Current Environmental Issues - Ahm 2

CURRENT
ENVIRONMENTAL
ISSUES
LESSON OUTLINE
1. Ozone layer depletion

2. Acid rain
3. Climate change and public health
2022 AUDREY HALUBOBYA 2

Basic ozone layer science
• The Earth's atmosphere is composed of several
layers.
• The lowest layer, the troposphere, extends from
the Earth's surface up to about 10 kilometers in
altitude.
• Virtually all human activities occur in the
troposphere.
Basic ozone layer science
• The ozone layer is found in the stratosphere.
• It is the Earth’s “sunscreen” – protecting living
things from too much ultraviolet radiation from
the sun.
• The emission of ozone depleting substances has
been damaging the ozone layer.

Basic ozone layer science cont…
• The stratosphere, extends from about 10km to
about 50km in altitude.
• Most commercial airplanes fly in the lower part of
the stratosphere.
• Most atmospheric ozone is concentrated in a layer
in the stratosphere, about 15 to 30 km above the
Earth's surface.
• Ozone is a molecule of three atoms of oxygen bonded
together (O3).
• In the 1970s, various sectors of the scientific community
became concerned about the possibility that the ozone
layer in the Earth’s upper atmosphere (the
stratosphere) was being reduced.
• Some regions of the ozone layer showed 95% depletion.

• The ozone in the outer layers of the atmosphere,
approximately 15 to 35 kilometers from the Earth’s surface,
shields the Earth from the harmful effects of ultraviolet light
radiation.
• Ozone absorbs ultraviolet light and is split into an oxygen
molecule and an oxygen atom:

• Oxygen molecules are also split by ultraviolet light to form
oxygen atoms:
• Recombination of oxygen atoms and oxygen molecules allows

ozone to be formed again and to be available to absorb more
ultraviolet light.
•

• This series of reactions results in the absorption of
99% of the ultraviolet light energy that comes
from the sun and prevents it from reaching the
Earth’s surface.
• Less ozone in the upper atmosphere results in
more ultraviolet light reaching the Earth’s surface.

Ozone destruction
• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are strongly implicated in
the ozone reduction in the upper atmosphere.
• Chlorofluorocarbons and similar compounds can release
chlorine atoms, which can lead to the destruction of
ozone.
• Chlorine reacts with ozone in the following way to
reduce the quantity of ozone present:

Ozone destruction cont…

Ozone destruction cont…
• These reactions both destroy ozone and reduce
the likelihood that it will be formed because
atomic oxygen (O) is removed as well.
• It is also important to note that it can take 10 to
20 years for chlorofluorocarbon molecules to get
into the stratosphere, and then they can react
with the ozone for up to 120 years.
Effects of ozone layer depletion on human health
• Ozone layer depletion increases the amount of UV
radiation that reaches the Earth’s surface.
• Laboratory and epidemiological studies demonstrate
that UV radiation causes non-melanoma skin cancer
and plays a major role in malignant melanoma
development.
• In addition, UV radiation has been linked to the
development of cataracts.
Effects of ozone layer depletion on human health cont…
• UV radiation can also damage sensitive crops, such

as soybeans, and reduce crop yields.

Preventing ozone depletion
• Since the 1970s, the use of CFCs as propellants in
aerosol cans has been banned in many countries.
• In 1987, several industrialized countries, agreed to
freeze chlorofluorocarbon and halon (used in fire
extinguishers) production at current levels and
reduce production by 50 percent by the year
2000.

Preventing ozone depletion cont…
• Signing up to international agreements such as the
Montreal Protocol.
• As a result of these international efforts and rapid
changes in technology, the use of CFCs has dropped
rapidly, and concentrations of CFCs in the atmosphere
will slowly fall over the next few decades.
• The ozone layer is healing and should fully recover by
about 2065.
Acid rain
• Acid rain, or acid deposition, is a broad term that includes any
form of precipitation with acidic components, such as sulfuric
or nitric acid that fall to the ground from the atmosphere in
wet or dry forms.
• This can include rain, snow, mist and fog, or even dust that is
acidic.

