Climate change is altering our weather patterns and causing sea level rise. Kristie Ebi, University of Washington, gave a fascinating talk on the health risks of climate variability and climate change.
Kristie L. Ebi (Ph.D., MPH) is Professor in the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the University of Washington. She has been conducting research and practice on the health risks of climate variability and change for nearly 25 years, focusing on understanding sources of vulnerability; estimating current impacts and future health risks; designing adaptation policies and measures to reduce the risks of climate change in multi-stressor environments; and estimating the health co-benefits of mitigation policies.
The lecture began with Kristie explaining the physiological pathways of heat strain with information on the exposure of vulnerable populations to heatwaves and heat related mortality die to climate change. She talked about other factors affecting our health such as smoke from wildfires, floods, and spreading of diseases due to rising temperatures. Kristie then went on to explain the cascading impacts of climate hazards on food and nutrition, giving information on projected changes in crop yields as a function of current annual temperature. She ended with sobering details of how the risks increase with each level of warming, explaining why national campaigns and local initiatives are so important.
“There is a lack of investment, and because of this there are gaps in our knowledge. We need more funding and more research. Looking forward, we need to urgently invest in adaptation and mitigation to reduce current impacts and future risks in an increasingly warming world. Every bit of warming matters. Every year counts. Every choice matters.”