This document discusses the impacts of climate change on health in Australia and Queensland. It outlines how temperature and precipitation are projected to increase in the coming decades. This will increase health risks like heatwaves, floods, storms and diseases. The health sector faces challenges in dealing with these impacts due to vulnerabilities in the system. Adaptation measures are needed like improving surveillance, communication, and infrastructure. Coordination is required across government levels and sectors to effectively address climate change and health risks.

1. Redwan Rahman
Research Fellow
Urban Research Program
Griffith University

2. Brief overview of climate
change impacts on health
Challenges for Health
Sector
Suggested Adaptation
Measures
Policy Directions

3.  Since 1960 Australia’s mean
temperature has about 0.70C.
 By 2030 Queensland’s annual
average temperature 0.40C-20C
 By 2030, SEQ annual average
temperature 0.20C- 1.60C
 Sea level rise, annual average
precipitation changes

4. Name of
Cities
Present 2030 2070 2100
Melbourne 9 12 22 27
Sydney 3.3 4.4 9 14
Brisbane .9 1.7 8 21
Adelaide 17 22 34 44
Perth 27 35 56 72
Canberra 5 8 21 32

5. Areas Floods Severe
storms
Cyclones Bushfires
Australia 314 284 266 77
Queensland 111 37 90 04

6. Health concerns Health vulnerabilities
Heatwave  Heat stroke, heat stress, heat cramps
 Cardiovascular & respiratory illness
 185 death in February 2004 in Brisbane
Flood, Cyclone ,
Storms
 Injury, illness and death (10) will increase
4-138% by 2020 in QLD
 Social & mental stress, more visits to
health practitioners
 Displacement of population
 Damage to health infrastructure
 Natural disaster costs 1.4 billion/year
Health Sector Vulnerabilities

7. Food-borne
disease
 Diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal
cramps, fever, headache
 4 million/r year
 Costs exceed $ 2.5 billion/year
Water-borne  Diarrhoea, cholera, Gastroenteritis
 5-18% increase by 2050
Vector-borne
disease
 Malaria 750 /year, Dengue 260 /year
 RRV 4300/year, BFV 454/year (only in QLD)
 Illness, death, arthritis, rash
 Dengue management in North Queensland
300-400,000 /year
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8. Socio-
Economic
disruption &
Human
vulnerabilities
 Elderly, children, Chronically ill, Indigenous
& disabled people, single household
 Loss of income & productivity, Low income
 Social disruption, diminished quality of life,
& number of homeless people increaseing
 Increased costs of health care
UV radiation  Skin damage and skin cancer
 Cataracts, Disturbed immune system
 1700 death due to skin cancer /year
 1000 people treated /day
 Costs $300 million/year
Air pollution  Asthma, Respiratory, Cardiovascular
diseases, birth defects
 4,000 death /year
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9.  Growing population-internal & External
migration, growth rate higher than national
average
 By 2051, 1 in 4 will be 65 years old which is
almost 7-9 million
 QLD is facing growing prevalence of chronic
and complex diseases
 Medical workforce participation decreasing
 Consumers knowledge & expectations for
quality health care is increasing
 Preparedness of the health system is not
adequate

10. Services Queensland Australia
Inpatient services 604 767
Out-patient and
community services
351 375
Population and
preventive health
66 68
Mental health services 89 100
Dental Health 31 22
Indigenous health 2400 2749
Doctor per 100,000 333 381

11.  Political Will & Stewardship
 Uncertainty & Lack of requisite
Health Data
 Monitoring & Surveillance System
 Health Workforce
 Mental Health
 Communication & Empowerment

12. Partnership Building
Institutional Challenges
Infrastructure Preparation
Stakeholders Engagement
Local, State &
Commonwealth

13.  Lack of consensus
 Role of political parties
 Policy makers need to support
public health approaches
 Health & Hospital Reform
Commission
 Health Workforce Report

14.  Uncertainties about projections
 Uncertainty about severity & intensity
of future CC
 What changes will emerge between
Health & CC are not clear
 Disease distribution & their
magnitude, relation with CC are
uncertain
 Lack of historical & longitudinal data

15.  Lack of comprehensive monitoring &
surveillance system
 Limited monitoring, reporting &
surveillance of climate variables
 Data collection of risks, vulnerability &
disease are generally collected at
different spatial scales & through
different methods.
 Integration & harmonisation of data

16.  Public understanding of CC is not yet clear,
incomplete & lack of confidence.
 Knowledge of health risks in regards to
climate change is also either poor or non-
existent
 Lack of targeted communication: state
agencies have not yet developed any
targeted communication mechanisms to
specific groups, emphasising different
levels of understanding, ethnic & cultural
differences about vulnerability

17.  Education & Training-reforming
 Interdisciplinary knowledgeable health workforce
 Clinically relevant advise to manage effects of CC
 Knowledge deficiency of PHC providers
 Evidence based research to support public health
actions on CC
 Lack of leadership & Advocacy
 Preparedness & Action plan at various levels
 Political leverage & influence to government
 Poor communication

18.  Public health responsibility to identify,
investigate & explain health problems
 New diseases, changes in incidence, range
& seasonality existing diseases
 Institutional capacity to collect quick
information
 Rapid diagnosis & dissemination of alerts
 Capacity under strain
 2009 swine flue -36991cases, 186 death

19.  Emergency 5000/m, Youth 750,000/year,
 ¼ of total health burden,
 Disruptions determinants of health
 Emotional distress & anxiety about future CC
 Acute traumatic stress, post-traumatic stress
disorder, depression, anxiety
 Clinical management
 Therapeutic approaches will vary depending on
clinical presentation, health professional
background, training as well as individuals
understanding of & conceptualisation of
climatic effects

20.  We need to develop integrated, interdisciplinary &
multilevel adaptation mechanisms
 Develop partnerships among Commonwealth, State
and local government agencies, universities,
research organisations, NGOs, community
organisations & private sector
 Strengthening collaboration, promoting common
goals & sharing good practices across sectors &
building teamwork between health & other
professionals & community groups

21.  Horizontal coordination among the sectors
 Vertical coordination among local, regional,
state & national levels of government
 Gap between scientific analysis of threat of
climate change, economic analysis of costs,
benefits of adaptation & mitigation, political
perception of feasible climate policy
 Inclusion of social, cultural, economic and
political value of the society needs to be
considered in adaptation planning

22.  Location & accessibility to health facility
 Infrastructure design, development & uses
 Perceived threat to natural disasters
 Thermal insulation, heating and cooling
system, electric power availability
 Energy intensive-double consumption than
commercial offices & 6 time water
 NSW 53 % of total government buildings
 QLD 30 % of total state occupied facilities

23.  Various groups
 Different interests
 Narrow economism
 Checks & balances between traditional
public institutions & (newly))empowered
of non-traditional stakeholders
 Public health interventions, designing
and implementing adaptation plan in
conjunction with these groups and
facilitating climatic justice
 Building neighbourhood support system

24.  Surveillance & Monitoring
 Communication & Education
 Medical Intervention
 Legislative & Regulatory Measures
 Engineering & Technology
 Infrastructure Development
 Ecosystem Intervention

25. Heatwave Extreme Weather Events
 Prepare registries for
vulnerable individuals
 Early surveillance of
impacted population
 Collect morbidity and
hospitalisation data
 Collect mortality data
 Prepare registries for
vulnerable individuals
 Early surveillance on
impacted population
 Monitor health
outcomes
 Collect quantitative
data on short and long
term health impacts

26. Heatwave Extreme weather events
 Declare early warning
system, Inform &
educate about health
risks of heat wave and
the potential measures
to be taken to reduce
risks, Guidelines for
school attendance,
sports events and
outside work practices
 Early warning system,
Provide information
about possible risks of
disaster and actions to
be taken to reduce
risks, Educate the
community about
disaster preparation

27. Policy Measures Improvement Sectors
Legislative and regulatory initiatives
Heat event
response plan
Identification of
vulnerable
population,
Extend state
emergency plan to
include heat event,
consider energy
limits in times of
emergency,
Health,
Emergency , Local
government
Housing, Energy
Urban design
to reduce heat
island effects
Street
orientation,
shading design,
material use
Extend to existing
homes and offices,
shading existing car
parks
Architects,
Landscape
planning.
Landscape
Architects,
Planning
Policy Directions

28.  Policy & decision makers need
creditable information
 Partnership building
 Stakeholders engagement
 Confidence of affected communities &
groups
 Enhance state capacity
 Building social & human capital

29. Health
Adaptation
Medical
intervention,
engineering
&
Technology
Communication
& education
Surveillance
&
monitoring
Preparedness
& action plan,
Infrastructure
Development
Med.
intervention,
Eng, Tech.
Partnership
building
Responsive &
deliberative
engagement of
stakeholders
Enhance
state
capacity &
social
capital
Political
support &
Resources