Climate Change Preparedness Research Articles

Regional R&I ventures to tackle climate change: A new geography of challenge-oriented innovation landscape

This paper analyses how EU regions have aligned their innovation and policy endeavours to tackle exposure to the effects of Climate Change at regional level. Scholars hailed the need to orienting efforts and resources to tackle societal challenges. However, we have little empirical evidence on the alignment of R&I ecosystems and policy endeavours towards tackling Climate Change. Using regression analysis, we assess the relationship between such directionality and the exposure to risk of disasters (i.e., coastal floods, river floods, and landslides) that each region faces in the short, medium, and long term due to Climate Change. Results show a positive relationship between risk projection and climate change preparedness. However, a more in-depth analysis demonstrates the complexity of such geographical "problem-solution convergence": investigating whether the EU regions most at risk of being affected by climate change are also the ones most ready to target climate change through an aligned combination of R&I and policy efforts. Findings show that more developed regions appear more ready to tackle climate change effects compared to transition and less developed regions. These findings suggest that more support is needed for less developed regions facing major Climate Change-related risks.

From data to harvest: Leveraging ensemble machine learning for enhanced crop yield predictions across Canada amidst climate change

Accurate crop yield predictions are crucial for farmers and policymakers. Despite the widespread use of ensemble machine learning (ML) models in computer science, their application in crop yield prediction remains relatively underexplored. This study, conducted in Canada, aims to assess the potential of five distinct ensemble ML models—Adaptive Boosting (AdaBoost), Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM), XGBoost, LightGBM, and Random Forest (RF)—in predicting crop yields chosen for their ability to manage complex datasets and their strong performance potential. The study integrated various factors, including climate variables, satellite-derived vegetation indices, soil characteristics, and honeybee census data. Data preparation comprised two main steps: first, climate variables were interpolated and averaged for croplands in ArcGIS Pro, along with averaging vegetation indices and soil characteristics. Honeybee census data was also incorporated. Second, the data was organized in Python to create a structured format for models' input. The models' accuracy was assessed using Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), R-squared, and Mean Absolute Error (MAE). XGBoost emerged as the most accurate model, with the lowest MAE (68.70 for canola and 39.47 for soybeans), lowest RMSE (119.48 for canola and 102.39 for soybeans), and highest R-squared values (0.95 for canola and 0.96 for soybeans) on the test dataset. The study also assessed crop yields under various climate change scenarios, finding minimal variations across the scenarios, but significant negative impacts on canola and soybean yields across Canada. Honeybee colonies were identified as the most influential factor on crop yields, contributing 52.34 % to canola and 57.18 % to soybean yields. This research provides detailed crop yield maps of canola and soybeans at the Census Consolidated Subdivisions (CCS) level across Canada's agricultural landscape, offering valuable forecasts for localized decision-making. Additionally, it offers a proactive strategy for climate change preparedness, assisting farmers and stakeholders optimise resource allocation and manage risks effectively.

Managing Climate Risks and Adaptation in Coastal Communities: How to Provide Information

In recent years, climate adaptation has gained significant attention from policymakers and public managers. In the U.S., states play a crucial role in developing coastal management policies, initiatives, and programs to reduce climate risks and enhance protection against extreme weather. Despite various approaches, few studies have examined information provision tools for coastal hazard mitigation and climate adaptation. As a result, there is limited knowledge about effective adaptation tools with low transaction costs. Using the StormSmart Coasts program as a case study, this research explores information-based climate adaptation and the components needed for a successful information-sharing platform. Established by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management in 2008, StormSmart Coasts is a web-based program offering practical information for hazard mitigation to local decision-makers and communities. The study identifies three key features of an effective tool: providing tailored information to different stakeholders, serving as an outreach tool, and connecting with diverse stakeholders, including local managers and homeowners. The findings suggest that a well-designed information-sharing tool can enhance adaptive capacity and improve climate change preparedness in coastal communities.

Health science students’ preparedness for climate change: a scoping review on knowledge, attitudes, and practices

IntroductionClimate change (CC) is a global public health issue, and the role of health professionals in addressing its impact is crucial. However, to what extent health professionals are prepared to deal with CC-related health problems is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of health students about the CC.MethodsWe conducted a scoping review through systematic searches in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Proquest, and EBSCO. We included original scientific research with no language or time restrictions. Two authors independently reviewed and decided on the eligibility of the studies, then performed data extraction.Results21 studies were included, with a total of 9205 undergraduate nursing, medical, pharmacy, and public health students mainly. Most health science students (> 75%) recognized human activities as the main cause of CC. However, they perceived a lack of knowledge on how to address CC. Moreover, we found inadequate coverage or limited development of CC in related curricula that may contribute to incomplete learning or low confidence in the theoretical and practical concepts of students.ConclusionThe findings of our scoping review suggest that while health sciences students possess a general understanding of CC, there is a significant gap in their knowledge regarding its specific health impacts. To address this gap, there is a need for targeted education and training for future health care professionals that emphasizes the health effects of CC.

Analysing health system capacity and preparedness for climate change

Analysing health system capacity and preparedness for climate change

Environmental factors associated with Escherichia coli concentration at freshwater beaches on Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

At many public beaches, routine monitoring of beach water quality using fecal indicator bacteria is conducted to evaluate the risk of recreational water illness. Results from water sample analysis can take over 24-hr, which may no longer accurately reflect current water quality conditions. This study aimed to assess which combination of environmental factors best predicts fecal contamination (E. coli) levels at two of the most popular beaches on Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba (Gimli and Grand Beach), by linking water quality data and publicly available environmental data from 2007 to 2021. We developed separate mixed effects models for each beach for two outcomes, linear (continuous log-transformed E. coli concentration) and categorical (200 CFU/100 ml threshold), to explore differences in the predictors of E. coli concentrations and exceedances of the provincial health risk threshold, respectively. We used a Directed Acyclic Graph to choose which predictor variables to include in the models. For both beaches, we identified clustering of the E. coli outcomes by year, suggesting year-specific variation. We also determined that extreme weather days, with higher levels of rainfall in the preceding 48-hr, previous day average air temperature, and previous day E. coli concentration could result in a higher probability of E. coli threshold exceedances or higher concentrations in the water bodies. In Grand Beach, we identified that days with lower average UV levels in the previous 24-hr and antecedent dry days could result in a higher probability of E. coli threshold exceedances or higher concentrations. The findings can inform possible trends in other freshwater settings and be used to help develop real-time recreational water quality predictive models to allow more accurate beach management decisions and warrant enhancement of beach monitoring programs for extreme weather events as part of the climate change preparedness efforts.

Linking Future Tropical Precipitation Changes to Zonally‐Asymmetric Large‐Scale Meridional Circulation

AbstractProjected tropical precipitation changes by the end of the century include increased net precipitation over the Pacific Ocean and drying over the Indian Ocean, prompting ongoing debate about the underlying mechanisms. Previous studies argued for the importance of the zonal circulation in the longitudinally dependent tropical precipitation response, as the meridional circulation is often defined and analyzed as the zonal mean. Here we show that the projected changes in the meridional circulation are highly longitudinally dependent, and explain the zonally dependent changes in net precipitation. Our analysis exposes a zonal shift in the ascending branch of the meridional circulation, associated with a strengthened net precipitation over the central Pacific and weakened precipitation in the Indo Pacific. The zonal circulation has minor influence on these projected tropical precipitation changes. These results point to the importance of monitoring the longitudinal changes in the meridional circulation for improving our preparedness for climate change impacts.

Utilization of Develop Contextualized Learning Module on Climate Change for Grade 9 Learners

Climate change has significant implications for health, yet people keep on doing things that greatly affect the environment causing this climate change. The province of Lanao del Sur is among the four provinces categorized as very high risk for temperature change and this is due to Cutting down forests and rampant waste management problems. the study sought to developed Contextualized Learning Modules on Climate Change for Grade 9 to help address both problems of the scarcity of learning materials, and the support for climate change preparedness and reduction. The study made use of the Research and Development Model as its research design. respondent of the study was composed of five (5) teachers, and ten (10) residents for the need’s assessments, and grade 9 students who are currently enrolled in the school year 2022-2023. The results obtained on the Needs Assessment served as a bases for developing a Contextualized learning module. The implementation conducted on fifty (50) grade 9 learners showed that there was a significant difference between their pre-test and post-test score (p-value < 0.01), and a paired t-test was used in the study, which means the data obtained was normally distributed. Hence, the developed contextualized learning module improved students’ academic achievement on the topic of Climate Change. Finally, using a 19-item Likert scale, the grade 9 learners’ perceptions of the developed learning module revealed positive feedback. As a whole, the developed contextualized learning module was rated as very satisfactory in teaching and learning materials for Teaching and learning.

