Adapting to Climate Change in Australia

Climate Change- Science and Solutions for Australia (168 page pdf, Editors: Helen Cleugh, Mark Stafford Smith, Michael Battaglia, and Paul Graham, CSIRO, April 2011)

Also discussed here: Australia’s Future Climate

The report reviewed today come from CSIRO, Australia’s lead agency for climate (and other areas of scientific research) which describes the adaptation needed for a range of climate impacts in this country which already has had to cope with major heat waves- many of which are similar, both in origin and response, to what is seen in North America and Europe. Highlighted below are examples of health impacts in particular.



Key Quotes:

“Adaptation is about coping with the changes that are already happening or that appear unavoidable in the future”

“There is now wide scientific agreement that the world is heading for at least 2ºC warming, andpossibly 4ºC, by 20702 and that adaptation to the changed conditions that this implies has become a vital concern”

“Domains that are emerging as priorities are:

• urban areas, including homes, offices, industries, transportation, water and energy systems, and overall design of towns and cities themselves
• coastal zones and estuaries and all areas at risk of sea-level rise, storm surges, and floods
• agriculture, the food supply, and other primary production, including mining
• our natural environment, including forests, woodlands, grasslands, lakes, rivers, and deserts and all the plant and animal species within them.”

“In health, the most publicised impact is the increase in premature deaths that occurs during a severe hot spell. The numbers of these fatalities can be considerable: the southern Australian heatwave of 1938 is estimated to have claimed 438 lives, while that of January 2009 led to 374 deaths, even in the age of air-conditioning”

“Adaptation may include:

• reshaping health-care services to developing early warning systems to reach all citizens (with a social network back-up for those most at risk)
• preparation of the health system and hospital emergency departments, and improvements in maintenance programs for essential services
• encouragement of behavioural changes by the public to reduce exposure to heat stress
• retrofitting of old houses with better insulation
• development of emergency response plans for heatwaves in all regions”

“Australia can expect an increase in disease due to the spread of insect vectors, with 0.6 to 1.4 million more people exposed to dengue fever by 2050, as well as a rise in waterborne and food-borne diseases”

“Higher temperatures are likely to cause an increase in the concentrations of volatile organic compounds and ozone in the atmosphere…increased ozone pollution is projected to cause a 40% increase in the projected number of hospital admissions by the period 2020–2030, relative to 1996–2005, and a 200% increase by the period 2050–2060)

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