Hydrometeorological extreme events and public health / edited by Franziska Matthies-Wiesler, Philippe Quevauviller.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Precipitation and temperature extremes in a changing climate / Enrico Scoccimaro and Antonio Navarra -- Climate change and health / Alistair Woodward -- Flooding and public health in a changing climate / Owen Landeg -- The climate change, disaster risk reduction and health nexus / Demetrio Innocenti -- Preparedness and response in view of climate change impacting on health challenges / Virginia Murray and Lidia Mayner -- The health costs of hydrometeorological extreme events / Gerardo Sanchez and Paul Hudson -- Conclusions and perspectives / Franziska Matthies-Wiesler and Philippe Quevauviller.

"Since early 2020 due to Covid-19 the world has faced its most serious health crisis for a century with an enormous toll on human life together with severe effects on the health of the population and strains on health systems as well as on socio-economic well-being . More than 18 months since the first cases, the risks of the pandemic are still high. This health crisis has been a stark reminder of the dangers of insufficient preparation as most countries throughout the world were clearly not ready to face such a crisis and much of the response certainly at the early stage was ad hoc. At the same time COVID-19 is a 'simple' crisis compared to the climate crisis, which is the most complex and intractable problem facing humankind. While recovery from Covid is a major challenge for the whole world and will take years there are clear solutions in particular through vaccination of a very large share of the population. These solutions are backed by a strong consensus at both policy and scientific levels which, however, is not the case for climate change. Meanwhile the health threats due to climate change are increasing. The last decade was the hottest on record with eight of the hottest years ever recorded. The health consequences of these increased temperatures include death and injury from extreme precipitation, tropical cyclones, heatwaves, floods, forest fires as well as storm surges .The world can also expect the emergence and spread of infectious diseases and allergens linked to geographical shifts in vectors and pathogens. There will be additional challenges for the capacities of health systems due for example to the spread of previously unknown diseases from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere. This book is a timely publication to contribute to science and policy debates as we emerge from the Covid crisis and also as scientific input to underpin the upcoming COP26 deliberations and decisions. 2021 sees a new worldwide political impetus to reinforce climate action in support of health post Covid building on the strong health provisions of the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change as well as the 2015 Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The COP26 in Glasgow November 2021 is planned as a major milestone for agreement on increased action. Already in April 2021 at the high level summit to prepare COP26 a number of countries made renewed and updated pledges. Health and security also featured at the summit - countries aim to scale up locally led solutions to climate vulnerability. Furthermore, in Europe new policy developments in the EU aim to reinforce action to address the health challenge brought by climate change: a new climate adaptation strategy launched in February 2021 proposes reinforced action to better understand climate related risks to health and to increase capacity to reduce these risks. In addition, the revised Union Civil Protection Mechanism of May 2021 reinforces civil protection actions to help address climate change as well as health emergencies"-- Provided by publisher.

Available to OhioLINK libraries.