Managing Climate Extremes and Disasters in the Health Sector: Lessons from the IPCC SREX Report

The document translates the IPCC SREX report's findings into actionable insights for the health sector, emphasizing that disaster risk is increasing due to both climate extremes and human vulnerability. It details the direct and indirect health impacts of heatwaves, floods, and droughts, while arguing for a shift from incremental to transformational changes in health infrastructure and policy to build long-term resilience.

• Disaster risk is projected to increase in many countries even without accounting for climate change, primarily because more vulnerable people and assets are being exposed to climate extremes.
• Climate change has already altered the frequency and severity of certain extreme weather events in some global regions based on data since 1950, with heatwaves expected to increase in length, frequency, and intensity over most land areas.
• Extreme climate events cause direct health impacts, such as deaths and injuries from floods, and indirect impacts including malnutrition from crop damage, mental health issues like PTSD, and the spread of infectious diseases such as cholera.
• Climate extremes threaten critical health infrastructure, with high confidence that water management systems could be seriously affected, potentially leading to failures in hospital structures and restricted access to health services.
• Vulnerability to climate extremes is exacerbated by existing health inequalities, with children, the elderly, pregnant women, and the poor being most at risk due to limited resources and pre-existing health conditions.
• Economic losses from climate-related disasters are increasing globally, with fatality rates and losses as a percentage of GDP being higher in developing countries, particularly small island developing states where losses have exceeded 8% of GDP in extreme cases.
• Effective risk management in the health sector requires a combination of risk assessment, maintaining public health surveillance systems, and developing community-based coping and adaptation strategies.
• To address the projected increase in climate extremes, the health sector must move beyond incremental changes toward transformational shifts in institutions and processes, integrating health surveillance and early warning systems into broader development planning.

APA

Back, E., Cameron, C., & Norrington-Davies, G. (2012). Managing Climate Extremes and Disasters in the Health Sector: Lessons from the IPCC SREX Report. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/SREX-lessons-for-health-sector.pdf

Chicago

Back, Emma, Catherine Cameron, and Gemma Norrington-Davies. Managing Climate Extremes and Disasters in the Health Sector: Lessons from the IPCC SREX Report. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2012. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/SREX-lessons-for-health-sector.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Back |first1=Emma |last2=Cameron |first2=Catherine |last3=Norrington-Davies |first3=Gemma |title=Managing Climate Extremes and Disasters in the Health Sector: Lessons from the IPCC SREX Report |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=2012 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/SREX-lessons-for-health-sector.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{back2012managing, author = {Back, Emma and Cameron, Catherine and Norrington-Davies, Gemma}, title = {{Managing Climate Extremes and Disasters in the Health Sector: Lessons from the IPCC SREX Report}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2012}, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/SREX-lessons-for-health-sector.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }