Current and future needs of climate data, services, and expertise for the health sector

Due to events such as the West Nile Virus outbreak in North America between 1999 and 2002 and the European heat wave in the summer of 2003, there has been a growing awareness of weather and climate effects on human health. There has also been a growing amount of evidence suggesting that the consequences of global climate change will be felt by the human health sector through increases in mortality due to extreme weather events, temperature variability, sea-level rise, and the introduction of novel diseases and other health risks among vulnerable populations. Developing and implementing appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies requires coordination among health and climate specialists, particularly with regard to collecting, organizing, and developing specialized datasets, products, and services. From 22 to 24 September 2009, the National Climatic Data Center will host a workshop titled “Climate Change and Human Health: Assessing the Climate Information Gap”. This workshop, sponsored by CDC, EPA, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the Southeast Regional Climate Center, is designed to address the specific climate information needs of the human health sector. The workshop will assist the human health sector, with representatives from various government agencies, organizations, and academic fields, to identify their precise climate information needs and required inputs for predictive models and monitoring efforts (e.g., early warning systems). In this presentation, we present the findings from seven panel discussions that focus on climate products, climate-health research results, and the input needs of health sector research, federal health organizations, and various NGOs. We conclude with an overview of the major recommendations, action items, and investment goals identified during the workshop.