Institute of Engineering
Pashchimanchal Campus
Lamachaur, Pokhara
When It Rains, It Pours: Future
Climate Extremes and Health
Jonathan A. Patz, MD, MPH, Maggie L. Grabow, PhD, MPH,
and Vijay S. Limaye
Presenter:
Sanjit Thakuri
(PAS075BCE112)
4/14/2023
IOE, WRC
INTRODUCTION
 Title simply means that when things start to go bad, they
get worse quickly and all at once. The title holds true in the
context of climate change as well. Climate change is
causing increasingly extreme weather patterns, with heavier
rainfall in some areas and longer periods of drought in
others affecting human life.
 Article generally discuss about the following:
 Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and
severity of extreme weather events.
 Extreme weather events can have significant impacts on
public health, including heat-related illnesses, injuries, and
the spread of waterborne diseases.
 The article examine the potential health impacts of climate
change and gives suggestion for preparing and responding
to extreme weather events.
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OBJECTIVE
 To provide review on the health consequences of a
changing climate
 To identify the potential health impacts of extreme weather
events related to climate change.
 To suggest mitigation measures for the removal of green
house gases.
 To suggest adaptation measures to fight against the
unfortunate events yet to come due to the effect of climate
change.
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METHODOLOGY
• The authors conducted a review of existing literatures based
on the health impacts of extreme weather events related to
climate change.
• They analyzed the findings to identify key health impacts
and potential strategies for addressing them.
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FINDINGS
 Extreme heat can lead to heat stroke, dehydration, and other heatrelated illnesses. Heat waves are expected to become more
frequent and severe due to climate change, putting individuals
and communities at risk.
 Heavy rainfall and flooding can cause injuries, displacement, and
the spread of waterborne diseases. Climate change is expected to
increase the frequency and severity of extreme precipitation
events, which can cause flooding and other related hazards.
 Vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and low-income
communities, are particularly at risk. These groups may lack the
resources or social support to cope with extreme weather events
and may be more susceptible to health impacts.
 Climate change is likely to exacerbate existing health disparities,
which means that already disadvantaged populations may
experience worse health outcomes due to extreme weather
events.
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SUGGESTIONS
• Reduce the production of greenhouse gases through policies and
technologies that take advantage of cleaner energy production
(such as solar and wind power, and bioenergy) and reduced
energy demand
• Develop heat warning systems to alert individuals and
communities to extreme heat events.
• Improve urban infrastructure to reduce the urban heat island
effect. It includes planting trees, creating green roofs, green parks
in cities, etc. to reduce temperatures and improve air quality.
• Improve water quality and prevent waterborne diseases by
measures like wastewater treatment facilities, water quality
monitoring programs, and promoting safe water storage and
handling practices.
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CONCLUSION
• The article highlights the need for a comprehensive, multisectoral approach to addressing the health impacts of climate
change. This includes not only interventions to reduce exposure
to environmental hazards and improve healthcare access but also
strategies to address the social determinants of health that
contribute to vulnerability to climate-related health impacts.
• Public health professionals can play a critical role in preparing
for and responding to extreme weather events related to climate
change by developing and implementing evidence-based
interventions that promote resilience and protect the health of
vulnerable populations.
• Finally, the article underscores the urgent need for increased
attention and resources to address the health impacts of climate
change, particularly in light of the projected increase in extreme
weather events in the coming decades.
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CONCLUSION
To better understand and address the complex nature of health
risks posed by climate change, interdisciplinary collaboration
is critical. Efforts to move beyond our current reliance on
fossil fuels to cleaner, more sustainable energy sources may
offer some of the greatest health opportunities in more than a
century and co-benefits beyond the health sector. Because the
nations least responsible for climate change are most
vulnerable to its effects, the challenge to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions is not merely technical, but also moral.
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WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS
 Title simply means that when things start to go bad,
they get worse quickly and all at once.
 The title holds true in the context of climate change as
well. Climate change is causing increasingly extreme
weather patterns, with heavier rainfall in some areas
and longer periods of drought in others affecting human
life.
 These climate extremes can have significant and wideranging impacts on human health.
 In this presentation, we will discuss about health
impacts due to possible climate extremes as discussed
on the article.
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 Climate change:
The overall energy budget of the planet, the balance
between incoming shortwave radiation and outgoing long
wave radiation, whether resulting from natural variability or
from human activity, drive climatic change.
 Greenhouse gases(CO2,CH4,N2O):
 The concentration of CO2, the most significant GHG,
has risen by 35%, from about 280 ppmv in 1800s to
about 400 ppmv at present.
