Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Research Articles

Tropicalization of temperate ecosystems in North America: The northward range expansion of tropical organisms in response to warming winter temperatures.

Tropicalization is a term used to describe the transformation of temperate ecosystems by poleward-moving tropical organisms in response to warming temperatures. In North America, decreases in the frequency and intensity of extreme winter cold events are expected to allow the poleward range expansion of many cold-sensitive tropical organisms, sometimes at the expense of temperate organisms. Although ecologists have long noted the critical ecological role of winter cold temperature extremes in tropical-temperate transition zones, the ecological effects of extreme cold events have been understudied, and the influence of warming winter temperatures has too often been left out of climate change vulnerability assessments. Here, we examine the influence of extreme cold events on the northward range limits of a diverse group of tropical organisms, including terrestrial plants, coastal wetland plants, coastal fishes, sea turtles, terrestrial reptiles, amphibians, manatees, and insects. For these organisms, extreme cold events can lead to major physiological damage or landscape-scale mass mortality. Conversely, the absence of extreme cold events can foster population growth, range expansion, and ecological regime shifts. We discuss the effects of warming winters on species and ecosystems in tropical-temperate transition zones. In the 21st century, climate change-induced decreases in the frequency and intensity of extreme cold events are expected to facilitate the poleward range expansion of many tropical species. Our review highlights critical knowledge gaps for advancing understanding of the ecological implications of the tropicalization of temperate ecosystems in North America.

Assessment of climate change vulnerability in Chiti area of Lamjung district, Nepal

Climate change issue is the global concern of the present day. The present study attempts to assess the vulnerability of the community due to climate change for which Chiti area of Besisahar Municipality from Lamjung district of Nepal was selected as the study area. The climate change vulnerability was assessed using the Long Term Research Program (LTRP). The long term climate change vulnerability household surveys from 2014 baseline data to 2016, 2017 and 2019 data were analysed in this study. This study adapted IPCC (2001) methodology i.e. also used by C4 EcoSolutions on their baseline climate change vulnerability assessment. This is a bottom-up, integrative approach that considers both physical and social dimensions at a local level. Consequently, vulnerability is best understood as a function of three components: exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Exposure to climate change vulnerability is calculated with sum of changes in temperature, changes in rainfall patterns, changes in rainfall intensity, drought episodes and flooding events. Sensitivity is calculated based on slope failures, soil fertility, changes in natural environment (i) soil cover; ii) levels of river sedimentation; iii) water salinity; iv) river ecosystems; v) forest size; and vi) the presence of invasive species), economic dependency level, irrigation facilities and livelihood sources. The major finding is that Chiti has been facing climate change since last decade and it is found severely vulnerable due to climate change. There is an urgent need of improvement on climate change adaptive capacity which could result of awareness, information on climate change and adaptation, surplus production and change in agricultural practices. The present study has used awareness score based on conceptual awareness, experiential awareness, and engagement of household to talk about climate change and adaptation. The Long Term Research Approach is appropriate to assess climate change vulnerability in community level. Climate change awareness is one of the major components to reduce vulnerability to climate change in the research area. This is a post adaptation vulnerability analysis of local community which supports climate change vulnerability adaptation policy.

Self and Place Constructs in Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments: Gaps and Recommendations

In the United States, climate change vulnerability assessments are usually conceived as objectified exercises, based on theoretical orientations such as rational choice or systems theory. They adopt sectorial or population-level frames of reference and are operationalized by means of aggregating mathematical models, geospatial analytical platforms, and advanced visualization tools. While vulnerability assessments are intended to inform decision making, they often lack process-based mechanisms that enable them to be framed in terms of localized knowledge and perspectives. This is a weakness because occupant attitudes regarding places can spark unyieldingly negative reactions to expert-generated, objectivist vulnerability assessment processes and their outputs. In this paper, I attempt to demonstrate the salience of self and place constructs and explore the implications of their tendency to block serious reflection about the nature of potential vulnerabilities and risk management interventions. If acknowledged and addressed in a manner that is empathetic and context sensitive, it may be possible to channel these perspectives to elevate and deepen dialog about climate change and help to identify and compile circumstantially appropriate menus of adaptation policy interventions.

