Climate, Climate Change and Health

 A. General research categories

(A. McMichael, N Becker, K Dear, R D'Souza, G Hall, T Kjellström )

Specific empirical studies of climate-health relationships, including:

• Temperature and food-poisoning (gastroenteritis)
• Daily temperature and mortality (esp. heat-wave studies)
• Relationship of climatic conditions to mosquito-borne infections

Health benefits and risks of mitigation (greenhouse gas emissions reduction):

• Energy generation
• Land-use patterns
• Farming and livestock production

Assessments of current and future burden of disease attributable to climate change:

• National
• Regional (with collaborators)
• Global (with WHO and other collaborators)

Scenario-based forecasting of future health risks in Australia

• Differences: urban/rural, age-related
• Other indices of vulnerability
• Modeling the demands on the health-care system of extreme weather events

B. Drought, drying and rural health

(B Rodgers, E Banks, L Strazdins, H Berry, I Hanigan, J Dixon, S Friel, T Caldwell, M Clements, R Lucas)

Long-term drought conditions and rural-and-remote health in Australia:

• Drought conditions and suicide rates (NSW time series data)
• Mental health, child development
• Physical hazards, water shortage, food choices and nutrition, stress-related unhealthy behaviours
• Impacts on Indigenous communities

C. Climate change and health in South Asia

(A McMichael, T Hull, B Caldwell)

Collaborative study (being developed) of climatic influences on malaria in hills regions, coastal cholera incidence and child diarrhoeal disease in urban environment.

Contact: Tony McMichael