LecGH6 - Climate and Health

Climate and Health
#6 Lecture,
General Hygiene
Climate System
• The Atmosphere
(Gases , Cloud and Aerosol)
• The Hydrosphere
(Oceans, Lakes, and Rivers)
• The Cryosphere
(Ice and Snow)
• The Lithosphere
(Soil and Rock layers)
• The Biosphere
(Living organisms : Plants and Animal)
The Major Constituent Elements of the Atmosphere
• Nitrogen comprises 78% of air by volume
• Oxygen comprises 21% of air by volume

• Argon comprises 0.9%
The Minor Constituent Elements of the Atmosphere

• Carbon dioxide (0.03% or 300 ppmv)
• Neon (0.002% or 20 ppmv
• Helium (5 ppmv)
• Methane (1.7ppmv)
VERTICAL STRUCTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE
What are greenhouse gases?
Naturally occurring greenhouse gases include:
• Carbon Dioxide
• Nitrous Oxide
• Methane
• Water Vapour
• Ozone
Gases that are not naturally occurring
• Hydrofluoro Carbons (Hfcs)

• Perfluorocarbons (Pfcs)
• Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6)
Sources of all World-Wide emitted GHGs
Emission of GHGs
50% 20% 15% 15%
Deforestation Agriculture
Energy Consumption Chemical Industry
Application
Fluorcarbons, CO2 and other Fertilizing: N2O, rice

CO2,NO2,CO, CH4 Halocarbons (CFC, SF6) trace gases cultivation,CH4 cattle owning:
CH4 waste disposal
Over the last 50 years, human activities –
particularly the burning of fossil fuels – have
released sufficient quantities of carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gases to trap additional heat in the
lower atmosphere and affect the global climate.
In the last 130 years, the world has warmed by

approximately 0.85oC. Each of the last 3 decades has
been successively warmer than any preceding decade
since 1850 (1)
What is the impact of climate
change on health?
• Climate change affects social and
environmental determinants of health – clean
air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and
secure shelter.
• Extreme high air temperatures contribute
directly to deaths from cardiovascular and
respiratory disease, particularly among elderly
people.
change on health?
• High temperatures also raise the levels of ozone
and other pollutants in the air that exacerbate
cardiovascular and respiratory disease.
• Pollen and other aeroallergen levels are also higher
in extreme heat. These can trigger asthma, which
affects around 300 million people.
Ongoing temperature increases are expected to
increase this burden.
change on health?
• Climatic conditions strongly affect water-borne diseases
and diseases transmitted through insects, snails or other
cold blooded animals.
• Changes in climate are likely to lengthen the
transmission seasons of important vector-borne diseases
and to alter their geographic range. For example,
climate change is projected to widen significantly the
area of China where the snail-borne disease
schistosomiasis occur
Working plan of WHO countries on
climate change and Health
• Partnerships: to coordinate with partner agencies within the UN
system, and ensure that health is properly represented in the climate
change (CC) agenda.
• Awareness raising: to provide and disseminate information on the
threats that CC presents to human health, and opportunities to
promote health while cutting carbon emissions.
• Science and evidence: to coordinate reviews of the scientific
evidence on the links between CC and health, and develop a global
research agenda.
• Support for implementation of the public health response to
CC: to assist countries to build capacity to reduce health
vulnerability to climate change, and promote health while reducing
carbon emissions.
Impacts of Climate Change
on Water Resources
HydroPower
Changes in the flows of rivers would
have a direct impact on the amount of
hydropower generated, because
hydropower production decreases with
lower flows.
Environmental Quality and Recreation
Increased river flows and higher temperatures
could harm the water quality of the nation's rivers,
bays, and lakes.
In areas where river flows decrease, pollution
concentrations will rise because there will be less
water to dilute the pollutants. Increased frequency
of severe rainstorms could increase the amount of
chemicals that run off from farms, lawns, and
streets into the nations rivers, lakes, and bays.
Flood Control
Global climate change could also change the frequency
and severity of inland flooding, particularly along
rivers.
What are winds?
• Study of winds has great
importance in order to understand
the environmental changes on the
local to regional scale.
• For example, when the air gets hot

or cold or polluted at one place, it is
mainly winds that carry the impact
to the surroundings.
Wind
• “Wind” is Air that flows in relation to
the earth's surface, generally
horizontally.
• There are four areas of wind that are
measured: speed, direction,
gusts/squalls and shifts.
• Sudden change in wind speed
gusts/squalls
• Sudden change in wind direction
shifts
IMPORTANCE OF WIND MEASUREMENT
• Wind measurement is required for numerous purposes, such
as:
 Disaster Mitigation in case of Cyclones, other natural hazards.
 Impact of Environmental Pollution over near and far off areas
and settlements.
 Understanding the world's Weather and Climate.
 The prediction of weather, or any other wind dependent phenomena.
 Fields of wind data is used in Numerical Prediction schemes to simulate behavior of
the climate system.
 Wind Energy utilization.
 Air traffic channeling and monitoring.
 Launching and Maneuvering of Space faring Vehicles through
the atmosphere
 Rocket Experiments in general
 Military uses, accuracy, safety of operations, etc.
 Measurement of atmospheric density, stability, speed of sound.
Basic Wind Equipment
• Wind Vane: It measures the Surface wind-
direction Anemometer: It measures wind-
speed.
• Ultrasonic wind sensor: It is one
equipment that measures both speed and
direction, simultaneously.
• Upper level winds are measured with pilot
balloons, radiosondes, radars, satellites,
etc.

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Climate and Health

• Nitrogen comprises 78% of air by volume

• Oxygen comprises 21% of air by volume

The Minor Constituent Elements of the Atmosphere

• Neon (0.002% or 20 ppmv

Gases that are not naturally occurring

• Hydrofluoro Carbons (Hfcs)

50% 20% 15% 15%

Fluorcarbons, CO2 and other Fertilizing: N2O, rice

In the last 130 years, the world has warmed by

• For example, when the air gets hot

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