Climate Change

According to De Frenne et al. (2021), forest microclimates contrast strongly with the
climate outside forests. To fully understand and better predict how forests' biodiversity and
functions relate to climate and climate change, microclimates need to be integrated into
ecological research. Despite the potentially broad impact of microclimates on the response of
forest ecosystems to global change, our understanding of how microclimates within and
below tree canopies modulate biotic responses to global change at the species, community
and ecosystem level is still limited. The availability of microclimatic data will significantly
increase in the coming decades, characterizing climate variability at unprecedented spatial
and temporal scales relevant to biological processes in forests. This will revolutionize the
understanding of the dynamics, drivers and implications of forest microclimates on
biodiversity and ecological functions, and the impacts of global changes. In order to support
the sustainable use of forests and to secure their biodiversity and ecosystem services for
future generations, microclimates cannot be ignored.

As stated by Moda et al. (2019), the literature on the potential impacts of climate change
on the health of outdoor workers has received limited attention as a whole, and in sub-
Saharan African countries in particular. Yet, substantial numbers of workers are experiencing
the health effects of elevated temperature, in combination with changes in precipitation
patterns, climate extremes and the effects of air pollution, which have a potential impact on
their safety and wellbeing. With increased temperatures within urban settlements and
frequent heats waves, there has been a sudden rise in the occurrence of heat-related illness
leading to higher levels of mortality, as well as other adverse health impacts. Global climate
change is among the most visible environmental concerns of the 21st century and these
changes have the potential to affect human health, both directly and indirectly. Urban centers
in most developing countries are now witnessing rapid population growth. According to the
United Nations, the world’s urban population is expected to increase to about 57% by 2050.
Developing countries will account for more than 90% of future population growth
experienced within its cities. With this projection of population growth, the WHO has urged
its member states to take decisive action aimed at addressing the health impacts associated
with climate change.

Meanwhile, Anderson et al. (2019) stated that in recent decades, climate change has
altered environmental exposures worldwide, with anthropogenic greenhouse gases attributed
as a main cause. Climate change is expected to continue over the next century, leading to
increases in average land and sea surface temperatures and rising sea levels. These changes
will likely degrade air quality, especially through the photochemical formation of ozone. The
frequency and intensity of extreme weather events including heat waves, wildfires, and
droughts are also projected to increase. Climate epidemiology leverages deep, integrated
collaborations between epidemiologists and climate scientists to understand the current and
potential future impacts of climate-related exposures on human health. A variety of recent
and ongoing developments in climate science are creating new avenues for epidemiologic
contributions. Changes in water temperature, precipitation, and flooding may influence
water-related diseases like cholera. Climate change can also exacerbate conflict and
migrations, as well as alter food production and water availability. Though the direct and
indirect effects of climate change threaten health worldwide, the impact will likely be
particularly high in developing countries.

Semi-arid cereal systems face challenges worldwide that are driven by ongoing and
projected climate change. These challenges include ensuring cropping system resilience and
productivity under changing water and temperature regimes while reversing soil degradation,
reducing crop susceptibility to pests, pathogens and weed competition, and exploiting genetic
resources to develop cultivars with resilience to climate stresses and improved compatibility
with cropping system innovations. Meeting these interdependent challenges requires
transdisciplinary efforts that integrate knowledge across many scientific domains. The
challenges to achieving sustainable food security in the coming decades are daunting. The
convergence of a rapidly growing global population, increasing consumption behaviors, and
turbulent social, economic and geopolitical issues will impose difficult conditions for farmers
everywhere. The severity of these challenges has troubling implications for health and
prosperity at household, community, regional, national and global scales (Eigenbrode et al.
2018).

According to Linnakoski et al. (2019), climate change is having important effects on forest
dynamics, which can be both positive and negative for natural and managed ecosystems. To
date, most empirical and synthesis research has focused on climate change implications for
tree species distributions and productivity, while the potential impacts on forest pests and
pathogens and the effects on tree population health have been comparatively neglected.
Accumulating research of environmental effects on interactions among trees, pests, and
pathogens suggests that there is an urgent need for systems-based research to investigate both
longstanding and novel biotic interactions. More specifically, it is crucial to record changes in
forest pest population dynamics, address the factors that trigger their outbreaks, and analyze
the development of forest tree disease epidemics, as well as changes in tree susceptibility and
resilience under a changing climate.

REFERENCES

[1] “Forest microclimates and climate change: Importance, drivers and ...”, 16-Mar.-2021.
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[2] “Impacts of Climate Change on Outdoor Workers and Their Safety ...”, 17-Sep.-2019.
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[Accessed: 14-Mar.-2022].
[3] “The Future of Climate Epidemiology: Opportunities for Advancing Health Research
in the Context of Climate Change”, 16-Mar.-2019. [Online]. Available:
https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/188/5/866/5381895?login=true. [Accessed: 14-Mar.-
2022].
[4] “Confronting Climate Change Challenges to Dryland ... - Frontiers”, 04-Jan.-2018.
[Online]. Available: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2017.00164/full.
[Accessed: 14-Mar.-2022].
[5] “Forest Health Under Climate Change: Effects on Tree Resilience ...”, 15-Oct.-2019.
[Online]. Available: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2019.01157/full.
[Accessed: 14-Mar.-2022].