Health and Climate

Environmental factors, including weather and climate are central elements in determining health patterns around the world.

The direct and indirect effects of weather and climate on health are given below:

Ultraviolet Radiation (PDF file requires Acrobat Reader)
Australians experience the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. A tan may look healthy, but if it's not your natural skin colour then you've got poor sun protection. Being Sun Smart means covering up, especially the kids.

Thermal Stress
Of Australia's major natural hazard deaths 4,200 have been due to heat stress.
It's easy to become dehydrated and overheated, especially when you are active, in hot weather. In cold Alpine regions it's also important to drink plenty of fluids and dress to prevent hypothermia.

Extreme Weather
World wide, natural disasters kill around 250,000 people and affects millions more annually. Many of these disasters include tropical cyclones, severe local storms, bushfires, floods, droughts, heat waves, and air pollution episodes. While the most severe impact is generally in developing countries, every year Australians are killed by extreme climate events and many more are directly or indirectly affected.

Surviving Cyclones

Bushfire Weather (PDF files require the free Acrobat Reader)

Air quality
The World Bank calculates that between two and five percent of all urban deaths in the developing world are due to air pollution. Industrial, domestic, and natural pollutants contribute to poor air quality. Cars are the major cause in Australia.

Indoor air quality
We typically spend 70-90 percent of our time indoors. Relevant pollutants include asbestos fibres, tobacco smoke, chemicals from building materials, radon, pesticides and microbial pollutants including dust mites. Australians have extremely high rates of asthma. Pollen, mould spores and dust mites are common causes.

Water-borne diseases and weather
It has been estimated that by the start of the twenty-first century, between 1.5 and 2.0 billion people will be with out access to safe drinking water. Several billions will also be exposed to water-borne disease as a result of lack of appropriate treatment of waste products. Hydrological studies give insights into the location and spread of water-borne diseases. For instance, researchers can identify and predict natural river-flow variability to assist engineers designing irrigation and water supply systems and make computer studies of pollutant and contaminant dispersion. By computing the surface and underground movement of faecal contaminants from point sources (farm feedlots, for instance) and broader areas such as unsewered towns, down-stream pollution impacts can be better managed. Similar modelling can help planners locate and monitor polluted groundwater. Monitoring the hydrological and climatic conditions suited to toxic algal blooms high water temperatures and calm wind conditions permits water agencies to adjust water flows, minimising formation of blooms. Flood damage can include breakdown of sewage treatment and food management systems. The resulting hygiene hazards are sometimes reflected in an increase in medical consultations after a flood.

Insect-borne diseases and weather
Around 40 per cent of the world's population is at risk from malaria transmitted by mosquitoes. An estimated two million people die each year, most of them children. In Australia, mosquitoes are important agents in transmitting such diseases as Murray Valley encephalitis and Ross River virus disease (Sydney had its first outbreak of Ross River virus disease in 1997). Mosquito breeding can be affected by climate fluctuations such as abnormal rainfall or unseasonably high tides, or by residential or industrial developments that bring non-immune people into regular contact with mosquito populations. A better understanding of insect ecology, linked with meteorological and hydrological analysis of the surrounding environment might indicate, for instance, the likelihood of disease outbreaks under certain conditions. On the national scale, the natural variability of rainfall distribution brings changes in vegetation and wetlands, influencing the spread of insect-borne disease by altering the migratory pattern of birds that may carry viruses.

Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) definition