Evaluation for the vulnerability of climate change affecting to shark catfish farming in An Giang and suggesting some solutions for this case

Aquaculture - belonging to the Fisheries group - is one of the high-value economic sectors, accounting for a large part in the structure of the agriculture, forestry and fishery industry in Vietnam. However, the sustainability of this industry is facing many challenges due to climate change process; An Giang is a province that has long had a strong position in aquaculture in Vietnam and is not out of that influence. Therefore, there is an urgent need to assess climate change vulnerability of aquaculture in An Giang based on the predicted changes in temperature and rainfall of the region according to the change scenarios. climate. Unlike previous studies conducted mainly on a national scale, this paper is mainly concerned with Pangasius (Pangasius is one of the aquatic species with high commercial value, with significant contribution). including livelihoods of people in An Giang province) - species raised in the main production areas of An Giang and assess their vulnerability for each area, using an index-based method and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Definition of Vulnerability to overcome constraints in developing specific adaptation strategies at regional scale. First, for each exposure, sensitivity and adaptability, specific and appropriate indicators are chosen. These indicators are then estimated and weighted to analyze vulnerability to climate change. The results show that the level of vulnerability due to climate change to the pangasius farming industry in An Giang province is at a moderate level, of which Chau Phu district is highly vulnerable because the district has the main livelihood of Pangasius farming.

Opportunities and challenges in assessing climate change vulnerability through genomics

By investigating how past selection has affected allele frequencies across space, genomic tools are providing new insights into adaptive evolutionary processes. Now researchers are considering how this genomic information can be used to predict the future vulnerability of species under climate change. Genomic vulnerability assessments show promise, but challenges remain.

Climate change and coastal vulnerability assessment methods: A review

Coastal and marine ecosystems have been threatened at local and global scales by multiple stressors – sea-level rise, rising temperatures, climate extreme events, biodiversity loss and habitat destruction. These stressors operating independently or synergistically could alter the ecosystem services while posing a significant threat to the environment, human lives and properties, as well as, result in biophysical and socio-economic losses. In this paper, we present an overview of the methods used in assessing coastal vulnerability of marine areas at local-global scales under chronic environmental stressors. Integrated and strategic methodologies that could identify, highlight and prioritise the vulnerable marine areas have been presented. The framework to assist coastal planners and managers in the conservation and management of vulnerable coastal regions and settlements from permanent inundation and loss have been suggested.

Climate change vulnerability assessment of the main marine commercial fish and invertebrates of Portugal

This is the first attempt to apply an expert-based ecological vulnerability assessment of the effects of climate change on the main marine resources of Portugal. The vulnerability, exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity, and expected directional effects of 74 species of fish and invertebrates of commercial interest is estimated based on criteria related to their life-history and level of conservation or exploitation. This analysis is performed separately for three regions of Portugal and two scenarios of climate change (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5). To do that, the fourth assessment report IPCC framework for vulnerability assessments was coupled to the outputs of a physical-biogeochemical model allowing to weight the exposure of the species by the expected variability of the environmental variables in the future. The highest vulnerabilities were found for some migratory and elasmobranch species, although overall vulnerability scores were low probably due to the high adaptive capacity of species from temperate ecosystems. Among regions, the highest average vulnerability was estimated for the species in the Central region while higher vulnerabilities were identified under climate change scenario RCP 8.5 in the three regions, due to higher expected climatic variability. This work establishes the basis for the assessment of the vulnerability of the human activities relying on marine resources in the context of climate change.

Climate effects on health in Small Islands Developing States

Climate effects on health in Small Islands Developing States

Climate change vulnerability assessment for selected agricultural responses at Yarmouk River Basin Area, Jordan

Although climate change impacts on the agricultural sector were investigated intensively, however, vulnerability assessments and adaptation planning at the community level are still limited. This study aimed at providing a comprehensive climate change vulnerability assessment of four agriculture responses of barley production, wheat production, olive trees production, and goats’ mortality at the Yarmouk River Basin in northern Jordan using a qualitative-quantitative scoring method based on actual estimations of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity with an emphasis on community engagement. Thirty-year temporal variability (1982–2012) analysis using Kendall test and Pearson correlation test for three climatic variables (maximum and minimum air temperature, and annual rainfall) indicates high significant exposure level of increasing air temperature trends by rates of 0.07 °C/year and 0.06 °C/year for maximum and minimum temperature, respectively, and insignificant annual rainfall reductions ranging spatially from 2.1 mm/year at Irbid governorate to 2.9 mm/year at Mafraq Governorate. Agriculture responses sensitivity assessment indicates goats’ mortality followed by olive production are moderately correlated with climate variables (r ranges from 0.32 to 0.57). The adaptive capacity assessment highlights the presence of low to moderate financial, institutional, political enforcement, technology implementation, and awareness of the farmers to climate change impacts and potential adaptation measures that subjected the study area to be ranked as moderately to highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. Multi-criteria decision analysis suggests that irrigation water-related adaptation measures are listed within top priorities. This paper addresses the qualitative-quantitative vulnerability assessment approach at the local rural level and through participatory engagements to be effective for improving the vulnerable adaptive capacities and suggesting further recommendations to be mainstreamed urgently with governmental strategies and action plans.

Climate Change Vulnerability and Disaster Risk Assessment Using Remote Sensing Technology and Adaptation Strategies for Resiliency and Disaster Risk Management in Selected Coastal Municipalities of Zambales, Philippines

The Philippines is one of the most hazard prone and vulnerable countries in the world to climate change effects due to its geographical location. Climate change is already happening and affecting many places causing huge problems to coastal ecosystems. Vulnerability and disaster assessment and mapping in coastal areas are essential tasks and undertakings for coastal disaster risk management. The objectives of this study were to assess the climate change vulnerability and disaster risks in the four municipalities (Sta. Cruz, Candelaria, Masinloc and Palauig) of Zambales and to determine the climate change community-based adaptation (CBA) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) strategies. Remote sensing, GIS, secondary data gathering and key informant interview were used to assess vulnerability and disaster risks and mapping in the four municipalities. Survey questionnaire, focus group discussion and key informant interview were utilized in gathering data for the determination of climate change adaptation strategies. Using remote sensing technology, it was revealed that coastline changes have occurred in the shorelines of the four coastal municipalities after a decade. Sea level rise happened in Sta. Cruz and Masinloc, Zambales while there was build-up of soil in the coastline of Candelaria and Palauig, Zambales. Twelve hazard maps, 12 vulnerability maps and 12 disaster risk maps were generated for the three major disasters (flood, landslide, storm surge) in the four coastal municipalities. Based on the flood vulnerability and disaster risk assessment, the municipality of Palauig was found to be the most prone to flooding while the municipality of Candelaria was found to be the most vulnerable to landslide compared to other municipalities. All coastal barangays in the four municipalities were susceptible to storm surge. The four coastal municipalities were conducting community-based adaptation (CBA) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) approaches in order to protect their coastal resources from the damaging impacts of climate change and improve the resilience of their local communities.

Climate change vulnerability assessment for smallholder farmers in China: An extended framework

Climate change brings uncertainty and challenges to achieving sustainable development goals. The dually vulnerable regions in terms of the environment and economy are facing substantial threats from climate change; particularly, smallholder farmers who heavily rely on natural ecosystems in these regions are being the most affected. Paying attention to the vulnerability assessment of these regions is conducive to precisely improving the ability of their people to cope with climate change. This study aimed to construct an extended framework of climate change vulnerability assessment at the household level by combining the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change vulnerability assessment framework with the sustainable livelihood framework. Four typical regions with different climatic and geographical conditions in China, including the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (marked as AOHAN, representing the type of grassland, similarly hereinafter), Qinghai Province (HYMH, plateau), Yunnan Province (YLNL, mountain), and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (NNQZ, coastal zone), were selected to apply the framework. In total, 29 villages from these four regions were selected at random, and 360 face-to-face interviews were conducted in selected villages based on a pretested questionnaire. The results show that AOHAN had the greatest vulnerability, as well as the highest exposure level among the four regions, which was also the major source of differences in vulnerability. Further analysis shows that although the sensitivity and adaptive capacity showed relatively small differences, the sources of sensitivity and adaptation strategies were quite different among the four regions. In terms of sensitivity, YLNL had the highest level of sensitivity in housing, water, and livestock, and AOHAN assumed the highest sensitivity in land. The advantages and disadvantages in terms of adaptive capacity also varied widely among the four regions. More specifically, AOHAN had a balanced adaptive capacity; YLNL largely relied on the advantages in social and human capitals to compensate for the disadvantage in physical capital; and the strengths in physical and financial capitals are the main sources of adaptive capacities for NNQZ and HYMH, respectively. In general, the vulnerability assessment framework proposed in this study provides guidelines for vulnerability assessments at the household level in the face of climate change. In addition, heterogeneous measures to cope with the threats of climate change should be put forward precisely, based on the climatic, geographical and socioeconomic characteristics of each region.

