultation with all its national and international partners. This involved, inter alias, the other UN-organizations, Member Countries, the Regional WHO-Offices, the academic and research community and a wide variety of non-governmental organizations. This policy for the 21st century evolves from the Health-For-All policy which has been a common aspirational goal since its inception in 1979. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| health impact assessment (HIA) | A combination of procedures, methods and tools by which a policy, project or hazard may be judged as to its potential effects on the health of a population, and the distribution of those effects within the population. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| heat budget | Heat budgets are a way of studying atmospheric processes to indicate the sources and sinks of energy. The atmospheric heat budget shows where the atmospheric heat energy comes from and where it goes. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| heat island effect | Local human-induced climate conditions (high temperatures) in urban areas caused by heat adsorption in concrete, brick and pavement surfaces, reduction of convective cooling due to presence of tall buildings, and reduced evaporative cooling. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Heatwave | A heatwave is a marked warming of the air, or the invasion of very warm air, over a large area; it usually lasts from a few days to a few weeks (WMO, 1992). Alternative definition: A heatwave is a marked unusual period of hot weather over a region persisting for at least two consecutive days during the hot period of the year based on local climatological conditions, with thermal conditions recorded above given thresholds (WMO, 2020). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| helminths | Specific type of parasitic worm. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| historical analogue studies | Studies that use a past event to elucidate factors pertaining to current or future events. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| human thermoregulation | Essential human ability of regulating and exchanging body heat, including complex physiological self-regulatory mechanisms and processes required to achieve a stable internal environment | First Report of the WMO COVID-19 Task Team on Meteorological and Air Quality (MAQ) factors affecting the COVID-19 pandemic. WMO 2021 |
| Humboldt current | A cold ocean current of the South Pacific, flowing north along the western coast of South America. Also called Peru Current. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| hydrological cycle | The cycle in which water evaporates from the oceans and the land surface, is carried over the Earth in atmospheric circulation as water vapour, condenses to form clouds, precipitates over ocean and land as rain or snow, which on land can be intercepted by trees and vegetation, provides runoff on the land surface, infiltrates into soils, recharges groundwater, discharges into streams and ultimately flows out into the oceans, from which it will eventually evaporate again. The various systems involved in the hydrological cycle are usually referred to as hydrological systems. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| hydroxyl ions/radicals | One of the most toxic and reactive type of free radicals. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| hypothermia | Condition which occurs when the human body temperature drops below 35.5° C or 96° F due to exposure to cold. Symptoms include slow or irregular speech, shallow or very slow breathing, fatigue, confusion, slow pulse, weakness or drowsiness, shivering, cold, pale skin. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| ice sheet | A glacier of more than 50 000 km2 in area forming a continuous cover over a land surface or resting on a continental shelf. There are only two large ice sheets in the modern world, on Greenland and Antarctica. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| IHD | Ischaemic heart disease, i.e. heart problems caused by narrowed heart arteries (also called coronary artery disease and coronary heart disease). Often causes chest pain known as angina pectoris and can ultimately lead to heart attack. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| immune evasion | Strategy used by pathogenic organisms to evade a host’s immune response to enhance pathogen survival and maximize the probability of being transmitted to a new host | First Report of the WMO COVID-19 Task Team on Meteorological and Air Quality (MAQ) factors affecting the COVID-19 pandemic. WMO 2021 |
| immunosuppression | Reduction in the effectiveness of a person’s immune system. Local immunosuppression occurs at the site of exposure or disturbance. Systemic immunosuppression involves a reduction of the body’s immune response at a site distant from the exposure. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| impacts (consequences, outcomes) | The effects on natural and human systems of extreme weather and climate events and of climate change. Impacts generally refer to effects on lives, livelihoods, health, ecosystems, economies, societies, cultures, services and infrastructure due to the interaction of climate changes or hazardous climate events occurring within a specific time period and the vulnerability of an exposed society or system. Impacts are also referred to as consequences and outcomes. The impacts of climate change on geophysical systems, including floods, droughts and sea level rise, are a subset of impacts called physical impacts. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| in vitro | A process that takes place under artificial conditions or outside of the living organism. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| in vivo | A process that takes place inside the living organism. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| incidence | The number of cases of illness commencing, or of persons falling ill, during a given time period within a specified population. See also prevalence. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| indirect transmission | Transmission of an infectious disease with the involvement of intermediate hosts, vectors or reservoirs (e.g. malaria, hantavirus). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Industrial Revolution | A period of rapid industrial grown beginning in England during the second half of the 18th century and spreading to Europe and other countries. The invention of the steam engine was an important trigger of this development. The Industrial Revolution marks the beginning of a strong increase in the use of fossil fuels. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| inertia | Delay, slowness, or resistance in the response of the climate, biological or human systems to factors that alter their rate of change, including continuation of change in the system after the cause of that change has been removed. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| infection rate | Proportion of all individuals in a population infected with a specific disease agent. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| infrared radiation | Radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere, and clouds. It is also known as terrestrial or long-wave radiation. Infrared radiation has a distinctive range of wavelengths (spectrum) longer than the wavelength of the red colour in the visible part of the spectrum. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| insecticide | A pesticide used for controlling or eliminating insects. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| integrated assessment | A method of analysis that combines results and models from the physical, biological, economic, and social sciences, and the interactions between these components, in a consistent framework, to evaluate the status and the consequences of environmental change and the policy responses to it. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) | A group of experts established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Its role is to assess the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of the risk of human-induced climate change, based mainly on peer reviewed and published scientific/technical literature. The IPCC has three Working Groups and a Task Force. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| intermediate host | Host of a disease agent other than the one in which sexually mature forms of the pathogen occur. See also reservoir host. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| interquartile range | The distance between the 75th percentile and the 25th percentile. The interquartile range is essentially the range of the middle 50% of the data. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Kyoto Protocol | An agreement which was adopted at the third session of the UNFCCC conference in Japan in 1997. It contains legally binding commitments, in addition to those included in the UNFCCC. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| La Niña | See El Niño Southern Oscillation. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| land degradation | Land degradation means reduction or loss, in arid, semi-arid and dry subhumid areas, of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of rainfed cropland, irrigated cropland or range, pasture, forest and woodlands resulting from land uses or from a process or combination of processes, including processes arising from human activities and habitation patterns such as: soil erosion caused by wind and/or water; deterioration of the physical, chemical and biological or economic properties of soil; and long-term loss of natural vegetation (UNCCD, 1993). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| land use and land-use change | Land use refers to the total of arrangements, activities and inputs undertaken in a certain land cover type (a set of human actions). The term land use is also used in the sense of the social and economic purposes for which land is managed (e.g., grazing, timber extraction and conservation). In urban settlements it is related to land uses within cities and their hinterlands. Urban land use has implications on city management, structure and form and thus on energy demand, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mobility, among other aspects. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| Landsat Thematic Mapper | A U.S. remote sensing satellite used to acquire images of the Earth’s land surface and surrounding coastal regions. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| landslide | A landslide is the downslope movement of soil, rock and organic materials under the effects of gravity, which occurs when the gravitational driving forces exceed the frictional resistance of the material resisting on the slope. Landslides could be terrestrial or submarine (Varnes, 1978). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| lead | Lead is a naturally occurring highly toxic heavy metal. Its widespread use has caused extensive environmental contamination and health problems in many parts of the world. It is a cumulative toxicant that affects multiple body systems, including the neurological, haematological, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and renal systems. Children are particularly vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of lead, and even relatively low levels of exposure can cause serious and, in some cases, irreversible neurological damage (WHO, 2010). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| leishmaniasis | Infection with Leishmania parasites, resulting in a group of diseases classified as cutaneous, mucocutaneous or visceral. Transmission is by sandflies of the genus Phlebotomus or Lutzomyia. In most regions, the transmission cycle involves reservoir hosts (primarily wild or domestic canines and rodents) but parasites can also be transmitted from person to person by the bite of sandflies. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| leptospirosis | Bacterial infection of humans by the genus Leptospira. Symptoms include high fever, jaundice, severe muscular pains and vomiting. Transmission is associated with contact with infected animals or water contaminated with rat urine. Also known as Weil’s disease. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| lightning | Lightning is the luminous manifestation accompanying a sudden electrical discharge which takes place from or inside a cloud or, less often, from high structures on the ground or from mountains (WMO, 2017). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| lupus erythematosus | An auto-immune illness that affects the skin and internal organs. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Lyme disease | A zoonotic bacterial infection caused by the spirochaete Borrelia burgdoferi and transmitted by hard ticks of the genus Ixodes. The main animal reservoir hosts for Lyme disease are wild dear as well as domesticated pets. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| lymphatic (Bancroftian) filariasis | Parasitic disease common in tropical and subtropical countries. Microscopic parasitic worms (Wuchereria bancrofti or Brugia malayi) are transmitted to humans by several mosquito species (including Anopheles, Aedes and Culex). The worms cause inflammation and eventual blocking of lymph vessels, resulting in a swelling of the surrounding tissue, often referred to as elephantiasis. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| lymphocytes | White blood cells circulating in blood and lymph and involved in antigen-specific immune reactions. Lymphocytes are subdivided into B-lymphocytes, which produce circulating antibodies, and T-lymphocytes, which are primarily responsible for cell-mediated immunity. T-lymphocytes are divided into cytotoxic lymphocytes which bind to and kill foreign cells, helper T-lymphocytes which assist antibody production, and suppressor T-lymphocytes which inhibit this immune response. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| maladaptation | Any changes in natural or human systems that inadvertently increase vulnerability to climatic stimuli; an adaptation that does not succeed in reducing vulnerability but increases it instead. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| malaria | Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It is preventable and curable. In 2018, there were an estimated 228 million cases of malaria worldwide and the estimated number of malaria deaths stood at 405,000 (WHO, 2020). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| MARA | Mapping Malaria Risk in Africa. A collaboration initiated to provide an atlas of African malaria, containing relevant information for rational and targeted implementation of malaria control. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| mathematical models | Representation of a system, process or relationship in mathematical form in which equations are used to describe the behaviour of the system or process under study. See also biological and statistical models and predictive modelling. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| melatonin | A hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain which helps boost the people with jet lag or insomnia. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| meningococcal meningitis | Meningococcal meningitis is a bacterial form of meningitis, a serious infection of the thin lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, that is caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis. Meningococcal meningitis has the potential to cause large-scale epidemics and is observed worldwide (WHO, 2018). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| mercury | Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in air, water and soil. Exposure to mercury – even small amounts – may cause serious health problems and is a threat to the development of the foetus in utero and for children early in life (WHO, 2017). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| MERS | Middle East respiratory syndrome, first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012, is a viral respiratory disease transmitted between animals and humans, with most cases linked to the Arabian Peninsula | First Report of the WMO COVID-19 Task Team on Meteorological and Air Quality (MAQ) factors affecting the COVID-19 pandemic. WMO 2021 |
| mesosphere | Region of the Earth’s atmosphere above the stratosphere. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| meta analysis | Process of using statistical methods to combine the results of different independent studies. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| methane (CH4) | A hydrocarbon that is a greenhouse gas produced through anaerobic (without oxygen) decomposition of waste in landfills, animal digestion, decomposition of animal wastes, coal production, and incomplete fossil-fuel combustion. It is one of the six gases to be mitigated under the Kyoto Protocol. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| micro climate | (i) In climatology: localised climate, incorporating physical processed in the atmospheric boundary layer. The boundary layer is the lowest 100-200 m of the atmosphere and the part of the troposphere that is directly influenced by Earth’s surface. For example, atmospheric humidity is influenced by vegetation, ambient air temperatures by building and roads etc. (ii) in ecology: climatic conditions in the environmental space occupied by a species, a community of species or an ecosystem. For example, on mountain slopes, temperatures experienced by plants differ depending on the direction of the slope. Similarly, in forests, air temperature varies according to canopy cover and height. In many cases, such differentials are crucial for species survival and longevity. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| minimum erythemal dose (MED) | Minimal dose of ultraviolet radiation sufficient to cause erythema. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| mitigation (of climate change) | Human intervention to reduce emissions or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| monitoring | Performance and analysis of routine measurements aimed at detecting changes in the environment or health status of populations. Not to be confused with surveillance although surveillance techniques may be used in monitoring. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Montreal Protocol | The international agreement signed in 1987 to limit the production and emission of substances that deplete stratospheric ozone. The Parties to the Protocol further agreed to the London and Copenhagen Adjustments and Amendments in 1990 and 1992, respectively, aimed at accelerating the phasing out of ozone-depleting substances by 1 January 1996 (although concessionary delays have been applied to developing countries). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| morbidity | Rate of occurrence of disease or other health disorder within a population, taking account of the age-specific morbidity rates. Health outcomes include: chronic disease incidence/prevalence, hospitalisation rates, primary care consultations and Disability-Adjusted-Life-Years (DALYs). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| mortality | Rate of occurrence of death within a population within a specified time period. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| MPAs | Marine Protected Areas. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Mucociliary clearance | Defense mechanism of the lungs in which mucus and potentially harmful foreign substances contained in it are moved out of the lungs | First Report of the WMO COVID-19 Task Team on Meteorological and Air Quality (MAQ) factors affecting the COVID-19 pandemic. WMO 2021 |
| nitrous oxide (N2O) | A powerful greenhouse gas emitted through soil cultivation practices, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning. One of the six greenhouse gases to be curbed under the Kyoto Protocol. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| non-Hodgkin’s Lymphomas (NHL) | A type of cancer of the lymphatic system. There are two main types of lymphoma: (1) Hodgkin’s disease and (2)non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The two are only distinguishable by microscopic examination. There are approximately 20 different types of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma each with a different characteristic and cell invasion behaviour. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) | A remotely sensed index which is used to classify the greenness (i.e. vegetation coverage) of an area. It is related to the proportion of photosynthetically absorbed radiation, and calculated from atmospherically corrected reflectances from the visible and near infrared channels detected by remote sensing satellites. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) | Opposing variations of barometric pressure near Iceland and the Azores. On average a westerly current between the Icelandic low pressure area and the Azores high pressure area carries cyclones with their associated frontal systems towards Europe. However, the pressure difference between Iceland and the Azores fluctuates and can be reversed at any time. It is the dominant mode of winter climate variability in the North Atlantic region. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| ocean acidification | Ocean acidification refers to a reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period, typically decades or longer, which is caused primarily by uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, but can also be caused by other chemical additions or subtractions from the ocean. Anthropogenic ocean acidification refers to the component of pH reduction that is caused by human activity (IPCC, 2011, p. 37). | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| onchocerciasis | Also known as river blindness. A parasitic disease in the tropical regions of Africa and America, caused by infestation by a filarial worm (usually Onchocerca volvulus) and transmitted by the bite of various species of blackfly. Infection causes subcutaneous nodules and, if worms migrate to the eye, very often blindness. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| oropouche | A virus of the Orthobunyavirus genus causing disease in humans in the Caribbean and Central and South America. The pathogen is transmitted by the tiny biting midge Culicoides paraensis and causes a self-limiting, acute, dengue-like febrile illness called ORO fever. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| outbreak | An epidemic limited to localised increase in the incidence of a disease, e.g., in a village, town or closed institution. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| ozone | Form of the element oxygen with three atoms instead of the two that characterise normal oxygen molecules. Ozone is an important greenhouse gas. The stratosphere contains 90 % of all the ozone present in the atmosphere which absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation. In high concentrations, ozone can be harmful to a wide range of living organisms. Depletion of stratospheric ozone, due to chemical reactions that may be enhanced by climate change, results in an increased ground-level flux of ultraviolet-B-radiation. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| ozone layer | See stratospheric ozone layer. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) | A long-lived El Niño-like pattern of Pacific climate variability. Two main characteristics distinguish PDO from ENSO: (1) PDO “events” persist for 20-to-30 years, while typical ENSO events persist for 6 to 18 months and (2) the climatic fingerprints of the PDO are most visible in the North Pacific/North American sector, while secondary signatures exist in the tropics – the opposite is true for ENSO. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| PAHO | Pan American Health Organization. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| paleoclimatology | Study of past climates based on data from fossils and ice cores. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| pandemic | Epidemic occurring over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries and usually affecting a large number of people. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| permafrost | Perennially frozen ground that occurs wherever the temperature remains below 0°C for several years. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| pH | Measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, ranging from 0 (acidic) to 7 (neutral) to 14 (alkaline). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| photochemical oxidants | See secondary air pollutants. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| photoconjuctivitis | Acute inflammation of the conjunctiva caused by prolonged exposure to intense solar radiation. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| photokeratitis | Acute reversible inflammation of the cornea caused by prolonged exposure to intense solar radiation, usually in highly reflective environments. Temporary visual loss associated with ultraviolet radiation reflected from the surface of snow is known as ‘snow blindness’. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| photoperiod | The period during every 24 hours when an organism is exposed to daylight. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| photosynthesis | Process by which the energy of sunlight is used by green plants to build up complex substances from carbon dioxide and water. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| phytoplankton | The plant form of plankton (e.g. diatoms). Phytoplankton are the dominant plants in the sea, and are the base of the entire marine food web. These single-celled organisms are the principal agents for photosynthetic carbon fixation in the ocean. See also cholera and zooplankton. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| PICCAP | Pacific Islands Climate Change Assistance Programme. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| plague (bubonic) | Infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and transmitted from rodent to rodent by infected fleas. Rat-borne epidemics continue to occur in some developing countries, particularly in rural areas. Symptoms include fever, headache, and general illness, followed by the development of painful, swollen regional lymph nodes. Once a human is infected, a progressive and potentially fatal illness generally results unless specific antibiotic therapy is given. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| plankton | Aquatic organisms that drift or swim weakly. See also phytoplankton and zooplankton. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Plasmodium falciparum | One of the four species of Plasmodium that cause human malaria and the one associated with the highest morbidity and mortality. See also malaria. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Plasmodium vivax | One of the four species causing human malaria, associated with less severe but prolonged symptoms. See also malaria. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| polio (poliomyelitis) | An inflammation of the grey matter of the spinal cord, caused by a virus which results in an acute infection. It is believed that the virus is transmitted by contact with the faeces of an already infected person. The majority of infected individuals experience only mild symptoms or non-paralytic polio. The virus penetrates the nervous system in a small number of cases, causing varying degrees of muscle weakness and paralysis – i.e. true polio. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| population health | A measure of the health status of populations, proposed during the 1990s to selectively replace the use of the terms human health which is more restrictive, and public health which also encompasses preventive and curative measures and infrastructures. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| positive radiative forcing | See radiative forcing | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Poverty | Poverty is a complex concept with several definitions stemming from different schools of thought. It can refer to material circumstances (such as need, pattern of deprivation or limited resources), economic conditions (such as standard of living, inequality or economic position) and/or social relationships (such as social class, dependency, exclusion, lack of basic security or lack of entitlement). | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| ppb | Parts per billion. One ppb is 1 part in one billion by volume. See also parts per million. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| ppm | Parts per million; unit of concentration often used when measuring levels of pollutants in air, water, body fluids, etc. One ppm is 1 part in one million by volume. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| precautionary principle | The adoption of prudence when outcomes are uncertain but potentially serious. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| prediction | In the context of climate, a prediction or forecast is the result of an attempt to produce a most likely description or estimate of the actual evolution of the climate in the future (e.g. at seasonal, interannual or long term time scales). See also projection. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| preparedness | The knowledge and capacities developed by governments, response and recovery organizations, communities and individuals to effectively anticipate, respond to and recover from the impacts of likely, imminent or current disasters.
Annotation: Preparedness action is carried out within the context of disaster risk management and aims to build the capacities needed to efficiently manage all types of emergencies and achieve orderly transitions from response to sustained recovery. Preparedness is based on a sound analysis of disaster risks and good linkages with early warning systems, and includes such activities as contingency planning, the stockpiling of equipment and supplies, the development of arrangements for coordination, evacuation and public information, and associated training and field exercises. These must be supported by formal institutional, legal and budgetary capacities. The related term “readiness” describes the ability to quickly and appropriately respond when required. A preparedness plan establishes arrangements in advance to enable timely, effective and appropriate responses to specific potential hazardous events or emerging disaster situations that might threaten society or the environment. |
Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| prevalence | The number of events, e.g. instances of a given disease or other condition, in a given population at a designated time. See also incidence. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| prevention | Activities and measures to avoid existing and new disaster risks.
Annotations: Prevention (i.e., disaster prevention) expresses the concept and intention to completely avoid potential adverse impacts of hazardous events. While certain disaster risks cannot be eliminated, prevention aims at reducing vulnerability and exposure in such contexts where, as a result, the risk of disaster is removed. Examples include dams or embankments that eliminate flood risks, land – use regulations that do not permit any settlement in high-risk zones, seismic engineering designs that ensure the survival and function of a critical building in any likely earthquake and immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases. Prevention measures can also be taken during or after a hazardous event or disaster to prevent secondary hazards or their consequences, such as measures to prevent the contamination of water. |
Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| primary air pollutants | Air pollutants produced as a result of the combustion of fossil and biomass fuels. They include: carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| primary health care | Essential health care made accessible at a cost the relevant country and community can afford, incorporating methods that are practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable. This may include community education, promotion of adequate food supplies, basic sanitation and water, family planning and the prevention and control of locally endemic diseases. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| principle component analysis | A mathematical way of determining a linear transformation of a sample of points in N-dimensional space which exhibits the properties of the sample most clearly along the coordinate axes. Along the new axes the sample variances are extremes (maxima and minima), and uncorrelated. The name comes from the principal axes of an ellipsoid (e.g. the ellipsoid of inertia), which are just the coordinate axes in question. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| projections | A potential future evolution of a quantity or set of quantities, often computed with the aid of a model. Projections are distinguished from ‘predictions’ in order to emphasize that projections involve assumptions concerning, for example, future socio-economic and technological developments that may or may not be realised and are therefore subject to substantial uncertainty. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| PROMED | Global Outbreak and Response Network Programme for Monitoring Emerging diseases, run by the Federation of American Scientists and sponsored by WHO. It provides a framework, via the Internet, for electronic data exchange on outbreaks of emerging diseases. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| proxy | The context of climate; a local record that is interpreted using physical and biophysical principles to represent some combination of climate-related variations back in time. Climate-related data derived in this way are referred to as proxy data. Examples are tree ring records, characteristics of corals and various data derived from ice cores. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| pterygium | Wing-shaped growth of the conjunctiva epithelium. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| qualitative analysis | An attempt to describe the non-numerical relationship between an outcome of interest and possible exposures. See also quantitative analysis. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) | The arithmetic product of life expectancy and a measure of the quality of the remaining life years. QALY places a weight on time in different health states. A year of perfect health is worth 1; however, a year of less than perfect health life expectancy is worth less than 1. Death is considered to be equivalent to 0, however, some health states may be considered worse than death and have negative scores. QALYs provide a common currency to assess the extent of the benefits gained from a variety of interventions in terms of health-related quality of life and survival for the patient. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| quantitative analysis | An attempt to model (i.e. quantify) the numerical relationship between an outcome of interest and possible exposures. See also qualitative analysis. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| radiative forcing | A simple measure of the importance of a potential climate change mechanism. Radiative forcing is the amount of perturbation of the energy balance of the Earth-atmosphere system (W/m2) following, for example, a change in carbon dioxide concentrations or a change in the output of the sun. The climate system responds to radiative forcing so as to re-establish the energy balance. Positive radiative forcing tends to warm the Earth’s surface and negative radiative forcing tends to cool it. Radiative forcing is normally quoted as a global or annual mean. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| rangeland | Unimproved grasslands, shrublands, savannas, hot and cold deserts, tundra. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| red tide | Algal bloom which causes the seawater to become discoloured by the sheer concentration of algae seeking the sunlight. This discolouration is a result of the various pigments the plants use to trap sunlight; depending on the species of algae present, the water may reflect pink, violet, orange, yellow, blue, green, brown, or red. Since red is the most common pigment, the phenomenon has come to be called red tide. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| relative humidity | The ratio of the mass of water vapour in a given volume of air to the value of saturated air at the same temperature. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| remote sensing satellites | Polar-orbiting satellites which observe the Earth’s surface, producing images of various temporal and spatial resolutions. See also Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and Sea Surface Temperatures. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| reservoir / reservoir host | Any animal, plant, soil or inanimate matter in which a pathogen normally lives and multiplies, and on which it depends primarily for survival; e.g. foxes are a reservoir for rabies. Reservoir hosts may be asymptomatic. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| resilience | The ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate, adapt to, transform and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions through risk management. | Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| respiratory droplet | Droplets produced by exhalation, which span a wide spectrum of sizes and can be divided into the categories of larger droplets and smaller droplets (or droplet nuclei ≤5 μm) | First Report of the WMO COVID-19 Task Team on Meteorological and Air Quality (MAQ) factors affecting the COVID-19 pandemic. WMO 2021 |
| response | Actions taken directly before, during or immediately after a disaster in order to save lives, reduce health impacts, ensure public safety and meet the basic subsistence needs of the people affected.
Annotation: Disaster response is predominantly focused on immediate and shortterm needs and is sometimes called disaster relief. Effective, efficient and timely response relies on disaster risk-informed preparedness measures, including the development of the response capacities of individuals, communities, organizations, countries and the international community. |
Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| Rift Valley Fever (RVF) | A viral zoonosis which mainly affects live stock in many areas of the world but which occasionally causes severe epidemics in humans, leading to high morbidity and mortality. The death of RVF-infected livestock often leads to substantial economic losses. The virus is transmitted to animals and humans by a range of mosquitoes including Aedes and Culex. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| risk | The potential for consequences where something of value is at stake and where the outcome is uncertain, recognizing the diversity of values. Risk is often represented as probability or likelihood of occurrence of hazardous events or trends multiplied by the impacts if these events or trends occur. In this report, the term risk is often used to refer to the potential, when the outcome is uncertain, for adverse consequences on lives, livelihoods, health, ecosystems and species, economic, social and cultural assets, services (including environmental services) and infrastructure. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| risk management | The plans, actions or policies to reduce the likelihood and/or consequences of risks or to respond to consequences. | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| river blindness | See onchocerciasis. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| run-off | Water from precipitation or irrigation that does not evaporate or seep into soil but flows into rivers, streams or lakes, and that may carry sediment. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| salinization | The accumulation of salts in the soil. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| salmonellosis | Bacterial food-poisoning caused by Salmonella species, most frequently reported in North America and Europe. Most people become infected by ingesting foods contaminated with significant amounts of Salmonella and the poisoning typically occurs in outbreaks in the general population or hospitals, restaurants etc. Improperly handled or undercooked poultry and eggs are the foods which most frequently cause Salmonella food poisoning. Chickens are a major carrier of Salmonella bacteria, which accounts for its prominence in poultry products. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| SARS | Severe acute respiratory syndrome, first reported in Asia in 2003, is a viral respiratory illness which spread to several other countries before it was contained within one year | First Report of the WMO COVID-19 Task Team on Meteorological and Air Quality (MAQ) factors affecting the COVID-19 pandemic. WMO 2021 |
| SARS-CoV-2 | Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, first identified in December 2019, is the virus that causes COVID-19 disease | First Report of the WMO COVID-19 Task Team on Meteorological and Air Quality (MAQ) factors affecting the COVID-19 pandemic. WMO 2021 |
| saturation deficit | The degree of saturation in the 1000-500 hPa layer. If the amount of moisture in a layer is held constant while the thickness decreases, the air will become more saturated until precipitation begins. The thickness at which precipitation is expected to begin for a given amount of moisture in the atmosphere is known as the saturation thickness. The difference between the saturation thickness and the actual thickness defines the saturation deficit. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| scenarios | A plausible and often simplified description of how the future may develop, based on a coherent and internally consistent set of assumptions about key driving forces and relationships. Scenarios are neither predictions nor forecasts and may sometimes be based on a narrative storyline. See also SRES scenarios and emission scenarios. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| schistosomiasis | A parasitic disease, also known as bilharziasis, caused by five species of flatworms, or blood flukes, known as schistosomes throughout the tropics. The eggs of the schistosomes in the excreta of an infected person hatch on contact with water and release larvae, the miracidia which penetrate a fresh water intermediate snail host and produce new parasites (cercariae). The cercariae are excreted by the snail into the water and penetrate human skin. Disease due to schistosomiasis is indicated either by the presence of blood in the urine (urinary schistosomiasis) leading eventually to bladder cancer or kidney problems or, in the case of intestinal schistosomiasis, by initial diarrhoea, which can lead to serious complications of the liver and spleen. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| sea level rise | Sea-level change (sea-level rise / sea-level fall) is a change to the height of sea level, both globally and locally (relative sea-level change) at seasonal, annual, or longer time scales due to: a change in ocean volume as a result of a change in the mass of water in the ocean (e.g., due to melt of glaciers and ice sheets); to changes in ocean volume as a result of changes in ocean water density (e.g., expansion under warmer conditions), and to changes in the shape of the ocean basins and changes in the Earth’s gravitational and rotational fields, and local subsidence or uplift of the land (IPCC, 2019). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| sea surface temperature (SST) | The water temperature at 1 meter below the sea surface. However, there are a variety of techniques for measuring this parameter that can potentially yield different results because different things are actually being measured. Remote sensing satellites have been increasingly utilized to measure SST and have provided an enormous leap in our ability to view the spatial and temporal variation in SST. The satellite measurement is made by sensing the ocean radiation in two or more wavelengths in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum which can be then be empirically related to SST. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| seasonality/seasonal variation | Seasonal fluctuations in disease incidence or prevalence or other phenomena (e.g. abundance of vectors). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| secondary air pollutants | Air pollutants formed by chemical and photochemical reactions of primary air pollutants and atmospheric chemicals. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| sensitivity | Degree to which a system is affected by climate-related changes, either adversely or beneficially. The effect may be direct (e.g. a change in crop yield in response to temperature change) or indirect (e.g. damages caused by increases in the frequency of coastal flooding). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| sentinel site | Specific health facility, usually a general/family practice, which undertakes to maintain surveillance and report certain specific predetermined events such as cases of certain infectious diseases. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| seroprevalence | Prevalence of a specified serotype in a specified population. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| serotype | Identifiable factor or factors in blood serum detected by serological tests. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| SIDS | Small Island Developing States. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| smoke | Smoke is a suspension in the air of small particles produced by combustion (WMO, 2017). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| snow blindness | See photokeratitis. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| snowshoe hare virus (SHV) | A zoonotic viral infection which persists in cycles of transmission among wild mammals and mosquitoes. A wide range of wild mammal species can be infected with SSH virus and the snowshoe hare is thought to be important in some areas of Canada. Many different species of mosquito can become infected with and transmit SSH virus. Disease in people, when it occurs, takes the form of infection and inflammation of the brain (meningitis and encephalitis). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| soft ticks | Ticks of the family Argasidae, characterised by the absence of a scutum (dorsal plate) and lack of visible mouthparts from the dorsal view. See also hard ticks. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| solar activity | Episodes of high activity observed in numbers of sun spots as well as radiative output, magnetic activity, and emissions of high energy particles. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| solar radiation | Radiation emitted by the sun, also referred to as short-wave radiation. Solar radiation has a distinctive range of wavelengths (spectrum) determined by the temperature of the sun. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| spatial and temporal scale/resolution | Climate may vary on a large range of spatial and temporal scales. Spatial scales may range from local or high resolution (less than 100,000 km2), to continental or low resolution (10 to 100 million km2). Temporal scales may range from seasonal to geological (up to hundreds of millions of years). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| spirochaete | Bacterium with a spiral shape. See also Lyme disease. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| SRES | Emissions scenarios used as a basis for the climate projections in the IPCC TAR in 2001. There are four scenario families, comprising A1. A2, B1 and B2: | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| stakeholder | Person or entity holding grants, concessions, or any other type of value that would be affected by a particular action or policy. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| storm surge | A storm surge reflects the difference between the actual water level under the influence of a meteorological disturbance (storm tide) and the level which would have occurred in the absence of the meteorological disturbance (i.e., astronomical tide) (WMO, 2008, 2011, 2017). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| stratosphere | The highly stratified region of the atmosphere above the troposphere extending from about 10 km to about 50 km. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| stratospheric ozone depletion | The reduction of the quantity of ozone contained in the stratosphere due to the release of greenhouse gases as a result of human activity. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Stratospheric ozone layer | The stratosphere contains a layer in which the concentration of ozone is greatest, the so-called ozone layer. The layer extends from about 12 to 40 km. This layer is being depleted by human emissions of chlorine and bromine compounds. Every year, during the Southern Hemisphere spring, a very strong depletion of the ozone layer takes place over the Antarctic region, caused by human-made chlorine and bromine compounds in combination with the meteorological conditions of that region. This phenomenon is called the ozone hole. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| stressor | Single condition or agent that contributes to stress of an organism, population or ecosystem. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| surveillance | Continuous analysis, interpretation and feedback of systematically collected data for the detection of trends in the occurrence or spread of a disease, based on practical and standardized methods of notification or registration. Sources of data may be related directly to disease or factors influencing disease. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| susceptibility | Probability that an individual or population will be affected by an external factor. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| sustainability | 1. A characteristic of human activity that is undertaken in such a manner that it does not adversely affect environmental conditions and which means that that activity can be repeated in the future.
