Description:

The financial cost of climate-enhanced weather disasters is measured in the billions of dollars every year, but the toll on human health is not far behind in terms of cost, and obviously much more important in terms of human suffering. We are well aware of the human toll that air pollution, extreme heat events, drought, flooding, and wildfires places on society, but adaptive responses and preparation are not always prioritized. Perhaps the most important priority on this front is to enhance resilience, at the global, national, regional, and local level, to reduce the impacts of climate disruptions. Mitigation of the root cause of these impacts (i.e., carbon emissions), is critical, but climate change is already severely impacting society, and resilient responses are critical to “weathering the storm” of climate change. We encourage submissions that improve our understanding of the present and future health impacts of extreme weather events, and also potential solutions to adapting or mitigating such disasters. Submissions are encouraged from highly transdisciplinary fields, including health geography, epidemiology, environmental justice, health policy, disaster modeling, and emergency response. We also welcome studies of a range of extreme weather types, from heat to flooding, and including compound events. Particular areas of focus may include lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina in the 20 years since landfall, and the resilience of the post-Katrina landscape.