Opportunities to Improve Adaptive Capacity
• Communications Strategy
– Disseminate knowledge of climate impacts to the health
community and the public
– (Physicians, Public Health Departments, General Public)
• Develop and coordinate multi-agency organizational
structures to address climate change and health
˜ Improve Institutional Adaptive Capacity
– Encourage more proactive planning for climate change (in an
already overextended health care system!)
• Regional Scale Climate Modelling
Climate Change and Health Office
Goal: Help Canadians cope
with the effects of climate change on their
health
•facilitate knowledge development on climate
change and health impacts
•use the knowledge to adapt public health
policies to protect public health
•examine the health benefits and costs of
mitigation technology measures (e.g., emissions
trading, sealed homes)
CCHO acts as the Health Node for C-CIARN
CANADA'S HEALTH IMPACTS FROM CLIMATE CHANGE AND VARIABILITY
Health Concerns
Examples of Health Vulnerabilities
Temperature-related morbidity and mortality
- Cold and heat related illnesses
- Respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses
- Increased occupational health risks
Health effects of extreme weather events
- Damaged public health infrastructure
- Injuries and illnesses
- Social and mental health stress due to disasters
- Occupational health hazards
- Preparedness and population displacement
Air pollution-related health effects
- Changed exposure to outdoor and indoor air
pollutants and allergens
- Asthma and other respiratory diseases
- Heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular
diseases
- Cancer
Water- and food-borne contamination
- Enteric diseases and contaminants
Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases
- Changed patterns of diseases caused by
bacteria, viruses and other pathogens carried
by mosquitos, ticks and other vectors
Health effects of stratospheric ozone depletion
- Skin damage and skin cancer
- Cataracts
- Disturbed immune function
Population vulnerabilities in rural and urban
communities
- Seniors
- Children
- Poor health
- Low income and homeless
- Traditional populations
- Disabled
- Immigrant populations
Health and socio-economic impacts on community
health & well-being
- Changed determinants of health & well-being
- Global burden of disease
- Vulnerability of community economies
- Health and social co-benefits and risks of GHG
reduction technologies
Institute of Population Health – Expert Panel Report
 Climate change poses significant health risks, now and in the
future
 Climate change will place greater demands on the social
infrastructure supporting public health and well-being
 The health and social impacts will result in significant costs to
Canadian society, including increased health care costs, loss of
productivity, and damages to the well-being of Canadians
 Impacts and capacity to respond will vary by region
 Models for projecting the direct health effects of climate
change require further development in order to provide
quantitative estimates of the magnitude of the impacts
Costs to Society of Climate Variability
•1998 Ice Storm – 600 000 people evacuated, 28 deaths, 945
injuries, $7 billion in damages
•1997 Red River Flood – 25 000 people evacuated, $815 million in
damages
•From 1991 - 2001, natural disasters cost Canadian governments
over $13 billion to repair infrastructure and properties after natural
disasters
•Contamination of drinking water and recreational waters costs
Canadian communities approximately $300 million annually –
climate change is expected to impact on the quality of drinking
water
Public Health Implications in Local Communities
-
food security and nutrition
-
water quality/air quality
-
disease monitoring and surveillance
-
disaster preparedness and relief
-
housing and shelter
-
education and awareness (sun protection)
-
healthy child development
-
emergency services (community health centres)
-
mental health
The Need for a Public Health Response
What can be done to protect public health in a changing
climate?
•Mitigate – reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that
cause climate change and variability (I.e., Kyoto Protocol is
first step)
•Build Knowledge – be informed of health impacts of
climate change and relevance to public health programs
•Plan and Adapt – adjust public health policies to account
for climate changes and minimize the impact on health
The Public Health Response
What is Needed?
Knowledge
need to understand the likely impacts of
climate change on health and the
effectiveness of existing adaptation
strategies
Awareness
need to develop awareness of the threats
from climate change and the need for action
Action
need to begin planning and then implementing
effective adaptation strategies
Integration
Bring health perspective to other municipal
activities (e.g., transportation, urban planning,
greencover, social services, affordable housing,
agriculture, etc.)
Adaptation in Action
Linking Weather to Health in the U.K.:
•Collaboration between the UK Meteorological Office and the
National Health Services to use weather and climate data to help
predict fluctuations in workload for health service providers
•Forecasts give twice weekly projected emergency admissions by
broad diagnoses and age group
•Forecasts have had up to an 80% success rate, and allow
hospitals to appropriately schedule staff hours and elective
surgeries
Civil Security in Quebec:
•Municipal emergency response plans developed to meet the
basic needs of residents during natural disasters
•National emergency preparedness plan integrates resources of
firefighters, officers, Met Office, OCIPEP, Red Cross, Hydro-Quebec
Meeting Public Health Needs
Public health communities in Canada need information on
how climate change will affect health, their capacity to
adapt and how best to adapt
Our plan:
•Evaluating current public health activities related to
climate change
•Developing future scenarios of climate change-related
health impacts
•Compiling best practices for adapting to climate change
across Canada
Information Toolkit
Purpose: assist users in understanding health issues related to
climate change and in communicating the issues to
colleagues and decision-makers
•Toolkit will be provided to Medical Officers of Health,
Directors of Public Health, key public health organizations
•Toolkit has 3 major sections (1) Understanding the Impacts
(2) Public Health Response (3) Building Awareness
Status: Final version expected Spring 2003
Next Steps
•Collaboration between C-CIARN and public health sector
•Developing case studies and assessing capacity to adapt
•CCHO – “One Stop Information Resource for Health”
•CCHO website launch February, 2003:
•Funding sources for climate change science and policy research
•Potential adaptation measures and case studies
•Latest scientific research findings
•Bibliography of public health adaptation literature
climatinfo@hc-sc.gc.ca
www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cc
(613) 954-0161
Annex 1: Health Issue Research Networks
Health Concerns
Organization
Health effects of extreme weather
events
Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction
http://www.iclr.org
Air pollution-related health effects
New Brunswick Lung Association
http://www.nb.lung.ca/home.html
Food and water-borne contamination
Health Canada’s Centre for Infectious Disease
Prevention and Control
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/pphb-dgspsp/new_e.html
Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases
Health Canada’s Centre for Infectious Disease
Prevention and Control (web address as above)
Population vulnerability in communities
Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de
l’Université (Québec)
http://www.chuq.qc.ca/oms
Socio-economic impacts on community
health and well-being
International Institute For Sustainable Development
http://www.iisd.org/climate/
Local Action in Communities:
Reduce the stress imposed by climate change
especially on vulnerable individuals
Reduce the stressors that contribute to the
cumulative impact of climate change
Contribute to efforts that will minimize climate
change
www.c-ciarn-ontario.ca