New York State Climate Impacts Assessment Chapter 07: Human Health and Safety
Janice Barnes1, Perry Sheffield2, Nathan Graber3
1Climate Adaptation Partners, New York, New York, USA.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|December 9, 2024
Summary
Climate change poses significant health and safety risks for New Yorkers, impacting physical and mental well-being. This assessment examines these climate-related public health challenges and equity issues in New York State.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Climate Science
- Public Health Policy
Background:
- Climate change presents multifaceted risks to New Yorkers.
- These risks encompass direct extreme weather impacts and indirect consequences.
- Interactions between climate change and non-climate factors influence health outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide an updated assessment of climate change impacts on public health and safety in New York.
- To analyze the intersection of climate change, public health, safety, and equity.
- To identify key findings regarding climate-related risks in New York State.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature and data on climate hazards in New York.
- Analysis of public health and safety data in relation to climate change.
- Examination of equity considerations in climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Main Results:
- New Yorkers face diverse health and safety risks due to climate change.
- Both direct and indirect impacts of climate hazards are significant.
- Non-climate factors interact with climate change to shape health outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Climate change exacerbates existing health and safety vulnerabilities in New York.
- Addressing climate change requires a comprehensive approach considering physical, mental health, and equity.
- Urgent action is needed to build resilience and protect New Yorkers from climate-related threats.
Related Concept Videos
01:16What is Climate?
18.4K
Climate refers to the prevailing weather conditions in a specific area over an extended period. As the saying goes, “Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get.” Climate is influenced by geographic factors, such as latitude, terrain, and proximity to bodies of water.
18.4K
01:21Dimensions of Health and Illness
7.1K
The factors influencing the health-illness continuum can be internal or external and may or may not be under conscious control. They are related to the following eight human dimensions, and each dimension is interrelated to one other.
7.1K
01:50Global Climate Change
24.2K
Throughout its ~4.5 billion year history, the Earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling. However, the current drastic increase in global temperatures is well outside of the Earth’s cyclic norms, and evidence for human-caused global climate change is compelling. Paleoclimatology, the study of ancient climate conditions, provides ample evidence for human-caused global climate change by comparing recent conditions with those in the past.
24.2K
01:26Requirements for Human Life
7.7K
The Earth and its atmosphere have provided humans with air, water, and food, but these are not the only requirements for survival. Humans also require a specific range of temperature and pressure that the Earth and its atmosphere provides.
Oxygen
Atmospheric air is only about 20 percent oxygen, but that oxygen is a key component of the chemical reactions that keep the body alive, including the reactions that produce ATP. Brain cells are susceptible to a lack of oxygen because they require a...
Oxygen
Atmospheric air is only about 20 percent oxygen, but that oxygen is a key component of the chemical reactions that keep the body alive, including the reactions that produce ATP. Brain cells are susceptible to a lack of oxygen because they require a...
7.7K
01:17Radiation: Applications
1.1K
The average temperature of Earth is the subject of much current discussion. Earth is in radiative contact with both the Sun and dark space; it receives almost all its energy from the radiation of the Sun and reflects some of it into outer space. Dark space is very cold, about 3 K, so Earth radiates energy into it. For instance, heat transfer occurs from soil and grasses, the rate of which can be so rapid that frost can occur on clear summer evenings, even in warm latitudes.
The average...
The average...
1.1K
01:28Factors Affecting Body Temperature
3.9K
As a nurse, it is vital to understand the factors affecting body temperature to monitor variations and effectively evaluate deviations from regular.
Factors may include:
Factors may include:
3.9K