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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 37070

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Alfredo Rocha

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Guest Editor

Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) & Department of Physics, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: numerical weather and climate modelling; climate variability and change; extreme weather events; Climate and health; meteorology and wind and solar energy production

Dr. Ricardo Almendra

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Guest Editor

Centre of Studies in Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Coimbra, 3004-530 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: urban health; thermal discomfort; climate and health; biometeorology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change is one of the most urgent challenges that our society needs to deal with. The influence of climate change on public health is undeniable, and the health risks of climate change have been increasing over the last decades. Armful weather phenomena, such as extreme temperatures events, heavy rains, or droughts, are becoming more frequent and more severe and are affecting larger areas of the planet. At the same time, health risks associated with climate change and their consequences vary between individuals and in different communities.

The health consequences of climate change are broad and are very often indirect. Climatic influences on health are often mediated by interactions with other environmental conditions, social and demographic characteristics, and adaptive policies. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year and to deteriorate social and environmental determinants of health (e.g., clean air, safe drinking water, food, shelter).

This Special Issue aims to present original research on the consequences of climate change on health. We welcome manuscripts examining health risk related but not limited to sea level rise, drought, heat waves, cyclones, and other extreme events. We encourage submissions that characterize novel health impacts of these environmental stressors, either alone or jointly. We are also particularly interested in contributions that evaluate factors, policies, or interventions that may help mitigate or adapt to climate change, as well as improve air quality. Finally, research that identifies vulnerable subpopulations or communities and emphasizes principles of equity is strongly encouraged.

Dr. Alfredo Rocha
Dr. Ricardo Almendra
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

climate change
health
sea level rise
cyclones
drought
heat waves
extreme events
air quality
mitigation
adaptation

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 3357 KiB

Open AccessArticle

What Is Solastalgia and How Is It Measured? SOS, a Validated Scale in Population Exposed to Drought and Forest Fires

by Cristian Cáceres, Marcelo Leiva-Bianchi, Carlos Serrano, Yony Ormazábal, Carlos Mena and Juan Carlos Cantillana

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(20), 13682; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013682 - 21 Oct 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2393

Abstract

Solastalgia is a recent concept that refers to disruptive psychological responses in people exposed to environmental degradation. The aim of this study was to determine the number of dimensions solastalgia has using a sample of people exposed to the effects of climate change in the coastal dry land of Maule region, Chile. In order to achieve this, a Scale Of Solastalgia (SOS) was designed and then validated, by means of applying it to 223 inhabitants at the municipalities of Pencahue (n = 105) and Curepto (n = 118), who were also evaluated by the Short Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Rating Interview (SPRINT-E). Using robust validation methods (Parallel factor analysis and Omega), two dimensions were obtained for solastalgia: solace and algia. Both correlate with the SPRINT-E scale (r = 0.150, p < 0.01 and r = 0.359, p < 0.01, respectively) and have 58% sensitivity and 67% specificity to detect cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Like PTSD, solastalgia is related to psychopathologies expected after disasters and also presents a spatial pattern where the concentration of positive cases occurs in places of greater exposure to environmental change or degradation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Environment Health)

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18 pages, 1586 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Conformity Tendencies on Farmers’ Willingness to Take Measures to Respond to Climate Change: Evidence from Sichuan Province, China

by Junqiao Ma, Wenfeng Zhou, Shili Guo, Xin Deng, Jiahao Song and Dingde Xu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(18), 11246; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811246 - 07 Sep 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1321

Abstract

Encouraging farmers to respond to climate change is very important for agricultural production and environmental governance. Based on the data of 540 farmers in Sichuan Province, China, the effects of conformity tendencies on farmers’ adaptive behavior decisions to climate change were analyzed using the binary logistic model and propensity score matching method (PSM). The results show that (1) relatives’ and friends’ adaptive behaviors to climate change positively affect farmers’ adaptive behaviors to climate change. (2) Compared with relatives and friends who do not visit each other during the New Year (weak ties), the climate change adaptation behavior of relatives and friends who visit each other during the New Year (strong ties) has a more significant impact on the climate change adaptation behavior of farmers. (3) Farmers with higher education levels and agricultural products without disaster experience are more significantly affected by peer effects and more inclined to take measures to respond to climate change. (4) Social networks and social trust play a partially mediating role in the peer effects of farmers’ adaptation to climate change, but there are differences between relatives and friends with different strong and weak ties. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Environment Health)

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19 pages, 2075 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Industrial Co-Agglomeration and Air Pollution Reduction: An Empirical Evidence Based on Provincial Panel Data

by Rulong Zhuang, Kena Mi and Zhangwei Feng

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(22), 12097; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212097 - 18 Nov 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2169

