What Are the Health Implications of Climate Variability and Change in Other Sectors?
Climate change will interact with and exacerbate other factors that contribute to the vulnerability of a particular region, as highlighted in the following examples. Many small island states rely on a single source for their water supply, such as ground-water, rainwater, surface reservoirs, or shallow wells that draw from freshwater lenses just beneath the surface (Meehl 1996). These sources are climate sensitive, and changes in precipitation or rising sea levels will present challenges to public health. For example, the freshwater supplies of almost all Pacific islands are threatened during times of drought. Rising sea levels can result in salinity intrusion into the freshwater lens. Completely protecting water sources from adverse effects of climate variability and change may not be possible, but the management of water resources can be improved. Timely, site-specific, and reliable forecasts of impending droughts and floods that are rapidly disseminated to water resource managers and
