Climate Change Impacts on Disaster and Emergency Medicine Focusing on Mitigation Disruptive Effects: an International Perspective

Abstract

In recent decades, climate change has been responsible for an increase in the average temperature of the troposphere and of the oceans, with consequences on the frequency and intensity of many extreme weather phenomena. Climate change’s effects on natural disasters can be expected to induce a rise in humanitarian crises. In addition, it will surely impact the population’s long-term general health, especially among the most fragile. There are foreseeable health risks that both ambulatory care organizations and hospitals will face as global temperatures rise. These risks include the geographic redistribution of infectious (particularly zoonotic) diseases, an increase in cardiac and respiratory illnesses, as well as a host of other health hazards. Some of these risks have been detailed for most developed countries as well as for some developing countries. Using these existing risk assessments as a template, organizational innovations as well as implementation strategies should be proposed to mitigate the disruptive effects of these health risks on emergency departments and by extension, reduce the negative impact of climate change on the populations they serve.

Climatic changes and their role in emergence and re-emergence of diseases

“…It accelerates with time and is expected to be faster in the next years and may range between + 1.6 and + 6°C according to the computer simulator scenarios (IPC C 2001;IPPC 2017;Jimenez-Clavero 2012;Solomon et al 2007). The global warming-related changes in disease epidemiology are associated with changes in ecosystems, population susceptibility and increased exposure to causative agents (Ghazali et al 2018). Global warming also affects the geographical distribution of vectors/intermediate host distribution, including invertebrate hosts (insects), rodents and migratory birds.…”

Flood resilience: a systematic review

“…A stressed hydrological cycle as a result of climate change has led to an increase in the frequency of natural hazards, such as floods, in recent years (Ghazali et al 2018). Events such as the 2007 UK floods saw around 48,000 households and 7,300 businesses flooded, as well as 13 deaths (Cabinet Office 2008), highlighting the devastating impacts of extreme events.…”

The effect of problem-based learning and naturalist intelligence on students' understanding of environmental conservation

“…Then, the current global environmental crisis is also causing damage to forests, soil, the ozone layer (Andrady et al, 2017), until climate change. Furthermore, climate change has resulted in various other disasters (Ghazali et al, 2018). Therefore, environmental problems must be a concern for all parties.…”