Climate change and impacts on human health in the Arctic: an international workshop on emerging threats and the response of Arctic communities to climate change

Abstract

The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment(ACIA) was published in 2005 and was the firstcomprehensive scientific assessment of climatechange in the Arctic (1). Potential direct andindirect health impacts of climate change aredescribed in chapter 15 of this assessment. Direct health effects of climate change will result from changes in ambient temperatures. As the ambient temperature increases, the incidence of hypothermia and associated morbidity and mortality may decrease. Conversely, hyperthermia may increase, particularly among the very young and the elderly. More significantly, unintentional injury, mostly related to extreme events (flooding, storms) and subsistence hunting and fishing — already a significant cause of mortality among Arctic residents — may increase. Indirect effects may include mental and social stress related to loss of community and culture. Changes in migratory patterns and other factors may result in reduced access to traditional foods, which may force Indigenous communities to depend increasingly on non-traditional and often less healthy Western foods. These will most likely result in increasing rates of modern diseases associated with processed foods, such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, and outbreaks of food-borne infectious diseases associated with imported fresh and processed foods. Other indirect effects include the potential increases in certain food and water-borne infectious diseases related to the damage of the sanitation infrastructure and the potential emergence of other climate sensitive vector-borne infectious diseases.