Mitigating the effects of the climate crisis through health policy

In Canada, the climate crisis has had profound impacts on health, including increased health problems as well as decreased access to healthcare services. Without mitigation, the climate crisis is expected to exacerbate an abundance of negative health outcomes and health system disruptions in Canada, including: food, water, and shelter insecurity; increased health problems caused by severe weather; and forced displacement from geographically vulnerable areas. Governmental action could be taken to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis and improve healthcare in the country. This report synthesizes current literature on how the climate crisis is affecting health in Canada. It also recommends 3 actions that can be taken to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis and improve the country’s health. Actions include: conducting climate change and health vulnerability assessments (CCHVAs), enhancing support for climate action research, and reducing CO2 emissions in the healthcare sector.

Spatial-Explicit Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments Based on Impact Chains. Findings from a Case Study in Burundi

Climate change vulnerability assessments are an essential instrument to identify regions most vulnerable to adverse impacts of climate change and to determine appropriate adaptation measures. Vulnerability assessments directly support countries in developing adaptation plans and in identifying possible measures to reduce adverse consequences of changing climate conditions. Against this background, this paper describes a vulnerability assessment using an integrated and participatory approach that builds on standardized working steps of previously developed ‘Vulnerability Sourcebook’ guidelines. The backbone of this approach is impact chains as a conceptual model of cause–effect relationships as well as a structured selection of indicators according to the three main components of vulnerability, namely exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. We illustrate our approach by reporting the results of a vulnerability assessment conducted in Burundi focusing on climate change impacts on water and soil resources. Our work covers two analysis scales: a national assessment with the aim to identify climate change ‘hotspot regions’ through vulnerability mapping; and a local assessment aiming at identifying local-specific drivers of vulnerability and appropriate adaptation measures. Referring to this vulnerability assessment in Burundi, we discuss the potentials and constraints of the approach. We stress the need to involve stakeholders in every step of the assessment and to communicate limitations and uncertainties of the applied methods, indicators and maps in order to increase the comprehension of the approach and the acceptance of the results by different stakeholders. The study proved the practical usability of the approach at the national level by the selection of three particularly vulnerable areas. The results at a local scale supported the identification of adaption measures through intensive engagement of local rural populations.

Climate change induced vulnerability and adaption for dengue incidence in Colombo and Kandy districts: the detailed investigation in Sri Lanka

BackgroundAssessing the vulnerability of an infectious disease such as dengue among endemic population is an important requirement to design proactive programmes in order to improve resilience capacity of vulnerable communities. The current study aimed to evaluate the climate change induced socio-economic vulnerability of local communities to dengue in Colombo and Kandy districts of Sri Lanka.MethodsA total of 42 variables (entomological, epidemiological, meteorological parameters, land-use practices and socio-demographic data) of all the 38 Medical Officer of Health (MOH) areas in the districts of Colombo and Kandy were considered as candidate variables for a composite index based vulnerability assessment. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used in selecting and setting the weight for each indicator. Exposure, Sensitivity, Adaptive Capacity and Vulnerability of all MOH areas for dengue were calculated using the composite index approach recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.ResultsOut of 42 candidate variables, only 23 parameters (Exposure Index: six variables; Sensitivity Index: 11 variables; Adaptive Capacity Index: six variables) were selected as indicators to assess climate change vulnerability to dengue. Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) MOH area denoted the highest values for exposure (0.89: exceptionally high exposure), sensitivity (0.86: exceptionally high sensitivity) in Colombo, while Kandy Municipal Council (KMC) area reported the highest exposure (0.79: high exposure) and sensitivity (0.77: high sensitivity) in Kandy. Piliyandala MOH area denoted the highest level of adaptive capacity (0.66) in Colombo followed by Menikhinna (0.68) in Kandy. The highest vulnerability (0.45: moderate vulnerability) to dengue was indicated from CMC and the lowest indicated from Galaha MOH (0.15; very low vulnerability) in Kandy. Interestingly the KMC MOH area had a notable vulnerability of 0.41 (moderate vulnerability), which was the highest within Kandy.ConclusionsIn general, vulnerability for dengue was relatively higher within the MOH areas of Colombo, than in Kandy, suggesting a higher degree of potential susceptibility to dengue within and among local communities of Colombo. Vector Controlling Entities are recommended to consider the spatial variations in vulnerability of local communities to dengue for decision making, especially in allocation of limited financial, human and mechanical resources for dengue epidemic management.