Abstract

Industrial co-agglomeration plays a significant role in the moving up of the manufacturing industry in the value chain and in transforming China from a manufacturing giant into a world manufacturing power. This study establishes a co-aggregation index to explore spatio-temporal changes of the co-agglomeration between manufacturing and producer services in 30 provinces of China from 2004 to 2019. Furthermore, we use spatial Durbin model to analyze the impact of industrial co-agglomeration on air pollution reduction. We find that (1) the co-agglomeration index varies remarkably at spatio-temporal scale; (2) high co-agglomeration index is mainly distributed in eastern and central China, while low co-agglomeration index is mainly located in the western region; (3) the co-agglomeration index presents a cluster pattern among provinces, with the cluster of high value in eastern China and the cluster of low value in western China; and (4) the co-agglomeration between manufacturing and producer services is proven effetely to reduce air pollution, which is accompanied with spatial spillover effect. We also provided policy implications in line with diverse industries, multi hierarchies, and different regions, promoting the coordination of manufacturing and producer services and improving air quality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Environment Health)

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29 pages, 3948 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Interaction of Urban Rivers and Green Space Morphology to Mitigate the Urban Heat Island Effect: Case-Based Comparative Analysis

by Yunfang Jiang, Jing Huang, Tiemao Shi and Hongxiang Wang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(21), 11404; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111404 - 29 Oct 2021

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 3818

Abstract

The spatial morphology of waterfront green spaces helps generate cooling effects to mitigate the urban heat island effect (UHI) in metropolis cities. To explore the contribution and influence of multi-dimensional spatial indices on the mitigation of UHIs, the green space of the riparian buffer along 18 river channels in Shanghai was considered as a case study. The spatial distribution data of the land surface temperature (LST) in the study area were obtained by using remote sensing images. By selecting the related spatial structure morphological factors of the waterfront green space as the quantitative description index, the growth regression tree model (BRT) was adapted to analyze the contribution of various indexes of the waterfront green space on the distribution of the LST and the marginal effect of blue–green synergistic cooling. In addition, mathematical statistical analysis and spatial analysis methods were used to study the influence of the morphological group (MG) types of riparian green spaces with different morphological characteristics on the LST. The results showed that in terms of the spatial structure variables between blue and green spaces, the contribution of river widths larger than 30 m was more notable in decreasing the LST. In the case of a larger river width, the marginal effect of synergistic cooling could be observed in farther regions. The green space that had the highest connectivity degree and was located in the leeward direction of the river exhibited the lowest LST. In terms of the spatial morphology, the fractional cover values of the vegetation (Fv) and area (A) of the green space were the main factors affecting the cooling effect of the green space. For all MG types, a large green patch that had a high green coverage and connectivity degree, as well as was distributed in the leeward direction of the river, corresponded to the lowest LST. The research presented herein can provide methods and development suggestions for optimizing spatial thermal comfort in climate adaptive cities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Environment Health)

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13 pages, 339 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Relationship between Environmental Regulation, Pollution and Corporate Environmental Responsibility

by Mengxin Wang, Gaoke Liao and Yanling Li

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(15), 8018; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18158018 - 29 Jul 2021

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 4547

Abstract

The rapid economic development has severely damaged the ecological environment and affected public health. Firms are the main source of pollution; thus, corporate environmental responsibility (CER) has attracted great attention from the government, shareholders and the public. This study used both the fixed effects model and the system GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) model to examine the relationship between environmental pollution, environmental regulations and CER for 30 provinces in China, over the period 2005 to 2015. This study drew the following results: first, mandatory CER disclosure policy can significantly decrease environmental pollution. Second, an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between environmental regulations and environmental pollution. Third, environmental pollution has a positive impact on CER. Fourth, an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between environmental regulations and CER. Therefore, it is necessary to find a balance between environmental regulations affecting environmental pollution and CER so that they can effectively reduce environmental pollution and increase the enthusiasm of firms to carry out environmental responsibility activities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Environment Health)

19 pages, 1343 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can Mandatory Disclosure Policies Promote Corporate Environmental Responsibility?—Quasi-Natural Experimental Research on China

by Yue Liu, Pierre Failler and Liming Chen

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(11), 6033; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18116033 - 03 Jun 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4629

Abstract

Corporate environmental responsibility (CER) is an important component of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) report, and an important carrier for enterprises to disclose environmental protection information. Based on the corporate micro data, this paper evaluates the effect of a mandatory CSR disclosure policy on the fulfillment of corporate environmental responsibility by adopting the difference-in-differences model (DID) with the release of a mandatory disclosure policy of China in 2008 as a quasi-natural experiment. The study draws the following conclusions: First, a mandatory CSR disclosure policy can promote the fulfillment of CER. Second, after the implementation of a mandatory CSR disclosure policy, enterprises can improve their CER level through two channels: improving the quality of environmental management disclosure and increasing the number of patents. Third, the heterogeneity of the impacts of mandatory CSR disclosure on CER is reflected in three aspects: different CER levels, different corporate scales and a different property rights structure. In terms of the CER level, there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between the CER level and mandatory CSR disclosure effect. In terms of the corporate scale, mandatory disclosure of CSR plays a greater role in large-scale enterprises. In terms of the structure of property rights, mandatory CSR disclosure has a greater effect on non-state-owned enterprises. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Environment Health)

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10 pages, 1063 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Extreme Temperatures on Ambulance Dispatches Due to Cardiovascular Causes in North-West Spain

by Santiago Gestal Romani, Dominic Royé, Luis Sánchez Santos and Adolfo Figueiras