Causes of acid rain
• Acid rain results when sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen
oxides (NOX) are emitted into the atmosphere and transported
by wind and air currents.
• The SO2 and NOX react with water, oxygen and other
chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids.
• These then mix with water and other materials before falling to
the ground.

Causes of acid rain cont…
• While a small portion of the SO2 and NOX that cause acid rain
is from natural sources such as volcanoes, most of it comes
from the burning of fossil fuels.
• The major sources of SO2 and NOX in the atmosphere are:
– Burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity.
– Vehicles and heavy equipment.
– Manufacturing, oil refineries and other industries.

Causes of acid rain cont…
• Winds can blow SO2 and NOX over long distances and across
borders making acid rain a problem for everyone and not just
those who live close to these sources.

Forms of acid deposition
• Wet Deposition - wet deposition is what we most commonly
think of as acid rain. The sulfuric and nitric acids formed in the
atmosphere fall to the ground mixed with rain, snow, fog, or
hail.

Forms of acid deposition cont…
• Dry Deposition - acidic particles and gases can also deposit
from the atmosphere in the absence of moisture as dry
deposition. The acidic particles and gases may deposit to
surfaces (water bodies, vegetation, buildings) quickly or may
react during atmospheric transport to form larger particles that
can be harmful to human health.

Forms of acid deposition cont…
• When the accumulated acids are washed off a surface by the
next rain, this acidic water flows over and through the ground,
and can harm plants and wildlife, such as insects and fish.

Effects of acid rain
• Acid rain may effect:
– Ecosystems
– Materials
– Visibility
– Human Health

The Effects of Acid Rain on Ecosystems
• An ecosystem is a community of plants, animals and other
organisms along with their environment including the air,
water and soil. Everything in an ecosystem is connected. If
something harms one part of an ecosystem – one species of
plant or animal, the soil or the water – it can have an impact on
everything else.

Effects of acid rain on fish and wildlife
• The ecological effects of acid rain are most clearly seen in
aquatic environments, such as streams, and lakes where it can
be harmful to fish and other wildlife. As it flows through the
soil, acidic rain water can leach aluminum from soil clay
particles and then flow into streams and lakes. The more acid
that is introduced to the ecosystem, the more aluminum is
released.

Effects of acid rain on fish and wildlife cont…
• Some types of plants and animals are able to tolerate acidic
waters and moderate amounts of aluminum. Others, however,
are acid-sensitive and will be lost as the pH declines. Generally,
the young of most species are more sensitive to environmental
conditions than adults.

• At pH 5, most fish eggs cannot hatch. At lower pH levels, some
adult fish die. Some acidic lakes have no fish. Even if a species
of fish or animal can tolerate moderately acidic water, the
animals or plants it eats might not. For example, frogs have a
critical pH around 4, but the mayflies they eat are more
sensitive and may not survive pH below 5.5.

• This figure illustrates the pH
level at which key organisms
may be lost as their
environment becomes more
acidic.

Effects of acid rain on plants and trees
• Dead or dying trees are a common sight in areas effected by
acid rain. Acid rain leaches aluminum from the soil. That
aluminum may be harmful to plants as well as animals. Acid
rain also removes minerals and nutrients from the soil that
trees need to grow.

Effects of acid rain on plants and trees cont…
• At high elevations, acidic fog and clouds might strip nutrients
from trees’ foliage, leaving them with brown or dead leaves
and needles. The trees are then less able to absorb sunlight,
which makes them weak and less able to withstand freezing
temperatures.

