The Interplay of Weather, Health, and Vulnerability: Psychophysiological Perspectives

Weather affects health (death, injury, and/or stress) in the short-term (e.g., tornadoes, forest fires, heavy rainfall-created mudslides), and the long term (e.g., heat waves, cold waves, and seasonal affective disorder). But there are even longer-term impacts including, but not limited to, Sun exposure and subsequent skin diseases (especially skin cancer), heart attacks from shoveling snow (which may also cause immediate death), injuries from slipping on ice, automobile and other accidents, and light sensitivities and possible vision loss/impairments.

Further, any weather situation can target specific economic, social, and/or ethnic groups based upon where people live. For example, Katrina's impact to New Orleans disproportionately affected minority communities; the northern California Camp Fire affected more affluent communities. Possibly the biggest impacts involve individuals, families, communities, and other public group, and even weather forecasters, who are psychologically impacted by weather disasters. And, while anyone may be affected, with both short and long-term detriments to health, there are certain populations (e.g. those with cognitive and physical disabilities, and/or who are deaf, blind, homeless, or disadvantaged socioeconomically) who are especially at-risk. In the aftermath of any devastating weather event, people often bear their burden alone or in relatively small groups. That's because disaster assistance, including insurance payments and possible trauma counseling, occurs over a relatively short time period. Thereafter, legal and insurance battling ensues, Federal and state aid often becomes entangled in bureaucratic and budgetary battles, and new crises quickly mask the still-ongoing disaster.

We're not urging the meteorological community to take on a longer-term disaster recovery burden; rather, we believe that weather professionals should be aware of the myriad potential negative outcomes that may come into play for various populations. With this talk, we aim to spark discussion to help to keep these stories in the forefront.