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(23), 9001; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17239001 - 03 Dec 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2165

Abstract

Introduction and objectives. The increase in mortality and hospital admissions associated with high and low temperatures is well established. However, less is known about the influence of extreme ambient temperature conditions on cardiovascular ambulance dispatches. This study seeks to evaluate the effects of minimum and maximum daily temperatures on cardiovascular morbidity in the cities of Vigo and A Coruña in North-West Spain, using emergency medical calls during the period 2005–2017. Methods. For the purposes of analysis, we employed a quasi-Poisson time series regression model, within a distributed non-linear lag model by exposure variable and city. The relative risks of cold- and heat-related calls were estimated for each city and temperature model. Results. A total of 70,537 calls were evaluated, most of which were associated with low maximum and minimum temperatures on cold days in both cities. At maximum temperatures, significant cold-related effects were observed at lags of 3–6 days in Vigo and 5–11 days in A Coruña. At minimum temperatures, cold-related effects registered a similar pattern in both cities, with significant relative risks at lags of 4 to 12 days in A Coruña. Heat-related effects did not display a clearly significant pattern. Conclusions. An increase in cardiovascular morbidity is observed with moderately low temperatures without extremes being required to establish an effect. Public health prevention plans and warning systems should consider including moderate temperature range in the prevention of cardiovascular morbidity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Environment Health)

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Review

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27 pages, 13401 KiB

Open AccessReview

Raising Awareness on the Clinical and Forensic Aspects of Jellyfish Stings: A Worldwide Increasing Threat

by Sara Almeida Cunha and Ricardo Jorge Dinis-Oliveira

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(14), 8430; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148430 - 10 Jul 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 7824

Abstract

Jellyfish are ubiquitous animals registering a high and increasing number of contacts with humans in coastal areas. These encounters result in a multitude of symptoms, ranging from mild erythema to death. This work aims to review the state-of-the-art regarding pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and relevant clinical and forensic aspects of jellyfish stings. There are three major classes of jellyfish, causing various clinical scenarios. Most envenomations result in an erythematous lesion with morphological characteristics that may help identify the class of jellyfish responsible. In rare cases, the sting may result in delayed, persistent, or systemic symptoms. Lethal encounters have been described, but most of those cases happened in the Indo-Pacific region, where cubozoans, the deadliest jellyfish class, can be found. The diagnosis is mostly clinical but can be aided by dermoscopy, skin scrapings/sticky tape, confocal reflectance microscopy, immunological essays, among others. Treatment is currently based on preventing further envenomation, inactivating the venom, and alleviating local and systemic symptoms. However, the strategy used to achieve these effects remains under debate. Only one antivenom is currently used and covers merely one species (Chironex fleckeri). Other antivenoms have been produced experimentally but were not tested on human envenomation settings. The increased number of cases, especially due to climate changes, justifies further research in the study of clinical aspects of jellyfish envenoming. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Environment Health)

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25 pages, 2146 KiB

Open AccessReview

Impact of Climate Change on Eye Diseases and Associated Economical Costs

by Lucía Echevarría-Lucas, José Mᵃ Senciales-González, María Eloísa Medialdea-Hurtado and Jesús Rodrigo-Comino

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(13), 7197; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18137197 - 05 Jul 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4950

Abstract

Climate change generates negative impacts on human health. However, little is known about specific impacts on eye diseases, especially in arid and semi-arid areas where increases in air temperatures are expected. Therefore, the main goals of this research are: (i) to highlight the association between common eye diseases and environmental factors; and (ii) to analyze, through the available literature, the health expenditure involved in combating these diseases and the savings from mitigating the environmental factors that aggravate them. Mixed methods were used to assess the cross-variables (environmental factors, eye diseases, health costs). Considering Southern Spain as an example, our results showed that areas with similar climatic conditions could increase eye diseases due to a sustained increase in temperatures and torrential rains, among other factors. We highlight that an increase in eye diseases in Southern Spain is conditioned by the effects of climate change by up to 36.5%; the economic burden of the main eye diseases, extrapolated to the rest of the country, would represent an annual burden of 0.7% of Spain’s Gross Domestic Product. In conclusion, the increase in eye diseases has a strong economic and social impact that could be reduced with proper management of the effects of climate change. We propose a new concept: disease sink, defined as any climate change mitigation action which reduces the incidence or morbidity of disease. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Environment Health)

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Other

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5 pages, 1135 KiB

Open AccessBrief Report

Malaria Transmission in Sahelian African Regions, a Witness of Climate Changes

by Ronan Jambou, Medard Njedanoun, Geremy Panthou and Luc Descroix

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(16), 10105; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191610105 - 16 Aug 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1195

Abstract

Climate changes in the eastern part of Sahelian regions will induce an increase in rainfalls and extreme climate events. In this area, due to the intense events and floods, malaria transmission, a climate sensitive disease, is thus slowly extending in time to the drought season and in areas close to the border of the desert. Vectors can as well modify their area of breeding. Control programs must be aware of these changes to adapt their strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Environment Health)

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