Effects of Acid Rain on Materials
• When acid rain and dry acidic particles fall to earth, the nitric
and sulhuric acid that make the particles acidic can land on
statues, buildings, and other manmade structures, and damage
their surfaces. The acidic particles corrode metal and cause
paint and stone to deteriorate more quickly. They also dirty the
surfaces of buildings and other structures such as monuments.

Effect of acid rain on human health
• Walking in acid rain, or even swimming in a lake affected by
acid rain, is no more dangerous to humans than walking in
normal rain or swimming in non-acidic lakes. However, when
the pollutants that cause acid rain —SO2 and NOX, as well as
sulhate and nitrate particles— are in the air, they can be
harmful to humans.

Effect of acid rain on human health cont…
• SO2 and NOX react in the atmosphere to form fine sulfate and
nitrate particles that people can inhale into their lungs. Many
scientific studies have shown a relationship between these
particles and effects on heart function, such as heart attacks
resulting in death for people with increased heart disease risk,
and effects on lung function, such as breathing difficulties for
people with asthma.

Prevention of acid rain
• The acid rain can be reduced by:
– Reduce amount of sulphur dioxide and oxides
of nitrogen released into the atmosphere
– Use cleaner fuels
– Flue gas desulphurisation
– Use other sources of electricity (i.e. nuclear
power, hydro-electricity, wind energy,
geothermal energy, and solar energy)
– Reducing the effects of acid rain by liming
Prevention of acid rain cont…
1. Reduce amount of sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen
released into the atmosphere
– Use less energy (hence less fuel burnt)
– Use cleaner fuels
– Remove oxides of sulphur and oxides of nitrogen before
releasing
• Flue gas desulphurization
• Catalytic converters
2. Use cleaner fuels
– Coal that contains less sulphur
– “Washing” the coal to reduce sulphur content
– Natural Gas
3. Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) - Removes sulphur dioxide
from flue gas.

4. Use renewable sources of electricity (i.e. hydro-electricity,
wind energy, geothermal energy, and solar energy)
5. Reducing the effects of Acid Rain by Liming - Powdered
limestone/limewater added to water and soil to neutralize
acid

Weather and Climate
• Weather is the atmospheric condition of any
place for a short period of time with respect to
its one or more elements such as:
– temperature, pressure, wind, humidity,
precipitation, sunshine, cloud cover etc.

Weather and Climate cont…
• Climate is the average weather conditions,
prevalent from one season to another in the
course of a year, over a large area.
• The average of these weather conditions is
calculated from the data collected for several
years (about 35 years) for a larger area.

The difference between weather and climate
Weather Climate
Weather is the study of atmospheric Climate is the study of the
conditions for short duration of a average weather conditions
limited area. observed over a long period
of time for a larger area
Weather is influenced by anyone of its Climate is the collective

predominant elements i.e., effect of all its elements.
temperature or humidity.
The weather changes very often It is more or less permanent.
It is experienced over small areas of a It is experienced over large

country. area of the continent.
A place can experience different types A place can experience only

of weather conditions in a year. one type of climate.

Greenhouse effect
• Sunlight passes through the atmosphere to earth.
• At earth’s surface it’s reflected back through the atmosphere to
space.
• However! After it is reflected, greenhouse gases can trap heat
in the atmosphere.
• We call this process the greenhouse effect; as it is similar to a
greenhouse. Greenhouse gases act like a big blanket around
the earth, trapping heat

Greenhouse effect cont…
• The most important greenhouse gases directly emitted by
humans include:
– Carbon dioxide
– Methane
– Nitrous oxide
– Flourinated gases e.g. Chlorofluorocarbons,
Hydrofluorocarbons, Perfluorocarbons, Sulfur Hexafluoride
(SF6) and Nitrogen Trifluoride
Greenhouse effect cont…
• The absorbed energy warms the atmosphere and the surface
of the Earth. This process maintains the Earth’s temperature at
around 33 degrees Celsius warmer than it would otherwise be,
allowing life on Earth to exist. Without them, the earth would
be very cold – about minus 18°C !

Enhanced greenhouse effect
• The problem we now face is that human activities – particularly
burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas), agriculture and
land clearing – are increasing the concentrations of
greenhouse gases. This is the enhanced greenhouse effect,
which is contributing to warming of the Earth.

Enhanced greenhouse effect

Enhanced greenhouse effect cont…
• Step 1: Solar radiation reaches the Earth's atmosphere - some
of this is reflected back into space.
• Step 2: The rest of the sun's energy is absorbed by the land and
the oceans, heating the Earth.
• Step 3: Heat radiates from Earth towards space.

Enhanced greenhouse effect cont…
• Step 4: Some of this heat is trapped by greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere, keeping the Earth warm enough to sustain life.
• Step 5: Human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture
and land clearing are increasing the amount of greenhouse
gases released into the atmosphere.
• Step 6: This is trapping extra heat, and causing the Earth's
temperature to rise.

Causes for rising greenhouse gas emissions
• Burning coal, oil and gas produces carbon dioxide and nitrous
oxide.
• Deforestation (Cutting down forests).
• Increasing livestock farming. Cows and sheep produce large
amounts of methane when they digest their food.
• Fertilisers containing nitrogen produce nitrous oxide emissions.
• Fluorinated gases are emitted from equipment and products
that use these gases.
Climate Change and global warming
• Climate change and global warming are important phenomena
and do not mean the same thing as is wrongly conceived by
some individuals.
• However, the link between the two is strong.
• Global warming is strictly an average increase in the
temperature of the atmosphere near the earth’s surface and in
the troposphere, while the other, climate change is more
diverse and refers to any significant change in measures of
climate such as temperature, precipitation, or wind lasting for a
long period of time usually several years.

Climate change and global warming cont…
• Climate change could thus be an increase or
decrease in temperature.
• The most important of the two terms which
is under spotlight is global warming, an
increase in temperature which has been
blamed largely to greenhouse effect.
• There can no longer be any doubt that the earth’s
climate is changing.
• There is increase in global average air and ocean
temperatures, widespread melting of snow and rising
global average sea level.
• Impacts of global warming include the emergence and
re-emergence of some parasitic infections and diseases.

During the next few decades and beyond, global warming is
expected to cause:
 further increases in atmospheric moisture content, more
extreme heatwaves, fewer frosts, further decreases in the
extent and thickness of sea ice, further melting of mountain
glaciers and ice sheets, shifts in rainfall, further ocean
warming, and further rises in sea levels.
The magnitude of expected change depends on future
greenhouse gas emissions and climate feedbacks.
Effect of climate change cont…
• Climate change is already having visible effects on the world.
The Earth is warming, rainfall patterns are changing, and sea
levels are rising. Climate Change is exacerbating a range of
weather related hazards (disasters) around the world
• Climate change makes some hazards more frequent. Climate
change makes some hazards more intense. These hazards
impact people around the world

Climate Change and Health
• There is consideration worldwide on the potential health
impacts from global climate change.
• Three kinds of health impacts have been identified[1]:
– Relatively direct impacts, usually caused by weather
extremes
– Consequences of environmental change and ecological
disruption in response to climatic change
– Consequences that occur when populations are
demoralised and displaced by the following climate change
induced factors:
• economic dislocation,
• environmental decline and conflict situations including
traumatic, infectious, nutritional, psychological and other
health consequences.
[1] World Health Organisation (WHO). 2003. Climate change and human health: risks and responses.

Climate change effect on human health
• Climate change will effect human health though:
– Extreme heat
– Natural disasters and variable rainfall patterns and
– Altering patterns of infections

Mapping Links Between Climate Change and Health
• Most expected impacts will be adverse but some will be beneficial.
• Expectations are not for new health risks, but rather changes in
frequency or severity of familiar health risks
Health effects
Temperature-related illness and
death
Modulating Extreme weather- related health
influences effects
Air pollution-related health
Human exposures effects
Contamination Water and food-borne diseases
Regional weather
changes
pathways Vector-borne and rodent- borne
CLIMATE Heat waves
Transmission diseases
CHANGE dynamics
Extreme weather
Agro-ecosystems,
Effects of food and water
Temperature shortages
hydrology
Precipitation
Socioeconomics, Effects of population
demographics displacement
Source: based on Patz, et al., 2000

Temperature

Direct Impacts to Health from Heat
• The human body maintains body temperature in ambient
temperatures not exceeding 32 degrees C
• Above this temperature, heat lost through the skin and
sweating
• Heat-related illness occurs when the body unable to
adequately cool
• Minimum ambient temperatures are also important:
a) Difficulties cooling when minimum temperature is greater than 22 degrees C
• High humidity reduces effectiveness of sweating and
increases the risk of heat-related illness at any given
temperature.
Impacts to Health from Increased Temperatures
• Direct impacts to health:

a) Heat cramps – muscular pains and spasms
b) Heat exhaustion – body fluids are lost through heavy
sweating
c) Heat stroke – is life threatening.
• Indirect impacts:
a) Range of areas that can potentially be affected with
gradual and extreme temperature increases
b) Includes impacts on ecosystems, water, food, disease-
carrying vectors, lifestyle, community resilience.

STORMS/FLOODS
Health Impacts of Floods
• Immediate deaths and injuries

• Non-specific increases in mortality
• Infectious diseases – leptospirosis, hepatitis,
diarrhoeal, respiratory, and vector-borne
diseases
• Exposure to toxic substances
• Mental health effects
• Indirect effects
• Increased demands on health systems.
DRINKING WATER
Climatic Change: Drinking Water Supply
• Drying climate causes:
– Changes to land cover and run-off
patterns (erosion)
– Increased bushfire risk
– Increased sediment, nutrient and
debris.
• Flooding can also affect drinking water supplies:
– Coastal intrusion
– Contamination.

Climatic Change: Drinking Water Supply
• Reduction in flows to dams and groundwater
aquifers
• Increased evaporation from surface water
storages
• Salt water intrusion into coastal aquifers
• Increased risk from the:
a) Concentration of nutrient and
chemical contaminants
b) Formation of toxic algal bloom
AIR QUALITY
Air quality

Climatic Change: Air Quality
• Weather has a major role in the
development, transport,
dispersion and deposition of air
pollutants
• Air pollution episodes are often
associated with stationary or
slowly moving air masses
• Air pollutants and fine
particulate matter may change
in response to climate change.
Climatic Change: Air Quality
• Airflow on edges of a high-pressure
system can transport ozone
precursors. Ozone levels are
increasing in many areas
• An increase in fire events will mean
increased toxic gases and
particulates
• Changes in wind pattern may
increase long-range transport of air
pollutants
• Weather patterns can enhance
urban “heat islands” which can lead
to elevated pollution levels.
Potential health Impacts
• Ozone – pneumonia, COPD, asthma, allergic rhinitis

and others – premature mortality
• Particulate matter (PM) – known to affect morbidity
and mortality
• Toxic gases and PM from fires contribute to acute
and chronic respiratory illness. Evidence from 1997
Indonesia fires – transboundary impacts
• Wind blown dust (respirable particles, trace
elements) from desert regions can affect
populations in remote areas. Evidence that
mortality is increased in the days after a dust storm.

VECTOR-BORNE DISEASE
Mosquito-borne-disease: Environmental Changes
Distribution of vectors will change arising from:

• Increasing temperature
• Changing rainfall:
a) Increase or decrease
b) Seasonality
• Cyclones, flooding
• Changes in animal host/reservoir populations
• Rising water levels
• Extreme tides
Mosquito-borne-disease: Human Factors
Location of population:
– Geographic location
– Proximity to water bodies
Urban environment:
– Peri-domestic breeding
Mobility of population
– Arrival of infected people
a) International
b) Interstate
c) Intrastate
Living standards:
– Insect screens, air conditioning
– Social/political breakdown.
Mosquito-borne-disease: Water Management
Breeding is also influenced by:

• Water hoarding/storage:
a)Rainwater tanks
b)Uncovered containers
• Dams
• Irrigation
• Groundwater recharge.
FOOD SECURITY
Food Production: Land
Land based agriculture:

• Food production, loss of soil fertility,
erosion and salinization:
– Changes in crop yields and protein
levels (+/-)
– Effects on feed intakes and animal
reproduction
– Changes to pests, weeds and diseases
– Changes to use of agrochemicals
• Dietary and nutritional changes

Food Production: Fisheries
Oceanic and coastal fisheries:

• A change in coastal circulation patterns
can affect:
– Nutrient supply
– Lagoon flushing
– Coastal erosion
– Ocean acidity and coral bleaching
– Decline in productivity.

FOOD SAFETY
Food Safety
• Food borne disease may cause food

poisoning:
– May increase the proliferation of
bacterial pathogens including
Salmonella, Campylobacter and
Listeria spp.
– May increase mycotoxins and
aflatoxins in seafood.

DIARRHEAL DISEASES
Effect of Temperature Variation on Diarrheal Incidence in Lima, Peru
Daily diarrhoea
admissions
Daily temperature
Diarrhoea increases by 8% for each 1ºC increase in temperature

Source: Checkley, et al., 2000

El Nino Events and the possible impact on diseases: Cholera
Number of Cholera cases in Uganda 1997-2002
50000
El Nino starts
40000
Number of cases El Nino stops
30000
20000
10000
0
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Time in years

SOCIAL IMPACTS
Social Impacts
Lifestyle and behaviour are likely to be affected in the
following ways:
• Increased temperatures:
– Increases in crime - particularly involving
aggression
– Accidents - workplace and traffic
– Decline in physical health
– Hot nights may cause sleep deprivation
– Recreational opportunities - changes to exercise
patterns
– Changes in alcohol consumption
– Stress
– Lack of cold water- reduced ability to cool down
Social Impacts
• Mental Health can be impacted as follows:

– Anxiety and depression
– Post traumatic stress disorder
– Insecurity
– Grief
– Stress, self harm and possible suicide
– Drug and alcohol misuse
– Impacts on individuals, communities
– Loss of social cohesion
– Dislocation
– Specific impacts on children, women and elderly.

Social Impacts
Economic impacts may be as follows:

• Loss of income and/or assets
• Reduction of goods and services
• Higher costs of insurance, food, water and
energy
• Financial strain for Governments and others
• Impacts on provision of health services.

Situation Analysis: Climate Change in Zambia
• What studies have demonstrated;
– An increase in floods and droughts over the past 40 years.
– Shorter and more intense rainy season.
– Increase in temperature in cooler and warmer seasons
(mean annual temperature increase by 1.3 degrees celsius
between 1960 and 2003).

Climate Change Mitigation
• It is considered to be a response in the form of
“reducing or stabilizing GHG emissions or levels, in
order to mitigate changes in climate”.
• It focuses on the causes of climate change including…
– …indirect damage prevention, actions taken to reduce
the extent of climate change, or actions to avoid the
unmanageable.

Climate Change Mitigation cont…
• To avoid dangerous climate change, the 195 countries
signed the Paris Agreement of 2015.
• They agreed ‘to keep the increase in global mean
surface temperature to well below 2° C, and to limit the
increase to 1.5° C, since this would significantly reduce
the risks and impacts of climate change’.

Selected Mitigation Options: Energy
• A wide variety of mitigation options can be applied in the
energy sector such as increase the use of renewable energy,
such as wind, solar, hydro and biomass.

