HR: 14:05h
AN: U43D-02    [Abstracts]
TI: Human Health Impacts of and Public Health Adaptation to Climate Variability and Change
AU: * Ebi, K L
EM: krisebi@essllc.org
AF: ESS, LLC, 5249 Tancreti Lane, Alexandria, VA 22304, United States
AB: Weather and climate are among the factors that determine the geographic range and incidence of several major causes of ill health, including undernutrition, diarrheal diseases and other conditions due to unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation, and malaria. The Human Health chapter in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that climate change has begun to negatively affect human health, and that projected climate change will increase the risks of climate-sensitive health outcomes, particularly in lower-income populations, predominantly within tropical/subtropical countries. Those at greatest risk include the urban poor, older adults, children, traditional societies, subsistence farmers, and coastal populations, particularly in low income countries. The cause-and-effect chain from climate change to changing patterns of health determinants and outcomes is complex and includes socioeconomic, institutional, and other factors. The severity of future impacts will be determined by changes in climate as well as by concurrent changes in nonclimatic factors and by the adaptation measures implemented to reduce negative impacts. Public health has a long history of effectively intervening to reduce risks to the health of individuals and communities. Lessons learned from more than 150 years of research and intervention can provide insights to guide the design and implementation of effective and efficient interventions to reduce the current and projected impacts of climate variability and change.
DE: 3305 Climate change and variability (1616, 1635, 3309, 4215, 4513)
DE: 3337 Global climate models (1626, 4928)
DE: 6620 Science policy (0485)
SC: Union [U]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting