Climate Change And Human Health In Asia: Current Impacts, Future Risks, And Health Benefits Of Mitigation Policies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$655,308.00
Summary
This project will comprehensively examine the burden of diseases attributed to ambient temperature in the context of climate change in Asia Pacific region, where has 60% of the world's population and nearly two-thirds of the world's poor. Knowledge arising from the project will provide vital evidence for governmental policy on implementation of the mitigation and adaptation policies to address the health challenges associated with climate change.
Projection Of The Impact Of Climate Change On The Transmission Of Ross River Virus Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$267,645.00
Summary
There is no doubt that mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs) are sensitive to climatic conditions. However, it remains unclear how climate change will influence the distribution and incidence of MBDs. This study aims to use an interdisciplinary and integrated approach to project the impact of future climate change on the transmission of Ross River virus disease - the most common and widespread MBD in Australia, and to provide scientific evidence for developing pulbic health adaptation policies.
Identifying Optimal Sustainable Cooling Strategies For The Most Vulnerable During Heatwaves
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,115,640.00
Summary
Current guidance warns against electric fan use in heatwaves without any supporting evidence. This Project aims to identify how fans and other parallel low-resource strategies can reduce the risk of heat-related illness in the most vulnerable during simulated hot/humid and very hot/dry heat wave conditions. This information will be used to develop simple heat adaptation strategies that also mitigate unsustainable energy demands and the destructive environmental impact of air conditioning.
Deaths from heat waves are avoidable. However we still experience such deaths, and it has been predicted that the frequency and intensity of heat waves in Australia will increase due to changes in the climate. It is therefore vital that our communities are prepared in times of extreme heat. Strengthening the ways that heatwave plans are implemented at a community level is an important way of increasing our ability to cope with such natural hazards, and also strengthens community resilience.
Dengue Transmission Under Climate Change In Northern Australia: Linking Ecological And Population Based Models To Develop Adaptive Strategies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$444,293.00
Summary
The mosquito-transmitted viral disease, dengue, is likely to be influenced by climate change. It has been accorded priority for human health adaptation research (National Adaptation Research Plan, Human Health). Dengue has major health impacts in North Queensland, and causes major losses to the Queensland blood supply. The research will develop a model for climate-related changes in the future occurrence of dengue to predict risk in North Queensland and other parts of Australia.
Displaced Twice? Investigating The Impact Of The Queensland Floods On The Wellbeing And Settlement Of A Cohort Of Men From Refugee Backgrounds Living In Brisbane And Toowoomba
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$259,771.00
Summary
What can we learn from resettled refugees' ability to adapt to extreme weather disasters? Between 2008 and 2010, the SettleMEN project documented the health and settlement outcomes of 233 refugee men living in urban and regional areas of Southeast Queensland. Some of these men lived in or close to areas that were affected by the January 2011 floods. This follow-up study aims at investigating longer-term settlement and the impact of the floods on this group of refugee men and their families
Climate Change Impacts On Workplace Heat Extremes: Health Risk Estimates And Adaptive Options
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$741,938.00
Summary
Global warming will bring more hot (and extremely hot) days as Australia warms within the projected range of 2-4oC by 2070. Working in the heat is uncomfortable and requires rest breaks, yet pressure to keep working risks overheating and serious health problems. We will study the current effects on health and productivity on heat exposed workers, and model future trends in likely impacts under climate change in 8 (urban and rural) regions, with and without adaptive health protection strategies.
Towards a climate theory of tropical cyclone formation. In Earth's current climate, about 80 to 90 tropical cyclones form every year around the globe, but the reasons why cyclones form at this rate are unknown. This project will use a combination of theoretical techniques and numerical simulation to elucidate the links between large-scale climate and the rate of tropical cyclone formation. A series of climate model experiments will be performed that also have the potential to improve confidence ....Towards a climate theory of tropical cyclone formation. In Earth's current climate, about 80 to 90 tropical cyclones form every year around the globe, but the reasons why cyclones form at this rate are unknown. This project will use a combination of theoretical techniques and numerical simulation to elucidate the links between large-scale climate and the rate of tropical cyclone formation. A series of climate model experiments will be performed that also have the potential to improve confidence in our predictions of tropical cyclone incidence in a future, changed climate.Read moreRead less
Climate model validation and generation of probabilistic climate projections using data from Phase 5 of the Climate Model Intercomparison Project. New climate model results will be compared with observations to test model skill. Probabilistic projections of regional-scale climate change will be developed and used to investigate a number of ecosystem impact case studies.
Resilience of eucalypts to future droughts. This project aims to examine how resilient Eucalyptus species are to future droughts by combining data synthesis, manipulative experiments and modelling. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency, magnitude and duration of future droughts, with major environmental and socio-economic consequences for Australia. Current predictive capacity is extremely limited: experiments are limited in scale and cannot capture important global change interac ....Resilience of eucalypts to future droughts. This project aims to examine how resilient Eucalyptus species are to future droughts by combining data synthesis, manipulative experiments and modelling. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency, magnitude and duration of future droughts, with major environmental and socio-economic consequences for Australia. Current predictive capacity is extremely limited: experiments are limited in scale and cannot capture important global change interactions, whilst models do not represent the functional characteristics and adaptions of eucalypts. This project will develop a strong evidence- and process-based understanding to quantify the functional behaviour of drought-adapted Eucalyptus species and leverage this insight to make future model projections.Read moreRead less