Health Units in northern Ontario have banded together for a report on the effects of climate change on local residents.
Alex Berry from the Northwestern Health Unit says they look at things like temperatures and precipitation not only on the landscape, but people as well.
“One of those things is exposure…how often have we got heat…how often do we have floods,” explains Berry.
“One of the issues is sensitivity. What’s the environment I’ve got right now, and is it more or less sensitive to these changes and what’s the adaptive capacity of the community.”
Berry says our warmer temperatures lead to different types of threats from disease bearing insects.
“Lyme Disease and West Nile Virus. So some of these diseases that are carried by insects or other vectors. As the climate changes, the home range for the insects move and all of a sudden we’ve got new diseases here.”
The report is called “Changing Climate and Health in Northern Ontario: An overview of the health impacts of climate change in northern Ontario”.
Berry says it provides information on the health impacts of climate change relevant to the region and it will help northern public health units and others to plan adaptation strategies to deal with climate change.
