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Citation: Anderson, G.B., Schumacher, A., Done, J.M. et al. Projecting the Impacts of a Changing Climate: Tropical Cyclones and Flooding. Curr Envir Health Rpt 9, 244–262 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-022-00340-0. Summary: Developments in climate epidemiology and climate science are opening new possibilities in projecting the health impacts of floods and tropical cyclones under a changing climate. In this study, we highlight ways in which epidemiological studies characterizing health impacts of floods and tropical cyclones can be combined with quantitative climatological projections to produce quantitative climate health impact projections.
Detailed Summary: There is clear evidence that the earth’s climate is changing, largely from anthropogenic causes. Flooding and tropical cyclones have clear impacts on human health in the United States at present, and projections of their health impacts in the future will help inform climate policy, yet to date there have been few quantitative climate health impact projections.
Despite there being a wealth of studies characterizing health impacts of floods and tropical cyclones, many of these studies are better suited for qualitative, rather than quantitative, projections of climate change health impacts. However, a growing number have features that will facilitate their use in quantitative projections, features we highlight here. Further, while it can be difficult to project how exposures to flood and tropical cyclone hazards will change in the future, climate science continues to advance in its capabilities to capture changes in these exposures, including capturing regional variation.
(POC: A. Schumacher, CIRA, andrea.schumacher@colostate.edu, Funding: CIRA Societal Impacts)