Comparative Analysis of K-Means and K-Medoids Clustering Methods on Weather Data of Denpasar City

By applying data mining methods, particularly clustering techniques, the weather data of Denpasar city can be grouped based on similar characteristics. This provides deep insight into weather patterns, useful for more optimised travel planning. This research positively impacts tourism, helping stakeholders understand weather patterns in more detail. Furthermore, in-depth knowledge of weather conditions improves preparedness for potential global climate change. The clustering results can be visualised in a three-dimensional cartesian diagram, providing a clear picture of the various weather conditions using attributes such as temperature, precipitation, and humidity. Through Kaggle's Denpasar Weather Data dataset, with 264,924 data and 32 columns, this study illustrates that cloudy weather dominates in the K-Means and K-Medoids clustering process on rain data within one hour. At three hours, K-Means shows the dominance of cloudy weather and the possibility of rain, while K-means dominates all clusters. At six hours, K-Means dominate in sunny and rainy weather, while K-Medoids dominate evenly in all clusters.

“You talk of threat, but we think of comfort”: the role of place attachment in small remote communities in Iceland that experience avalanche threat

According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office, climate change may increase the likelihood, intensity, and frequency of some natural hazards in the country, such as avalanches. It is therefore essential to increase preparedness for climate change–related effects. Until recently, social and community aspects of climate change–related hazards have not received much attention in Iceland. The aim of this study was to explore the role of place attachment in small remote communities in Iceland and how residents experience the threat of avalanches. Through a narrative approach, we conducted interviews with residents and focus groups in two communities in the Westfjords. Our findings suggest that both communities show a high level of place attachment, in particular with regard to the natural and social dimension. A positive impact of place attachment translates into willingness for volunteering and local engagement, which can increase preparedness and enhance capacity building. While we found negative tendencies of place attachment in both places, for example in that residents do not consider their communities vulnerable despite the risk, they seem to be less prominent than the positive aspects. Residents exhibit traditional local knowledge, but there is a need to better integrate newcomers and foreigners in the communities into emergency planning.

Early Warnings and Perceived Climate Change Preparedness among Smallholder Farmers in the Upper West Region of Ghana

The impacts of climate change are already pushing beyond the threshold for sustainable agriculture and rural livelihoods. In Sub-Saharan Africa, smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable due to limited resources and adaptive capacity. Early warnings are critical in mitigating and reducing climate-related dangers and building resiliency. That notwithstanding, there needs to be higher coverage of early warnings in developing countries, and there is even less knowledge of their contribution to rural development. Using a cross-sectional survey involving smallholder farmer households (n = 517), this study investigates the relationship between early warnings and perceived climate preparedness in Ghana’s semi-arid Upper West Region. From ordered logistic regression presented as an odds ratio (OR), factors that influenced climate preparedness in the past 12 months before the study include exposure to early warnings (OR = 2.238; p < 0.001) and experiences of prior climate events such as drought (OR = 9.252; p < 0.001), floods (OR = 6.608; p < 0.001), and erratic rain (OR = 4.411; p < 0.001). The results emphasize the importance of early warning systems and various socioeconomic factors in improving the climate resilience of smallholder farmers in Ghana. In conclusion, the study puts forth policy suggestions worth considering.

