Protecting Health from Climate Change

Abstract

Editorial An important health impact from climate change will be its influence on mental health of the affected populations. Indeed, more frequent and more intense extreme-weather events would trigger migration processes that could lead to loss of livelihoods and create tensions, with major psychosocial consequences. This issue is discussed in the seventh article. Maldives is one of the most vulnerable countries of our Region: it is threatened by sealevel rise and by the loss of drinking water reserves and food sources. The last article in this Special Issue presents the views of the Ministry of Health, Maldives on how the country is getting ready to address these major challenges.Regional Health Forum -Volume 12, Number 1, 2008 AbstractThis paper summarizes some of the main findings arising from the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) related to the protection of human health in a changing climate. The paper first discusses observed and projected changes in climate and their likely impacts on human health with the focus on South and South-East Asia, followed by a summary of key issues for adaptation, including field experiences of conducting climate-related health research. It also gives a brief overview of options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; adaptation and mitigation measures to protect human health from climate change; and linkages of these measures with broader sustainable development objectives. IntroductionThe IPCC carries out regular assessments of the scientific knowledge of the causes, observations and projections of climate change and its likely impacts, and of options to adapt to those changes and to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) was completed in 2007 and represents the most comprehensive report of current knowledge.The findings from the AR4 are of particular relevance to public health researchers and policy-makers as they represent increased knowledge about the potential impacts of climate change on human health, as well as improved understanding of the broader linkages between climate change and development issues. References in this article exclusively point to specific chapters and summaries from the IPCC AR4; additional primary literature references may be found in relevant chapters of the cited IPCC reports. 1 Observed changes in climate, their causes and effectsThe recent IPCC assessment (IPCC, 2007) concludes that evidence on warming of the climate system is unequivocal. This strong finding is based on multiple strands of evidence such as increases in global average surface temperature (about 0.74 °C over the past 100 years), rising global average sea level from thermal expansion of the oceans and melting of ice and snow, and concurrent decreases in the Northern Hemisphere snow cover. These observations are summarized in 1 The entire IPCC AR4 is available on the Internet at www.ipcc.ch. Institute, New Delhi, India † E-mail: nitish@teri.res.in 2 Regional Health Forum -Volume 12, Nu...