Extreme Weather, Health, and Communities PDF Download

Author: Sheila Lakshmi Steinberg
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 331930626X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
This volume presents a unique interdisciplinary approach, drawing on expertise in both the natural and social sciences. A primary goal is to present a scientific and socially integrated perspective on place-based community engagement, extreme weather, and health. Each year extreme weather is leading to natural disasters around the world and exerting huge social and health costs. The International Monetary Fund (2012) estimates that since 2010, 700 worldwide natural disasters have affected more than 450 million people around the globe. The best coping strategy for extreme weather and environmental change is a strong offense. Communities armed with a spatial understanding of their resources, risks, strengths, weaknesses, community capabilities, and social networks will have the best chance of reducing losses and achieving a better outcome when extreme weather and disaster strikes.

Author: Rais Akhtar
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030237737
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 382

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Book Description
This edited book assesses the impacts of various extreme weather events on human health and development from a global perspective, and includes several case studies in various geographical regions around the globe. Covering all continents, it describes the impact of extreme weather conditions such as flash floods, heatwaves, cold waves, droughts, forest fires, strong winds and storms in both developing and developed countries. The contributing authors also investigate the spread of diseases and the risk to food security caused by drought and flooding. Further, the book discusses the economic damage resulting from natural disasters including hurricanes. It has been estimated that in 2017 natural disasters and climate change resulted in economic losses of 309 billion US dollars. Scientists also predict that if nothing is done to curb the effects of climate change, in Europe the death toll due to weather disasters could rise 50-fold by the end of the 21st century, with extreme heat alone causing more than 150,000 deaths a year, as the report on global warming of 1.5°C warns that China, Russia and Canada’s current climate policies would steer the world above a catastrophic 5°C of warming by the end of 2100. As such, the book highlights how the wellbeing of different populations is threatened by extreme events now and in the foreseeable future.

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309380979
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 187

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Book Description
As climate has warmed over recent years, a new pattern of more frequent and more intense weather events has unfolded across the globe. Climate models simulate such changes in extreme events, and some of the reasons for the changes are well understood. Warming increases the likelihood of extremely hot days and nights, favors increased atmospheric moisture that may result in more frequent heavy rainfall and snowfall, and leads to evaporation that can exacerbate droughts. Even with evidence of these broad trends, scientists cautioned in the past that individual weather events couldn't be attributed to climate change. Now, with advances in understanding the climate science behind extreme events and the science of extreme event attribution, such blanket statements may not be accurate. The relatively young science of extreme event attribution seeks to tease out the influence of human-cause climate change from other factors, such as natural sources of variability like El Niño, as contributors to individual extreme events. Event attribution can answer questions about how much climate change influenced the probability or intensity of a specific type of weather event. As event attribution capabilities improve, they could help inform choices about assessing and managing risk, and in guiding climate adaptation strategies. This report examines the current state of science of extreme weather attribution, and identifies ways to move the science forward to improve attribution capabilities.

Author: US Global Change Research Program
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1510726217
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 999

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Book Description
As global climate change proliferates, so too do the health risks associated with the changing world around us. Called for in the President’s Climate Action Plan and put together by experts from eight different Federal agencies, The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health: A Scientific Assessment is a comprehensive report on these evolving health risks, including: Temperature-related death and illness Air quality deterioration Impacts of extreme events on human health Vector-borne diseases Climate impacts on water-related Illness Food safety, nutrition, and distribution Mental health and well-being This report summarizes scientific data in a concise and accessible fashion for the general public, providing executive summaries, key takeaways, and full-color diagrams and charts. Learn what health risks face you and your family as a result of global climate change and start preparing now with The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health.

Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309177758
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
Long before the "germ theory" of disease was described, late in the nineteenth century, humans knew that climatic conditions influence the appearance and spread of epidemic diseases. Ancient notions about the effects of weather and climate on disease remain embedded in our collective consciousness-through expressions such as "cold" for rhinovirus infections; "malaria," derived from the Latin for "bad air;" and the common complaint of feeling "under the weather." Today, evidence is mounting that earth's climate is changing at a faster rate than previously appreciated, leading researchers to view the longstanding relationships between climate and disease with new urgency and from a global perspective. On December 4 and 5, 2007, the Forum on Microbial Threats hosted a public workshop in Washington, DC to consider the possible infectious disease impacts of global climate change and extreme weather events on human, animal, and plant health, as well as their expected implications for global and national security.

Author: Henry F. Diaz
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521298483
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
Extreme climatic events present society with significant challenges in a rapidly warming world. Ordinary citizens, the insurance industry and governments are concerned about the apparent increase in the frequency of weather and climate events causing extreme, and in some instances, catastrophic, impacts. Climate Extremes and Society focuses on the recent and potential future consequences of weather and climate extremes for different socioeconomic sectors. The book also examines actions that may enable society to better respond to climate variability. It provides examples of the impact of climate and weather extremes on society. How have these extremes varied in the past, and how might they change in the future? What type of efforts will help society adapt to potential future changes in climate and weather extremes? The book is designed for all policy-makers, engineers and scientists who have an interest in the effects of climate extremes on society.

Author: Joshua Nealon
Publisher: World Health Organization
ISBN: 9290617373
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
There is serious concern about the impact of the changing climate. The WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific has taken the initiative in addressing health issues related to climate change but further action is needed to support efforts to confront climate change in Member States and in various sectors. Health must be mainstreamed into efforts to address climate change and action must be coordinated and integrated across national boundaries and in all sectors. This report synthesizes information and approaches on climate change and health pertinent to Member States in the Western Pacific Region. It also examines efforts and initiatives by various experts and stakeholders with an in-depth look at experiences in seven Member States that reflect the diversity of the Region. Finally it offers recommendations for policy-makers.

Author: Brendon Hyndman
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 100086622X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
This book introduces an emerging area of research exploring the influence of extreme weather events on school systems. Chapters explore a range of extreme weather events such as snowstorms, bushfires, extreme winds, heavy rainfall and prolonged heat waves, and their potentially widespread impacts. It also covers key challenges faced by schools, including how to protect students, levels of teacher preparation to counter extreme weather conditions and how students' learning is impacted by extreme weather patterns. Drawing on a broad range of research in this field, this book will appeal to environmental and educational researchers, as well as those currently studying or practising in education.

Author: Cynthia Rosenzweig
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139497405
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
Urban areas are home to over half the world's people and are at the forefront of the climate change issue. The need for a global research effort to establish the current understanding of climate change adaptation and mitigation at the city level is urgent. To meet this goal a coalition of international researchers - the Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN) - was formed at the time of the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit in New York in 2007. This book is the First UCCRN Assessment Report on Climate Change and Cities. The authors are all international experts from a diverse range of cities with varying socio-economic conditions, from both the developing and developed world. It is invaluable for mayors, city officials and policymakers; urban sustainability officers and urban planners; and researchers, professors and advanced students.

Author: Anthony J. McMichael
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190262958
Category : Climate and civilization
Languages : en
Pages : 393

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Book Description
When we think of "climate change," we think of man-made global warming, caused by greenhouse gas emissions. But natural climate change has occurred throughout human history, and populations have had to adapt to the climate's vicissitudes. Anthony J. McMichael, a renowned epidemiologist and a pioneer in the field of how human health relates to climate change, is the ideal person to tell this story. Climate Change and the Health of Nations shows how the natural environment has vast direct and indirect repercussions for human health and welfare. McMichael takes us on a tour of human history through the lens of major transformations in climate. From the very beginning of our species some five million years ago, human biology has evolved in response to cooling temperatures, new food sources, and changing geography. As societies began to form, they too adapted in relation to their environments, most notably with the development of agriculture eleven thousand years ago. Agricultural civilization was a Faustian bargain, however: the prosperity and comfort that an agrarian society provides relies on the assumption that the environment will largely remain stable. Indeed, for agriculture to succeed, environmental conditions must be just right, which McMichael refers to as the "Goldilocks phenomenon." Global warming is disrupting this balance, just as other climate-related upheavals have tested human societies throughout history. As McMichael shows, the break-up of the Roman Empire, the bubonic Plague of Justinian, and the mysterious collapse of Mayan civilization all have roots in climate change. Why devote so much analysis to the past, when the daunting future of climate change is already here? Because the story of mankind�s previous survival in the face of an unpredictable and unstable climate, and of the terrible toll that climate change can take, could not be more important as we face the realities of a warming planet. This sweeping magnum opus is not only a rigorous, innovative, and fascinating exploration of how the climate affects the human condition, but also an urgent call to recognize our species' utter reliance on the earth as it is.