Climate change impacts on human health at an actionable scale: a state-level assessment of Indiana, USA

Abstract

Climate change is already being felt on local levels, with historical records from the State of Indiana (USA) revealing warmer winters, and more extreme precipitation events.To refine our understanding of climate change impacts on human health, we conducted a state-level assessment of future climate change impacts on human health using outputs from advanced climate model projections for this century. Future projections show a steep increase in extreme heat events, leading to greater potential vulnerability to heat disasters for Indiana communities. Additionally, a 2-to 4-fold increase in days with "uncomfortable night" conditions by the end of the century will strongly impact the cardiopulmonary health of more vulnerable populations (i.e., elderly, those with pre-existing conditions, children, and those with inadequate access to cooling).Continued trends for warmer winters and more flooding suggest a much greater risk for the expansion and virulence of a number of vector-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease, West Nile Virus, and "tropical" diseases for which the mosquito vectors will thrive.Higher temperatures will also drive more frequent and severe harmful algal blooms in lakes and reservoirs, with implications for human and animal health. Food systems will

Air Pollution, Climate Change, and Human Health in Indian Cities: A Brief Review

“…The adverse impacts of climate change on human health have been documented in several studies and these effects are expected to increase with future climate change (Luber and McGeehin, 2008;Bell et al, 2018;Filippelli et al, 2020). The climate change affects human health by problems induced from notable extreme weather conditions such as increased temperature, precipitation, increased intensity and frequency of heat waves, floods, droughts, strong winds, and landslides (Orimoloye et al, 2019).…”

“…Children, elderly people, and urban residents are more vulnerable to these health impacts (Haines et al, 2006;Ebi and Paulson, 2010;Filippelli et al, 2020). Nearly 150,000 deaths and about 5 million illnesses have been reported per year due to climate change (Dutta and Chorsiya, 2013).…”

“…The respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumothorax, asthma, allergies, hyperthermia, and dehydration are some of human health issues associated with climate change either directly or indirectly (D'Amato et al, 2011;Filippelli et al, 2020). About 6% of children in India are prone to respiratory tract infections and 2% of adults in India are also trapped in asthma disease (International Institute for population sciences (IIPS) Macro International, 2007).…”

Interactions between Microbial Food Safety and Environmental Sustainability in the Fresh Produce Supply Chain

“…Increases in the mean air temperature and the frequency of extreme weather events are among the expected consequences of climate change [ 112 ]. These changes are associated with a potential risk of an increased presence of certain pathogenic microorganisms and toxins in food [ 113 , 114 , 115 ], including vegetables [ 116 ]. The work by Liu et al [ 116 ] focusing on pre-harvest leafy green vegetables concluded that the rise in temperatures and modifications in precipitation patterns will affect the contamination sources and the pathways of pathogens, likely leading to an increase in the contamination of these products with pathogenic microorganisms.…”

Implications of climate change for tourism and outdoor recreation: an Indiana, USA, case study

“…These heat levels raise the likelihood of heat-related illnesses, such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and they reduce the appeal of some outdoor activities. Children and older adults are especially vulnerable (Filippelli et al 2020). Some outdoor recreation activities-including sports tourism-may be impacted by these changes.…”