Extreme Arctic Weather and Community Impacts in Nunavut: A Case Study of One Winter’s Storms and Lessons for Local Climate Change Preparedness

Abstract Arctic communities are experienced with severe weather, but impacts can still be serious, particularly when the intensity or persistence of hazardous conditions is extreme. Such was the case for the community of Clyde River (Kangiqtugaapik), Nunavut, Canada, which experienced 33 blizzard days during winter 2021/22—likely the most at Clyde River since at least 1978/79. Blizzard conditions resulted from unusually frequent high winds rather than excessive snowfall. The most severe stretch included eight blizzard days over an 11-day period, with top wind gusts of 98 km h−1. Winds caused severe drifting, covering homes and blocking streets. Broken heavy equipment, including snow-clearing machines, compounded the impacts, leaving homes without essential services like water delivery and sewage pump-out for days. Residents reported the storms and resulting impacts as some of the worst in memory. The drifting and volume of snow, combined with the lack of available resources to manage it, obliged the community to declare a state of emergency. Projections of increased Arctic precipitation and extreme weather events points to the need for communities to have proper resources and supports, including preparedness and adaptation and mitigation strategies, so they can be better equipped to handle storm and blizzard impacts such as those experienced at Clyde River in the winter of 2021/22. Additional steps that can be implemented to better support and prepare communities include investing in preparedness planning, expanded and enhanced weather information and services, community land-based programming to transfer Inuit knowledge and skills, assessing the usefulness of current forecasts, and new approaches to community planning. Significance Statement In this study, we consider the winter of 2021/22, during which the community of Clyde River (Kangiqtugaapik), Nunavut experienced 33 days with blizzard conditions—more than any other year since at least 1978/79. Blizzards are characterized by strong winds and blowing snow. Low visibility impedes travel, and drifting snow blocks roads and can bury equipment and buildings. In this case, broken snow-clearing equipment and other infrastructure challenges also hampered the community’s ability to respond, and residents went days without essential services. Several studies suggest that extreme winds will become more common in the Baffin Bay region in the future. This study demonstrates the need for proper resourcing of communities for preparedness, response, and adaptation strategies, especially with the possibility of extreme winter weather becoming more common.

Climate Change and Health: Challenges to the Local Government Environmental Health Workforce in South Australia.

Climate change is the most urgent and significant public health risk facing the globe. In Australia, it has been identified that Environmental Health Officers/Practitioners (EHOs/EHPs, hereafter EHOs) are a currently underutilized source of knowledge and skills that can contribute to climate change adaptation planning at the local government level. The ability of local government EHOs to utilize their local knowledge and skills in human health risk assessment during a public health emergency was demonstrated through their role in the response to COVID-19. This study used a survey and follow up interviews to examine the roles and responsibilities of EHOs during the COVID-19 pandemic and used the results to examine the potential of the workforce to tackle climate change and health related issues. What worked well, what regulatory tools were helpful, how interagency collaboration worked and what barriers or hindering factors existed were also explored. A workforce review of EHOs in South Australia was also undertaken to identify current and future challenges facing EHOs and their capacity to assist in climate change preparedness. The findings demonstrated that the workforce was used in the response to COVID-19 for varying roles by councils, including in education and communication (both internally and externally) as well as monitoring and reporting compliance with directions. Notably, half the workforce believed they could have been better utilized, and the other half thought they were well utilized. The South Australian Local Government Functional Support Group (LGFSG) was praised by the workforce for a successful approach in coordinating multiagency responses and communicating directions in a timely fashion. These lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic should be incorporated into climate change adaptation planning. To ensure consistent messaging and a consolidated information repository, a centralized group should be used to coordinate local government climate change adaptation plans in relation to environmental health and be included in all future emergency management response plans. The surveyed EHOs identified environmental health issues associated with climate change as the most significant future challenge; however, concerningly, participants believe that a lack of adequate resourcing, leading to workforce shortages, increasing workloads and a lack of support, is negatively impacting the workforce's preparedness to deal with these emerging issues. It was suggested that the misperception of environmental health and a failure to recognize its value has resulted in a unique dilemma where EHOs and their councils find themselves caught between managing current workload demands and issues, and endeavouring to prepare, as a priority, for emerging environmental health issues associated with climate change and insufficient resources.

