CLIMATE CHANGE: A HUMAN HEALTH
PERSPECTIVE
Bono Sen, Ph.D.
Program Manager, Science Education and Outreach
EHP, NIEHS, NIH
senb@niehs.nih.gov
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Research Triangle Park, NC
The mission of the NIEHS is to reduce the burden of human illness and disability,
by understanding how the environment influences the development and progression
of human disease.
http://www.niehs.nih.gov
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Climate Change Teaching: A Shift in Paradigm
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Global Public Health Leaders Call for Action
Climate change is one of the
most serious public health
threats facing our nation.
Yet few Americans are aware
of the very real consequences
of climate change on the
health of our communities,
our families and our children.
— Georges Benjamin, MD, FACEP
Executive Director
American Public Health Association
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Empirical research links between climate
and adverse health outcomes
•
2006 California Heat Wave: 16,166 excess emergency department visits
and 1,182 excess hospitalizations (Knowlton et.al. 2009, Environmental Health
Perspectives)
•
Under three different climate change scenarios for 2081 -2100 and in the
absence of adaptation, the city of Chicago could experience between 166 and
2,217 excess deaths per year attributable to heat waves, based on
estimates from seven global climate models (Peng et al., 2011, Environmental Health
Perspectives)
•
Climate change could cause an increase in regional summer ozonerelated asthma emergency department visits for children aged 0-17 years
of 7.3% across New York City by 2020. (Sheffield et. al., 2011, American Journal of
Preventive Medicine)
•
Recent warming by latitude associated with increased length of ragweed
pollen season in central North America (Ziska et.al., 2011, Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences)
NIEHS
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National Institute of
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Climate Change – Health Impacts
Asthma and Respiratory Diseases
Heat Related Morbidity and Mortality
Vector-borne and Zoonotic Diseases
Cancer
Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke
Neurological Disease
Human Developmental Disease
Mental Health and Stress-Related Disorders
Water-borne Diseases
Food-borne Diseases
Weather Related Morbidity and Mortality
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www.niehs.nih.gov/health/docs/climatereport2010.pdf
NIEHS
National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences
EHP lessons on Climate Change
• Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke
- Physiology of a Heat Stroke
• Human Developmental Effects
- Human fetal development and effects of a known teratogen
• Neurological Diseases and Disorders
- Pathophysiology of neurotoxicity from an algal bloom exposure
• Vector-borne Zoonotic Diseases
- What’s All the Buzz About?
• Weather-related Mortality and Morbidity
- Rising Oceans, Sinking Toxins
• Climate Change : A Human Health Perspective
• Kyoto Protocol : What Should We Do?
• Buffer Zone: Acid-Base Chemistry in the World’s Oceans
www.ehponline.org/education
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Climate Change: A Human Health Perspective
What you will do: Read, Identify, Map
Learning Outcomes:
•Participants will be able to describe potential
impacts of climate change on human health.
•Participants will be able to organize
information into a visual to assist with
understanding the complexities of the climate
change-health effect system.
•Participants will be able to describe the health
co-benefits of climate change adaptation.
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Directions
1. Read your health effect section.
Group 1 - Asthma
Group 6 - Human Development
Group 2 - Cancer
Group 7 – Mental Health
Group 3 - Cardiovascular
Group 8 – Neurological Diseases
Group 4 – Foodborne
Group 9 – Vector-borne
Group 5 – Heat
Group 10 – Water borne
1.Identify 2-3 impacts, hazards, & health effects from your health
section.
2.Write each impact, hazard, and health effect on the paper
provided to you.
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Directions
• Change in climate  Environmental impacts 
environmental hazards  health effects
Change in climate: Increase in temperature
Environmental Impact: Decrease in cloud cover
Environmental Hazard: Increase in ultraviolet radiation
Health Effect: Increase in incidence of skin cancer
(Note: that health effects are population-specific, not individual-specific.)
• Changes in climate: Changes in precipitation,
temperature, weather patterns
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Climate Change and Health - complex
Environmental Impacts
Increase in humidity
Environmental Hazards
Health Effects
Increase UV exposure
Asthma, Respiratory
Allergies, Airway
Diseases
Increase in ozone
Cancer
Increase in particulate
matter (dust, pollen,
mold)
Temperatures
!
Temperatures
Decrease in cloud
cover
Heat exposure
Increase in ocean
temperatures
Exposure to cold
Seasonal Changes
Ecosystem changes
Extreme cold
Flooding
Cardiovascular Disease
and Stroke
Neurological Diseases
and Disorders
Volatilization of
chemicals
Vectorborne and
Zoonotic Diseases
Release of toxic
chemicals
Toxic algal blooms
Weather & Heat-Related
Morbidity and Mortality
Crop destruction
!
Precipitation
Heat waves/heat
extremes
Droughts
Human Developmental
Effects
Increase use of
pesticides/herbicides
Larger vector areas/
populations
Waterborne Diseases
Smaller vector areas/
populations
²
Events
Extreme Weather
Increase in Sunlight
Increase surface
runoff
Precipitation
Precipitation
Changes
²
Temperature
Extremes
Increased emissions
Damage to structures
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Stress
Foodborne Diseases and
Nutrition
Lack of water access/
forest fires
Mental Health and
Stress-Related Disorders
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Health Impacts of Climate Change are Multiple and Complex
Climate
Change:



Temperature
rise
Sea level rise
Hydrologic
extremes
HEAT

Heat stress, cardiovascular failure
SEVERE
WEATHER

Injuries, fatalities
AIR POLLUTION

Asthma, cardiovascular disease
ALLERGENS

Respiratory allergies, poison ivy
DISEASE
VECTORS

Malaria, dengue, encephalitis, hantavirus,
Rift Valley fever
WATER-BORNE
PATHOGENS

Cholera, cryptosporidiosis, campylobacter,
leptospirosis
WATER AND
FOOD SUPPLY

Malnutrition, diarrhea, harmful algal blooms
MENTAL
STRESSORS

Anxiety, despair, depression, post-traumatic
stress
HABITABILITY

Forced migration, civil conflict
Adapted from Patz, Luber
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Co-benefits of Climate Change Mitigation/Adaptation
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What next...some ideas
Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) funds student led climate adaptation
programs.
Starting an Environmental Club at school.
Bringing in guest speakers – state and county officials working on climate
adaptation and mitigation strategies, university researchers.
Resource conservation projects in your school.
Develop a heat-management plan for your school.
Anti-idling campaign for your school.
Others…..
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