Extreme events as sources of health vulnerability: Drought as an example

Ebi, Kristie L.; Bowen, Kathryn

doi:10.1016/j.wace.2015.10.001

Cited by 153 publications

(118 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Our analysis shows that more than 60% of the reviewed studies do not explicitly specify the type of drought hazard that is addressed and re-confirms that a broad variety of definitions of drought vulnerability and risk are used. This creates not only terminological and taxonomic confusion when operationalized in assessments, but also complicates the comparability of assessments and their outcomes-a gap that has also been emphasized in previous studies (Ebi and Bowen 2016, Bacon et al 2017. While context is crucial and other operational definitions of risk may be more appropriate depending on region and purpose (Wilhite 2000), providing a definition is important for producing scientifically rigorous and comparable work.…”

Section: Conceptual Gaps and Needsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drought vulnerability and risk assessments: state of the art, persistent gaps, and research agenda

Hagenlocher

Meza

Anderson

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

165

145

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Reducing the social, environmental, and economic impacts of droughts and identifying pathways towards drought resilient societies remains a global priority. A common understanding of the drivers of drought risk and ways in which drought impacts materialize is crucial for improved assessments and for the identification and (spatial) planning of targeted drought risk reduction and adaptation options. Over the past two decades, we have witnessed an increase in drought risk assessments across spatial and temporal scales drawing on a multitude of conceptual foundations and methodological approaches. Recognizing the diversity of approaches in science and practice as well as the associated opportunities and challenges, we present the outcomes of a systematic literature review of the state of the art of people-centered drought vulnerability and risk conceptualization and assessments, and identify persisting gaps. Our analysis shows that, of the reviewed assessments, (i) more than 60% do not explicitly specify the type of drought hazard that is addressed, (ii) 42% do not provide a clear definition of drought risk, (iii) 62% apply static, index-based approaches, (iv) 57% of the indicatorbased assessments do not specify their weighting methods, (v) only 11% conduct any form of validation, (vi) only ten percent develop future scenarios of drought risk, and (vii) only about 40% of the assessments establish a direct link to drought risk reduction or adaptation strategies, i.e. consider solutions. We discuss the challenges associated with these findings for both assessment and identification of drought risk reduction measures, and identify research needs to inform future research and policy agendas in order to advance the understanding of drought risk and support pathways towards more drought resilient societies.

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Section: Conceptual Gaps and Needsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drought vulnerability and risk assessments: state of the art, persistent gaps, and research agenda

Hagenlocher

Meza

Anderson

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

165

145

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Precipitation variability under global warming is strongly connected to extreme events, which pose threats to the environment and society (IPCC 2012), and can also have devastating consequences on ecosystems, food supply, and economies (Easterling et al 2000). Droughts and floods are direct extreme events attributed to precipitation variability which involve detrimental consequences in West Africa (Ebi and Bowen 2016). The drought that affected West African countries from the beginning of the 1970s lasted for several decades and is one of "the most undisputed and largest recent climate changes recognized by the climate research community" (Dai et al 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of Potential Drought Areas in West Africa Under Climate Change and Variability

et al. 2019

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The study investigates how the rising global temperature will affect the spatial pattern of rainfall and consequently drought in West Africa. The precipitation and potential evapotranspiration variables that are obtained from the Rossby Centre regional atmospheric model (RCA4) and driven by ten (10) global climate models under the RCP8.5 scenario were used. The model data were obtained from the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) and analyzed at four specific global warming levels (GWLs) (i.e., 1.5 °C, 2.0 °C, 2.5 °C, and 3.0 °C) above the pre-industrial level. This study utilized four (4) indices: the standardized precipitation index, the precipitation concentration index, the precipitation concentration degree, and the precipitation concentration period over West Africa to explore the spatiotemporal variations in the characteristics of precipitation concentrations. Additionally, studying the impact of the four GWLs on consecutive dry days, consecutive wet days, and frequency of the intense rainfall events led to a better understanding of the spatiotemporal pattern of extreme precipitation. The results show that, at each GWL studied, the onset of rainfall comes 1 month earlier in the Gulf of Guinea compared to the historical period (1971-2000) with increasing rainfall intensity in the whole study domain, and the northeastern part of the study area becomes wetter. The rainfall concentration is uniformly distributed over the Gulf of Guinea and the Savanna zone for both the historical period and RCP8.5 scenario, while the Sahel zone which has shown an irregular concentration of rainfall for the historical period shows a uniform concentration of rainfall under all four GWLs.

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“…Lastly, drought, which has been historically the more significant challenge for the US, directly or indirectly, can also be the likely vulnerability cause. It cannot just have multifaceted adverse effects on food, water, and health security [49] but also can spoil water-providing infrastructure, decreasing the quality and quantity of protected water together demands rise to keep homes and themselves warm. Moreover, extreme weather in winter can also exacerbate existing challenges of poor society segments in the form of making choices between energy needs for heating, food needs, and health needs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatic Impacts on Basic Human Needs in the United States of America: A Panel Data Analysis

Ali¹,

Huang²,

Cheo³

2020

Sustainability

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This study empirically investigates the impact (overall, regional, and seasonal) of weather and climate extremes on basic human needs by employing a new poverty index, i.e., the Human Needs Index (HNI), in the United States of America. Detecting the contemporaneous correlations between errors, we apply second-generation unit root tests on monthly statewide panel data ranging from January 2004 to December 2018. The results obtained through cross-sectional time-series feasible generalized least square (i.e., FGLS) regression suggest that human necessities statistically and significantly correlate with a positive response to the weather extremes (cold, low precipitation) and with extreme events (drought, flood). However, the response is the opposite of that in the case of high precipitation. The seasonal variations in necessities indicate that there is a significant escalation of the needs between July and December (January is taken as the reference month), but, in February, they substantially shrink. Furthermore, the regional implications imply that, with the West of the US taken as the reference region, needs are significantly augmented in the Midwest; conversely, in the east and the south, they are significantly decreased. We also observe that some interaction effects, such as high precipitation and personal income as an interaction term, significantly, but negatively, correlate with HNI, indicating a 0.025% shared effect. Contrary to these findings, high precipitation, coupled with supplements to wages and salaries, shows a positive joint association of 0.274% with HNI. Besides, low precipitation, coupled with the unemployment rate, personal income, and flooding, shows an additional positive and significant mutual effect, while low precipitation has a negative effect on basic human needs when coupled with supplements to wages and salaries. The corresponding estimated interacting coefficients are 3.77, scoring 0.053%, 0.592%, and −0.67%, respectively.

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Extreme events as sources of health vulnerability: Drought as an example

Cited by 153 publications

References 24 publications

Drought vulnerability and risk assessments: state of the art, persistent gaps, and research agenda

Drought vulnerability and risk assessments: state of the art, persistent gaps, and research agenda

Identification of Potential Drought Areas in West Africa Under Climate Change and Variability

Climatic Impacts on Basic Human Needs in the United States of America: A Panel Data Analysis

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