Assessment of Total Climate Change Impacts on the Agricultural Sector of Cyprus

In this paper, the results of a climate change impact and vulnerability assessment conducted for the agricultural sector of Cyprus are presented. The assessment is based on the outputs of specialized climatic and crop models, while it incorporates quantified socio-economic vulnerability indicators of the Cypriot agriculture. The results are aggregated at municipal level in order to support regional and local adaptation planning. The assessment was performed for two representative concentration pathways (RCP4.5, RCP8.5), as well as for extreme climatic scenarios. Following, an economic assessment was made on the expected change in revenues of the agricultural sector. The results of climatic simulations indicated that future increases in temperature will be characterized by a strong seasonal trend, with the highest increases occurring in summer. Precipitation is expected to decrease throughout the island, where the highest decreases (50%) are expected during summer (RCP8.5). This trend will affect mainly tomato, grapevine, and olive tree, whose growing cycle takes place during summer. By contrast, crops covering autumn-winter season, such as potato, barley, and wheat, are expected to partially avoid harsh summer conditions. The results of the economic assessment show that the changes in total revenues are insignificant, because, under all scenarios, a loss in one crop is compensated by a gain in another crop. However, the farmers as well as the government should take action to increase the resilience of the agricultural sector, with a special focus on those crops and areas that are expected to be adversely affected by climate change impacts.

New approach of water quantity vulnerability assessment using satellite images and GIS-based model: An application to a case study in Vietnam

Water deficiency due to climate change and the world's population growth increases the demand for the water industry to carry out vulnerability assessments. Although many studies have been done on climate change vulnerability assessment, a specific framework with sufficient indicators for water vulnerability assessment is still lacking. This highlights the urgent need to devise an effective model framework in order to provide water managers and authorities with the level of water exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity and water vulnerability to formulate their responses in implementing water management strategies. The present study proposes a new approach for water quantity vulnerability assessment based on remote sensing satellite data and GIS ModelBuilder. The developed approach has three layers: (1) data acquisition mainly from remote sensing datasets and statistical sources; (2) calculation layer based on the integration of GIS-based model and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's vulnerability assessment framework; and (3) output layer including the indices of exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity and water vulnerability and spatial distribution of remote sensing indicators and these indices in provincial and regional scale. In total 27 indicators were incorporated for the case study in Vietnam based on their availability and reliability. Results show that the most water vulnerable is the South Central Coast of the country, followed by the Northwest area. The novel approach is based on reliable and updated spatial-temporal datasets (soil water stress, aridity index, water use efficiency, rain use efficiency and leaf area index), and the incorporation of the GIS-based model. This framework can then be applied effectively for water vulnerability assessment of other regions and countries.

Farm income, inequality, and poverty among farm families of a flood-prone area in Bangladesh: climate change vulnerability assessment

This paper examines the farm income differences, income inequality of farm households, parameters of income variability that ascertain vulnerability levels, and cost-income variability of agricultural crops in four districts of Mymensingh division in Bangladesh. Six hundred farm households from Mymensingh division were used as the source of data for the current study. The results of the analysis show that per capita income difference is significant in farm household among the districts, and agricultural income variation play an important role in per capita income. Higher income from agriculture contributed lower income inequality in the districts, even though employment income is dominant in most of the districts and highest income inequality is found in Netrokona district. Rice is the leading crop in most of districts, except Mymensingh where income share of other crops is high in the total agricultural income. Remittance income shows the higher income inequality among the districts that are lowest in employment and then agriculture. Agriculture is a primary contributor of inducing income disparity of farm households. In this context, we found that the key variation of agricultural income comes from aman HYV and boro HYV rice crops. The cost and income of these rice crops was largely calculated based on the enhanced yields, higher irrigation, and chemical fertilizer and hired labor use per hectare land. By using the lognormal distribution under two scenarios (baseline, yield loss), we estimated the poverty rates resulted from the yield loss of rice production due to potential climate change impact in different districts. The unexpected yield loss of rice by climate change impact leads to the projection that poverty rates in Jamalpur and Netrokona districts would increase. It is, therefore, recommended that proper management of agricultural farms, crop diversification, and appropriate technology interventions are necessary to reduce income inequality and losses of farm income from climate change impact.

