Rapid warming in Tibet, China: public perception, response and coping resources in urban Lhasa

Abstract

BackgroundTibet, average altitude more than 4,000 meters, is warming faster than anywhere else in China. The increase in temperatures may aggravate existing health problems and lead to the emergence of new risks. However, there are no actions being taken at present to protect population health due to limited understanding about the range and magnitude of health effects of climate change.MethodsThe study was a cross-sectional survey of 619 respondents from urban Lhasa, Tibet in August 2012 with the aim to investigate public perceptions of risk, heat experiences, and coping resources.ResultsRespondents are aware of the warming that has occurred in Lhasa in recent years. Over 78% reported that rising temperature is either a “very” or “somewhat” serious threat to their own health, and nearly 40% reported they had experienced heat-related symptoms. Sex, age, education and income influenced perceived risks, health status, and heat experience. The vast majority of respondents reported that they had altered their behaviour on hot summer days. Bakuo, a sub-district at the city center, is considered especially vulnerable to heat because of sparse vegetation, high population density, poor dwelling conditions and a high proportion of low-income population. However, neighborhood social ties were stronger in Bakuo than other study locations.ConclusionsThe study suggests that actions are needed now to minimize downside effects of rapid warming in Tibet, because of increasing human exposure to high temperatures and uneven distribution of the resources needed to cope.

Perceptions of Health Co-Benefits in Relation to Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions: A Survey among Urban Residents in Three Chinese Cities

“…Similar with previous research on risk perceptions of climate change [25,33,34], we found that awareness of the multiple benefits of GHG emission controls on climate and public health was very high (91.9%) in the three cities of this study, likely due to the extensive media coverage, internet penetration and government advocacy on this topic in China. In recent years, awareness raising of low carbon development and green growth has been carried out continuously across the whole country, and it seems that the idea of low carbon transition has been absorbed by the general public [26].…”

“…It should be noted that negative emotions such as fear, guilt and pessimism, are likely to produce passive and defensive responses, and hardly do much to encourage people to change their behaviors or to press for wider social action [8]. Several studies have focused on risk perceptions of climate change, but less attention has been paid to the awareness of the health benefits associated with mitigation actions [33,34]. In addition to providing engaging messages about how to address the problem, ancillary health gains of GHG reductions may also represent climate change mitigation in ways that connect with people’s core ideologies and identities and then anchor it in positive emotions, which is one of the crucial determinants of behavior and behavioral change [8,35,36].…”

“…Plausible explanations for this phenomenon are summarized as following. First, widespread awareness of the risks of climate change or temperature warming have been observed by numerous studies around the world [28,33,34,40,43,49,50]. As a similar environmental issue, and in terms of the increasing governmental and social media awareness raising activities in recent years in China, widespread approval of the statements of the health co-benefits related to GHG reductions may be expected; Second, though there is a substantial awareness, it is likely that there is some extent of confusion or misunderstanding among the respondents in terms of differentiating the concept of “health co-benefits” from “social benefits or welfare benefits”; Third, social desirability may be a factor influencing responses to the survey.…”

Temperature and mortality on the roof of the world: A time-series analysis in three Tibetan counties, China

“…For instance, cooling devices are seldom used in Tibet because heat is not seen to be a serious problem. A survey of 619 respondents that we conducted in Chengguan in 2012 found only 8.7% of participants had air-conditioning at home (Bai et al, 2013). On the basis of the present study, and projections for future climate change in Tibet, we recommend an officially sanctioned and comprehensive temperature adaption plan.…”

Predicted areas of potential distributions of alpine wetlands under different scenarios in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

“…The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is one of the most sensitive and vulnerable areas suffering intense climate change impacts. Average temperatures in the QTP kept rising since the 1960s (Bai et al, 2013). And worse, the warming has accelerated during recent decades, especially in the last 20 years (Wei and Fang, 2013).…”