Denial and discretion as a governance process: How actor perceptions of risk and responsibility hinder adaptation to climate change

Many communities are unprepared for climate change, yet action stagnate. Adaptation requires governance actors to perceive climate change as a risk and action within their responsibility. However, little is understood on how subjective actor perceptions influence adaptation governance. Individual actors, within the political, public and professional spheres, often shape decision making to echo their informal social institutions. This study theorizes on why climate change adaptation is frequently overlooked, investigating how misguided perceptions of risk and responsibility impact governance and the role denial and discretion plays in this process. To glean insight into how subjective perceptions result in adaptation barriers, the experiences of senior management (n = 14) across four regional districts in Canada is explored. On-site observation and strategic document review provided a general understanding of how regional planning and policies integrate adaptation, while thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews reveals the importance of considering actor perceptions of risk and responsibility in adaptation planning. Here, findings suggest that denial and discretion function as a governance process, hindering decision making on adaptation as political leadership avoids responsibility and the public copes with powerlessness. While navigating climate discourse, actors employ denial and discretion to mitigate ideological conflicts stemming from polarized perceptions of human agency to affect the natural world. To facilitate preparedness for climate change, this research provides insight into the human barriers preventing planning for adaptation.

Climate Change Knowledge and Perception among Farming Households in Nigeria

Nigeria is committed to achieving a 20% unconditional and 45% conditional reduction of GHG emissions by 2030 through a strong focus on awareness of and preparedness for climate change impacts via the mobilization of local communities for climate change mitigation actions. As land cover changes and forestry contribute 38% and agriculture contributes 13% of the country’s GHGs, farmers are among the stakeholders to be aware of and prepare for climate change mitigations and adaptations. This study assessed the knowledge of agriculturally related practices associated with climate change and its relation to climate change perception. One thousand and eighty (1080) smallholder farmers were interviewed across six agroecological zones (AEZs) of Nigeria using a structured questionnaire. The results revealed that most farmers know that deforestation and land clearance by bush burning contributes to climate change. However, many farmers did not know that methane emissions from livestock (enteric fermentation) can cause climate change. Our results further show that the farmers’ perception of climate change is associated with climate change knowledge. Factors affecting the climate change knowledge of farmers include information received from government extension services, environmental NGOs, and radio, as well as experiencing extreme weather events. Farmers of dry AEZs were more aware and knowledgeable of the agricultural practices contributing to the changing environment. Increased exposure to climate change events thus appears to elevate the knowledge on the topic. Using government services, environmental NGOs, and radio to disseminate climate change information will help further in guiding and shaping farmers’ perceptions towards scientific findings for appropriate actions.

Climate Change and Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery

The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated that global events can have a profound impact on our health systems. While the pandemic is unprecedented, it does underscore the need to prepare for future global health concerns. Climate change is a looming threat with significant consequences for otolaryngologists and our patients. In this commentary, we discuss the need to assess our preparedness for climate change as well as the importance of reflecting on our responsibility to minimize our footprint.

ФОРМУВАННЯ СТІЙКОСТІ АГЛОМЕРОВАНИХ МІСЬКИХ ПОСЕЛЕНЬ ПРИБЕРЕЖНОЇ ОДЕСЬКОЇ АГЛОМЕРАЦІЇ

Modern cities and their agglomerations are experiencing significant threats related to climate change and its consequences, pandemics, wars, etc. It is difficult for large agglomerations to mitigate the consequences of such challenges in a coordinated manner. The small cities have even fewer resources to effectively respond to threats, which makes them more vulnerable and unstable to new challenges of development. Coastal agglomerations face significant challenges to resilience in the face of internal and external threats. The research purpose is to identify features, opportunities, as well as problems and potential risks of forming the resilience of agglomerated urban settlements of the coastal Odesa agglomeration. The authors' attention was focused on a comparison of the resilience potentials of two types of cities according to their socio-geographical location: coastal (Chornomorsk and Yuzhne) and internal (Biliaivka and Teplodar). The research results were formed on the basis of content analysis of municipal official documents and local mass media from January to May 2023 as well as developing a SWOT analysis determining the problems and prospects of implementing resilience mechanisms in the cities. The different components of resilience potential were analyzed for the selected cities, especially economic, social, and environmental ones. It was revealed that the level of economic and social development of agglomerated settlements in the Odesa agglomeration is uneven. Coastal cities have a higher level of economic and social development due to the presence of the largest seaports in the country. However, the dependence of the urban economy on the activities of few large enterprises does not guarantee economic resilience. At the beginning of the full-scale russian military invasion, these cities felt the greatest vulnerability due to the temporary shutdown of businesses and ports. Yuzhne and Chornomorsk require an increased level of climate change preparedness due to the vulnerability of the sea coast, so rewilding measures can improve their adaptation to climate change and natural events. The active work of local authorities and public involvement, positive migration growth, a high proportion of children and adolescents, transparent support for small businesses, and improved tourist attractiveness are beginning to form the high level for the economic and social resilience of Biliaivka. The potential for economic and social resilience in Teplodar is low due to the significant shortage of jobs and large flows of commuting labor migration to the core city, therefore it is necessary to create attractive conditions for small and medium-sized businesses in various spheres for economic diversification. The creation of an industrial park or business incubator can compensate for the absence of the city-forming enterprise. The deep research of all threats and possible challenges, as well as the integration of urban resilience instruments into official documents based on the cooperation of all stakeholders, should be a further step in the introduction of economic, social, and environmental resilience in urban management process for the cities of the coastal Odesa agglomeration.

Climate adaptation and risk preparedness in Florida’s East Coast cities: views of municipal leaders

Cities along Florida’s Atlantic coastline are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, posing significant challenges for city planners. How cities see themselves in terms of developing or implementing their climate change adaptation action plans depends, in part, on the extent to which they perceive climate-related events as risks, and their city size. Data were obtained from city leaders (i.e. mayors, city/town managers, or their designees) from 86 cities along Florida’s Atlantic Coast from January to May 2021 to quantitatively assess factors influencing city adaptation planning. Validity and reliability were obtained for the survey. Multiple regression analyses showed significant positive correlations between perceived risk, city size, and (self-assessed) climate change preparedness. A statistical interaction was noted; as city size increased, risk perception decreased.

Making Climate Risks Governable in Swedish Municipalities: Crisis Preparedness, Technical Measures, and Public Involvement

Creating preparedness for climate change has become an increasingly important task for society. In Sweden, the responsibility for crisis preparedness rests to a large extent on the municipalities. Through an interview study of municipal officials, this paper examines municipalities’ crisis preparedness for climate change and the role they assign to citizens. The theoretical approach is that of risk governance, which adopts an inclusive approach to risk management, and that of risk sociology, which states that how a problem is defined determines how it should be handled and by whom. The empirical results show that the municipal officials mainly discuss technically defined risks, such as certain kinds of climate-related extreme events, the handling of which does not require any substantial involvement of citizens. Citizens’ responsibility is only to be individually prepared, and thereby they do not require municipal resources to protect their own properties in the case of an extreme event. The municipalities, however, feel that their citizens have not developed this individual preparedness and therefore they try to better inform them. This analysis finds five different views of citizens, all with their own problems, and to which the municipalities respond with different communicative measures. By way of conclusion, three crucial aspects are raised regarding the task of making societies better prepared for climate change.

Decolonizing Digital Citizen Science: Applying the Bridge Framework for Climate Change Preparedness and Adaptation

Research has historically exploited Indigenous communities, particularly in the medical and health sciences, due to the dominance of discriminatory colonial systems. In many regions across Canada and worldwide, historical and continued injustices have worsened health among Indigenous Peoples. Global health crises such as climate change are most adversely impacting Indigenous communities, as their strong connection to the land means that even subtle changes in the environment can disproportionately affect local food and health systems. As we explore strategies for climate change preparedness and adaptation, Indigenous Peoples have a wealth of Traditional Knowledge to tackle specific climate and related health issues. If combined with digital citizen science, data collection by citizens within a community could provide relevant and timely information about specific jurisdictions. Digital devices such as smartphones, which have widespread ownership, can enable equitable participation in citizen science projects to obtain big data for mitigating and managing climate change impacts. Informed by a Two-Eyed Seeing approach, a decolonized lens to digital citizen science can advance climate change adaptation and preparedness efforts. This paper describes the ‘Bridge Framework’ for decolonizing digital citizen science using a case study with a subarctic Indigenous community in Saskatchewan, Canada.