Genetically-informed population models improve climate change vulnerability assessments

Climate change will cause species extinctions that will be exacerbated by human-caused landscape changes, preventing species from tracking shifting climatic niches. Although incorporating functional connectivity into prospective population models has proven challenging, the field of landscape genetics provides underutilized tools for characterizing functional connectivity. The aim of this study was to explore how genetically-derived representations of dispersal affect assessments of environmental change impacts using a spatially-explicit population modelling approach. We illustrated the utility of this approach to test hypotheses related to the effects of dispersal representation and environmental change for the IUCN-threatened Blanding’s Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii). We integrated existing demographic and genetic datasets into a spatially-explicit metapopulation modelling framework. We ran several sets of simulations with varying dispersal representations (distance-based, landscape resistance-based with either static or changing land cover) to explore how landscape genetic estimates of connectivity impact estimates of extinction risk. Models incorporating land cover-based dispersal resulted in lower patch occupancy than simulations where dispersal was only a function of interpatch distance. Furthermore, both climate change-induced declines in habitat suitability and land use change-induced declines in connectivity reduced abundance and patch occupancy. Incorporating landscape genetics into population models revealed that choices involved in dispersal representation alter both extinction risk and path occupancy, often altering the distribution of extant patches by the end of simulations. As technological advances continue to increase access to landscape genetic datasets, we suggest that researchers carefully consider how genetic resources can be used to improve climate vulnerability assessments.

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment in the High Mountain Region of Nepal: A Case Study of Lamjung District

Climate change vulnerability has need access to targeted scientific information about the impacts of climate change in order to adapt to its effects. Awareness can be measured through three different parameters-conceptualization, engagement and experimental. This research has conduct in Lamjung district where people are victimize from climate change. Primary and secondary sources of data are used. This study used household surveys and focus group discussions to assess people perceptions of these changes and identify the climate change vulnerability. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the Lamjung districts, vulnerable in the context of the climate change. This result is useful for policymaker, local government and different stockholder who are working on climate change sector. It is also important for long term changes in climate variables and occurrences of natural disasters is the most important component to determine the overall vulnerability. Climate change vulnerability had been decreased considerably in this study area. Meanwhile, long-term research in Nepal is required for extensive work on climate change and primary data collection for climate change vulnerability assessment.

Health Vulnerabilities and Resilience to Climate Change: An Update of International Progress

Despite being one of the most important societal challenges of the 21st century, public engagement with climate change currently remains low worldwide. Mounting evidence from across the behavioral sciences has found that most people regard climate change as a non-urgent and psychologically distant risk—spatially, temporally, and socially-which has led to deferred public decision making about mitigation and adaptation responses. Climate change is increasing risks to human health and to the health systems that seek to protect the safety and well-being of populations. Health authorities require information about current associations between health outcomes and weather or climate, vulnerable populations, projections of future risks and adaptation opportunities in order to reduce exposures, empower individuals to take needed protective actions and build climate-resilient health systems. Health authorities from local to national levels badly seek this information by conducting climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments. While assessments can provide valuable information to plan for climate change impacts, they are often not integrated into adaptation decision making, probably because the health sector is not involved in climate change policy-making processes at the national level. Significant barriers related to data accessibility, a limited number of climate and health models, uncertainty in climate projections, and a lack of funding and expertise, particularly in developing countries, challenge health authority efforts to conduct rigorous assessments and apply the findings. This paper reviews the evolution of climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments, including guidance developed from such projects, and implementation of the findings to support health adaptation action. The findings derived from the study will support collaborative efforts to protect health from current and future climate change hazards. Health authorities may benefit from additional resources to ensure that evidence about climate change impacts on health could effectively be translated into needed actions to build health resilience.
 Ibrahim Card Med J 2019; 9 (1&2): 80-92