Commission on Climate and Human Health:
Urban Impacts and Applications

It is well-known that urban areas experience specialized problems relating to climate and human health. For example, heat-related mortality is excessive in these areas, and pollution problems may exacerabate other conditions, such as asthma and respiratory distress. The goal of this commission is to coordinate ISB activites on a variety of topics relating to specialized urban health problems, with special emphasis on the following (research is not limited to these topics):

  • Thermal stresses and climate.
  • Development of system to mitigate the impacts of thermal stress.
  • The impact of pollution as a synergist in weather/health relationships.
  • The role of climate in contributing to variability in asthma hospital admissions.
  • The possible impacts of a human-inducted climate change
  • Infectious diseases and climate.

It is important to note that the goal of this commision is not only basic research oriented. Rather, it provides the medium for the development of user-friendly applications to mitigate the weather-health problems which are unique to urban areas. For example, the present UN-sponsored "Showcase Projects" are incorporated within this commision. These projects are designed to develop an operational plan for urban areas to deal with heat and other climate health problems. The development of watch/warning systems themselves is but one aspect of this large-scale project. It also involves coordination with local players in the urban area, development of intervention activities when a warning is called, and testing the effectiveness of the system. For an example of two systems, refer to the Rome and Southwestern Ohio prototype websites.

The commission is most interested in supporting activities which lead to specific urban programs which can be used to mitigate health problems. At present, the commission receives extramural funding from the NOAA, WMO, WHO, UNEP, USEPA and numerous private and industrial sources.

For further information contact:

Commission Chair
Laurence S. Kalkstein, Ph.D.
Center for Climatic Research
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716
United States of America

 
Telephone: 302/831-8269
Fax: 302/831-6759
E-mail: larryk@udel.edu

Commission Co-Chair
Gerd Jendritzky, Ph.D.
Deutscher Wetterdienst
Business Unit Human Biometeorology
Stefan-Meier-Strasse 4
D-79104 Freidberg
Germany

Telephone: +49 761 28202-54
Fax: +49 761 28202-90
E-mail: gjendritzky@dwd.d400.de

Last updated: 21 May 2000