Selected Mitigation Options: Transport Sector
• Key mitigation technologies developed in the transport sector
focus on the design of more fuel efficient vehicles and the use
of alternative energy sources such as biofuels.
• Policy interventions such as more affordable urban public
transport and more bicycle lanes can also contribute to
mitigating the impacts of the transport sector.

Selected Mitigation Options: Transport Sector
cont…
• In addition, consumer behaviour plays an important role, for
example in terms of purchasing smaller vehicles, or taking the
bus, bike or train instead of a personal car.

Selected Mitigation Options: Industry
• Industry consists of a vast array of activities involving
thousands of different processes that are often site-specific in
design.
• Generally, low-carbon measures in the industrial sector
include more efficient use of energy and better use of
materials and recycling.

Selected Mitigation Options: Agriculture
• Mitigation of GHG emissions in the agriculture sector can be
achieved through reducing/avoiding emissions or by creating
carbon sinks.
• To reduce emissions from farming systems, several means are
available.
• For example, in crop and feed production, the use of inorganic
fertilizer can be optimized, or in some cases, replaced by
organic fertilizers.

Selected Mitigation Options: Agriculture
cont…
• In terms of carbon sinks also different approaches exist, such
as increasing biomass (and carbon) by incorporating trees and
bushes to farming systems.

Selected Mitigation Options: Forestry
• Reducing deforestation, establishing a forest
where there was no forest (afforestation) or
restocking depleted forests (reforestation) are
some of the prime mitigation options that can be
applied in the forestry sector.

Selected Mitigation Options: Waste
Management
• Waste generates methane emissions.
• By applying mitigation technologies such as landfill
methane recovery a dual purpose is fulfilled: not
only is less methane emitted into the atmosphere
but methane can also be used to generate
electricity.

Climate Change Adaptation
• Climate Change Adaptation refers to adjustments
in human and natural systems in response to
actual or expected climatic variation.
• The view is to moderate harm or exploit beneficial
opportunities.

Climate change adaptation process
• Key elements of climate change adaptation process include:
– Assess impacts, vulnerability and risks
– Plan for adaptation
– Implement adaptation measures
– Monitor and evaluate adaptation

Assess
impacts,
vulnerability
and risks
Monitor and
Plan for
evaluate
adaptation
adaptation
Implement
adaptation
measures
Assess impacts, vulnerability and risks
• An initial assessment is needed of the extent to which climate
change is affecting or will affect natural systems or human
societies.
• Natural systems- (e.g. by altering water availability, thus
negatively affecting agriculture and food security)
• Human societies- (e.g. by increasing temperature, thus
encouraging the spread of climate-sensitive diseases).

Plan for adaptation
• Identification of adaptation activities and their
appraisal/review.
• This includes assessing costs and benefits of adaptation
activities.
• In order to choose appropriately between the options
available.

Implement adaptation measures
• Implementation takes place at various

levels, including national, regional and
local.
• This is through different means such as
projects, programs, policies or strategies.

Implement adaptation measures cont…
• Examples of adaptation options may include:
– Building flood defences,
– Setting up early warning systems for disasters
– Switching to drought-resistant crops
– Changes in planting and harvesting times

Monitor and evaluate (M&E) adaptation
• M & E steps can be undertaken throughout the adaptation
process.
• The knowledge and information gained can be fed back into
the process to ensure learning and that future adaptation
efforts are successful.
• Monitoring seeks to keep a record of progress made in
implementation.
• Evaluation seeks to determine the effectiveness of the
adaptation effort.

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CURRENT

1. Ozone layer depletion

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• Recombination of oxygen atoms and oxygen molecules allows

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• UV radiation can also damage sensitive crops, such

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Weather is influenced by anyone of its Climate is the collective

It is experienced over small areas of a It is experienced over large

A place can experience different types A place can experience only

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Source: based on Patz, et al., 2000

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• Direct impacts to health:

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• Immediate deaths and injuries

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