 Higher GHGs have contributed to warming of the Earth.
 From 1880 to 2012, the global average temperature
rose by 0.85C. By the end of this century, the average
global temperature is projected to rise between 1.5C
and 4C.
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 CLIMATE CHANGE CONSEQUENCES:
 Heat waves: Frequency of daily temperatures over 100F is
expected to increase substantially. Temperatures now
occurring once in 20 years could happen every 2 to 4 years
causing average of 658 deaths per year in USA alone.
 Reduced extreme cold: Climate change has decreased
winter cold-related deaths. However other habitat is largely
affected.
 Natural disasters:
• Extreme storms, floods,
tropical cyclones, wildfires,
windstorms, landslides, and droughts have claimed millions
of lives and caused great loss of property.
• From 1970 to 2012, 1.94 million deaths and US $2.4 trillion
of economic losses were reported globally as a result of 8335
disasters directly linked to meteorological and hydrologic
conditions.
• In less developed regions, the aftermath is way more.
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 Sea-level rise:
• 14 of the world’s 19 current megacities (>10 million
population) are situated at sea level and at risk of being
flooded.
• Thermal expansion of salt water and the melting of
glaciers causes sea levels to rise.
• Global sea levels rose 17 cm throughout the 20th
century and it is estimated 26- to 98-cm sea-level rise
by the 2080s, which could cause the loss of up to 22%
of the world’s coastal area.
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 INDIRECT ECOSYSTEM-MEDIATED EFFECTS OF
CLIMATE CHANGE ON HEALTH OUTCOMES
 Air Pollution: Air pollution in the form of fine particulate
matter and ozone (O3) caused 3.2 million premature
deaths in 2010. Climate change affect air pollution
levels by altering atmospheric chemical reaction rates,
mixing of pollutants, and changes in airflow affecting the
transport of pollution.
 Water- and foodborne diseases: Water and foodborne
diseases are likely to increase as climate change
accelerates, due to increases in extreme rainfall and
flooding frequency, and deterioration in water quality
following wider drought events. An increased frequency
of warm days and greater humidity can heighten the
incidence of foodborne infectious diseases.
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 Vector-borne diseases:
• These are infectious diseases, caused by protozoa,
bacteria, and viruses that are spread by arthropod
vectors such as mosquitoes and ticks.
• As insects are cold-blooded, climate change can shift
the distribution of its population, affect biting rates and
survival, and shorten or lengthen pathogen
development time inside insect, which ultimately
determines infectivity.
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 RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE:
 Mitigation:
• Mitigation refers to efforts to stabilize or reduce the
production of greenhouse gases. It correspond to
primary prevention.
• Mitigation aims to accelerate the removal of greenhouse
gases from the Earth’s atmosphere.
• It can be achieved through policies and technologies
that take advantage of cleaner energy production (such
as solar and wind power, and bioenergy) and reduced
energy demand. Similarly, transportation policies that
promote walking, bicycling, mass transit, and fuelefficient automobiles result in fewer GHGs emission.
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 Adaptation:
• It refers to efforts to reduce the public health effects of
climate change.
• Preparation by emergency management authorities and
medical facilities can minimize morbidity and mortality.
• Conducts vulnerability assessment, to identify likely
events, at-risk populations, and opportunities to reduce
harm.
•
Public health surveillance systems can detect
outbreaks of infectious diseases in vulnerable areas, a
prerequisite to early control.
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 Ethical Considerations:
 On a global scale, the nations that are responsible for the bulk
of GHGs to account for a small proportion of the world’s
population. e.g US, with 5% of the global population, produces
25% of total annual GHGs.
 Climate change poses an environmental justice concern as
minorities are exposed to different types of stresses and risks.
 Ethical
concerns arise among certain disadvantaged
populations. For example, black Americans are more
susceptible to extreme heat-related mortality because they often
live in densely urbanized areas that tend to experience higher
temperatures than surrounding areas.
 More
broadly, ethical issue arises with respect to
intergenerational justice. Climate change has enormous
potential effects on the health and well-being of future.
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 CONCLUSION:
• Climate change health risks are occurring today and
pose serious and widespread challenges for global
health.
•
Mitigation strategies to reduce emissions from fossil
fuel combustion are essential to reduce these effects
but can simultaneously offer substantial human health
and environmental benefits.
• Given atmospheric residence time of greenhouse
gases, adaptation is also necessary.
• Therefore, the best global health approach to climate
change must incorporate both mitigation and adaptation
strategies, as well as draw from sectors ranging from
energy, transportation, agriculture, and more.
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