2. A dynamic process that guarantees the persistence of natural and human systems in an equitable manner. |
1. Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003
2. IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| sustainable development | Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (WCED, 1987). | IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) |
| synoptic | Any of the methods used to analyse relationships between total atmospheric conditions and the surface environment. Usually expressed in two forms: ‘air mass identification’ which assesses the meteorological quality of the entire atmosphere and ‘weather type evaluation’ which identifies various weather systems and their impact. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| T helper cells | See lymphocytes. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| thermal expansion | In connection with sea level, the increase in volume (and decrease in density) that results from warming water. A warming of the ocean leads to an expansion of the ocean volume and hence an increase in sea level. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| thermohaline circulation | Large-scale density driven circulation in the ocean, caused by differences in temperature and salinity. In the North Atlantic, the thermohaline circulation consists of warm surface water flowing northward and cold deepwater flowing southward, resulting in a net poleward transport of heat. The surface water sinks in highly restricted sinking regions located in high latitudes. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| threshold | Abrupt change in the slope or curvature of a dose-response graph. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| thunderstorm | A thunderstorm is defined as one or more sudden electrical discharges, manifested by a flash of light (lightning) and a sharp or rumbling sound (thunder) (WMO, no date). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) | A viral infection of the central nervous system transmitted by the bite of Ixodes ricinus ticks, usually in people who visit or work in forests, fields, or pastures. The disease occurs in Scandinavia, western and central Europe, and countries that made up the former Soviet Union. Initial symptoms include fever, headache, nausea and vomiting and in some cases the disease progresses into a neurological infection resulting in paralysis and coma. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| tide gauge | A device at a coastal location (and some deep sea locations) which continuously measures the level of the sea with respect to the adjacent land. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| time-series analysis | Statistical methods used to describe events that are measured in an ordered sequence at equally-spaced time intervals, and often to analyse their variations as functions of other variables (e.g. analyses of daily records of daily mortality rates, as a function of concurrent variation in temperature). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| TNC | The Nature Conservancy. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| tornado | A tornado is a rotating column of air, extending from the base of a cumuliform cloud, and often visible as a condensation funnel in contact with the ground, and/or attendant circulating dust or debris cloud at the ground (WMO, 2017). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| trachoma | A form of bacterial conjunctivitis caused by Chlamydia trachomatis. At its onset, it resembles conjunctivitis with symptoms of tearing, photophobia, pain, swelling of the eyelids. As it passes through four stages, scarring becomes extensive and blindness results. The disease is spread by contact; flies and gnats may also transmit it. It is the leading cause of blindness worldwide, and afflicts over 400 million people (primarily in underdeveloped countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia). It is preventable with adequate diet, proper sanitation, and education. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| tropical storm | A tropical storm is a rapid rotating storm originating over tropical oceans. It has a low pressure centre and clouds spiralling towards the eyewall surrounding the ‘eye’. Its diameter is typically around 200 to 500 km, but can reach 1000 km. The related hazards are very violent winds, torrential rain, high waves, storm surges and in some cases tornadoes, causing direct effects such as flash floods, flooding, coastal inundation, and indirect effects such as landslides and mudslides. The winds blow anti-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere (WMO, 2020). The intensity of tropical storms is based on the wind speed. A tropical storm is a tropical cyclone with the maximum sustained winds of 34 knots (17.5 m/s, 63 km/h) to 47 knots (24.2 m/s, 87 km/h) near the centre. When reaching this intensity, they are named in the interests of public safety (WMO, 2021). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| tropopause | The boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| troposphere | The lowest part of the atmosphere from the surface to about 10 km in altitude in mid-latitudes where clouds and ‘weather’ phenomena occur. In the troposphere, temperatures generally decrease with height. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) | Parasitic disease caused by protozoans of the genus Trypanosoma. In the Americas, American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease) is caused by T. cruzi and transmitted by reduviid (kissing) bugs of the genus Triatoma and Rhodnius. In Africa, human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) is caused by T. brucei rhodesiense and T. b. gambiense and transmitted by tsetse flies. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| tsetse fly | Any of several bloodsucking African flies of the genus Glossina which transmit African sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis) to humans. The tsetse fly also carries the parasites that cause nagana in cattle and other diseases of wild and domestic animals. Bush clearing and insecticide spraying have been used to control tsetse populations. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| tsunami | Tsunami is the Japanese term meaning wave (‘nami’) in a harbour (‘tsu’). It is a series of travelling waves of extremely long length and period, usually generated by disturbances associated with earthquakes occurring below or near the ocean floor (IOC, 2019). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| tuberculosis (TB) | A bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB is highly contagious, spreading through the air in infected droplets from coughing, sneezing, talking or spitting of infectious people. A person needs only to inhale a small number of bacteria to be infected. TB kills approximately 2 million people each year and the global epidemic is growing and becoming more dangerous. The breakdown in health services, the spread of HIV/AIDS and the emergence of multidrug-resistant TB are contributing to the worsening impact of this disease. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| typhoid | Infectious fever usually spread by food, milk, or water supplies which have been contaminated with Salmonella typhi, either directly by sewage, indirectly by flies, or as a result of poor personal hygiene. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| UKCIP | The UK Climate Impacts Programme. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| ultraviolet radiation (UVR) | Solar radiation within a certain wavelength, depending on the type of radiation (A, B or C). Ozone absorbs strongly in the UV-C (< 280nm) and solar radiation in these wavelengths does not reach the earth's surface. As the wavelength is increased through the UV-B range (280nm to 315nm) and into the UV-A (315nm to 400nm) ozone absorption becomes weaker, until it is undetectable at about 340nm. The fractions of solar energy above the atmosphere in the UV-B and UV-A ranges are approximately 1.5% and 7% respectively. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) | Convention signed at United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992. Governments that become Parties to the Convention agree to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| uncertainty | An expression of the degree to which a value is unknown. This can result from lack of information or disagreement about what is known. Uncertainty can be represented by quantitative measures (e.g. a range of values calculated by mathematical models) or qualitative statements (e.g. reflecting the judgement of a team of experts). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| UNEP | United Nations Environment Programme. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| unstable malaria | Haphazard transmission of malaria, occurring only during ‘favourable’ episodes. See also malaria. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| urban heat island | See heat island effect. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| USEPA | United States Environmental Protection Agency. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| UV radiation | UV radiation is the portion of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum between X-rays and visible light. Depending on its wavelength, UV radiation can penetrate the ozone layer and affect human health in different ways (Government of Canada, 2019). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| UV-B | Ultraviolet light with a wavelength range of 280-315 nm is mostly filtered by the atmosphere and cannot penetrate beyond the superficial skin layers | First Report of the WMO COVID-19 Task Team on Meteorological and Air Quality (MAQ) factors affecting the COVID-19 pandemic. WMO 2021 |
| UV-C | Ultraviolet light with a wavelength range of 100-280 nm is completely filtered by the atmosphere and represents the most damaging type of UV radiation | First Report of the WMO COVID-19 Task Team on Meteorological and Air Quality (MAQ) factors affecting the COVID-19 pandemic. WMO 2021 |
| vector | An organism that acts as an essential intermediate host or definite host for a human pathogen and that plays an active role in its transmission; for example Anopheles mosquitoes are vectors of malaria. This definition excludes mechanical carriers of infective materials (such as houseflies and cockroaches), strictly passive intermediate hosts (e.g. the snail hosts of schistosomiasis) and reservoir species (e.g. foxes carrying rabies). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| vector-borne diseases | Range of infectious diseases which are transmitted between hosts by vectors such as mosquitoes or ticks (e.g. malaria, dengue fever, Lyme disease). | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| vivax malaria | See Plasmodium vivax and malaria. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| vulnerability | 1. The degree to which a system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with, adverse effects of climate change, including climate variability and extremes. Vulnerability is a function of the character, magnitude and rate of climate variation to which a system is exposed, its sensitivity and its adaptive capacity.
2. The propensity or predisposition to be adversely affected. Vulnerability encompasses a variety of concepts and elements including sensitivity or susceptibility to harm and lack of capacity to cope and adapt. 3. The conditions determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes which increase the susceptibility of an individual, a community, assets or systems to the impacts of hazards. Annotation: For positive factors which increase the ability of people to cope with hazards, see also the definitions of “Capacity” and “Coping capacity”. |
1. Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003
2. IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) 3. Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology relating to disaster risk reduction, 2016 |
| water stress | A country is water stressed if the available freshwater supply relative to water withdrawals acts as an important constraint on development. Withdrawals exceeding 20% of renewable water supply has been used as an indicator of water stress. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| water vapour | Also called humidity; the largest single greenhouse gas. Water vapour also forms an important link between the land and ocean; it is a carrying mechanism that transports energy around the globe and, therefore, a major driver of weather patterns – a fact demonstrated spectacularly by typhoons and hurricanes powered by tropical evaporation. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| waterborne diseases | Waterborne diseases are those diseases that are transmitted by ingestion of contaminated water (WHO, 2012). | UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| watershed | The region draining into a river, river system or body of water. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| Weather information products | Weather information products measure the state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place, particularly temperature, precipitation, cloudiness, etc. (real-time monitoring, historical time series, summary statistics temperature, precipitation, humidity, etc.). | Climate Services for Health: improving public health decision-making in a new climate. WHO, WMO, 2018 |
| West Nile Virus (WNV) | A zoonotic virus transmitted by mosquitoes (normally Culex) and maintained in a wildlife cycle involving birds. Occasional spill-over to the human population results after virus amplification and can cause large epidemics. Symptoms may be mild and include fever, headache and malaise while symptoms of severe infection include high fever, neck stiffness, coma and paralysis. Recent increases in the number of cases, particularly in the US, have caused concern about the health effects on the general population. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| wildfires | Wildfires are any unplanned or uncontrolled fire affecting natural, cultural, industrial and residential landscapes (adapted from FAO, 2010). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| WHO | World Health Organization. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| WMO | World Meteorological Organization. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| WWF | World Wildlife Fund. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| yellow fever | A mosquito-borne viral disease occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America . Humans and monkeys are the principal animals to be infected. Several different species of the Aedes and Haemagogus (S. America only) mosquitoes transmit the yellow fever virus. Infection causes a wide spectrum of disease, from mild symptoms to severe illness and death, however prospects for control are encouraging due to the availability of a vaccine. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
| zoonotic diseases | Zoonotic diseases are a group of communicable diseases that are transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans through direct contact or through food, water, and the environment (WHO, no date). |
UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Report (2021) |
| zooplankton/zooxanthellae | The animal forms of plankton. They consume phytoplankton and other zooplankton. | Climate change and human health: Risks and Responses. WHO, 2003 |
