Climate Change Debate Hotting Up

By Linda McKee

The health system needs to work closely with climate experts and planners to prepare communities and cities for the looming threat, Tanja Wolfs, technical officer with the Global Change and Health Unit of the World Health Organisation in Rome, warned.

Planners and health representatives gathered at Belfast Castle for a series of lectures, learning how extreme temperatures – high and low – could result in increased mortality and how global warming may boost salmonella and food poisoning incidence.

Drier conditions could reduce river water by up to 40%, hitting water quality, the conference organised by Belfast Healthy Cities heard.

"If the health system is to exercise its stewardship it will have to learn to collaborate with climatologists and planners in land use and urban design, and to prepare communities and cities against the growing health risks of climate change," Ms Wolf said.

"We believe identifying ways to reduce factors of climate change and helping populations deal with the risks and threats posed by climate change could lead to a greater sense of security control and result in improved population health. Therefore the health sector has to be at the heart of this."

Speakers included Dr John Sweeney, a senior lecturer in Geography at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, who has over 30 years of research experience in climate change issues, and Dr John Gilliland, vice-chair of the Sustainable Development Commission.

Joan Devlin, programme director for Belfast Healthy Cities, said: "Climate change is a very topical issue and at Belfast Healthy Cities we believe we need to make people aware of the links between climate change and health.

"We want to encourage those involved in every area of the health sector in Northern Ireland to collaborate with their counterparts in environmental organisations and the Planning Service and vice-versa so that we are better prepared to deal with climate change issues."

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