Climawahealth

Climate-Water-Health Research 

Current investigators focus on understanding the complex relationships between hydroclimatic variability—including extreme precipitation, droughts, floods, and temperature-water interactions—and population health outcomes, with particular emphasis on waterborne and vector-borne disease patterns. Recent studies demonstrate that 58% of known human pathogenic diseases can be aggravated by climatic hazards, with climate-water extremes creating conditions that favor pathogen survival, replication, and transmission. Current research shows that temperature increases and extreme precipitation significantly affect waterborne disease incidence, with evidence of positive associations between high temperatures and bacterial diarrheal diseases, and increased disease risk following flooding events. Investigators are documenting how hydroclimatic variability affects disease vectors, with dengue incidence in tropical dryland areas showing strong associations with precipitation patterns and drought-flood cycles. Studies reveal that by 2060, approximately 31-35% of the global population will be exposed to a >50% probability of increased hydroclimatic deficits that exceed existing hydrological storage [1-4].
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Testing the water of a reservoir for the content of microbes .

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While future studies will examine integrated surveillance systems that combine hydroclimatic monitoring with real-time disease surveillance, climate-informed early warning systems for health protection, and the effectiveness of hydroclimate-health adaptation interventions. The WHO's Early Warning and Response System (EWARS) represents an emerging model, using predictive algorithms to forecast outbreaks of dengue, chikungunya, zika, malaria, and cholera based on climate data. Future research will focus on developing climate-resilient health infrastructure and supply chain capabilities, scaling up heat warning systems and flood-related health interventions, and creating drought early warning systems for public health applications. Research is moving toward incorporating social vulnerability and ecological factors into hydroclimatic health models to identify populations at highest risk [5-7]. 

This research area continues to evolve as we build evidence base for climate-informed public health decision-making and health system adaptation strategies. The field is transitioning from documenting associations between hydroclimate variables and health outcomes toward developing actionable surveillance and intervention systems. Current research gaps include limited integration of environmental data into health surveillance systems, insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of adaptation interventions, and the need for enhanced capacity in climate-health early warning systems, particularly in vulnerable regions. The ultimate goal is establishing robust, integrated hydroclimatic health surveillance networks that can predict, monitor, and respond to climate-driven health risks in real-time, supporting evidence-based resource allocation and community protection strategies in an era of increasing hydroclimate extremes [5-6,8]. 

Additional focus areas will be announced as partnerships and funding opportunities align.
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Citations 

  1. Mankin JS, Viviroli D, Mekonnen MM, Hoekstra AY, Horton RM, Smerdon JE, Diffenbaugh NS. Influence of internal variability on population exposure to hydroclimatic changes. Environ Res Lett. 2017 Apr;12(4):044007. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa5efc.   
  2. Levy K, Smith SM, Carlton EJ. Climate Change Impacts on Waterborne Diseases: Moving Toward Designing Interventions. Curr Environ Health Rep. 2018 Jun;5(2):272-282. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-018-0199-7.   
  3.  Mora, C., McKenzie, T., Gaw, I.M. et al. Over half of known human pathogenic diseases can be aggravated by climate change. Nat. Clim. Chang. 12, 869–875 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01426-1.  
  4. Costa AC, Gomes TF, Moreira RP, Cavalcante TF, Mamede GL. Influence of hydroclimatic variability on dengue incidence in a tropical dryland area, Acta Tropica, Volume 235,2022,106657, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2022.106657.      
  5. Levy K, Smith SM, Carlton EJ. Climate Change Impacts on Waterborne Diseases: Moving Toward Designing Interventions. Curr Environ Health Rep. 2018 Jun;5(2):272-282. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-018-0199-7.   
  6. Moulton AD, Schramm PJ. Climate Change and Public Health Surveillance: Toward a Comprehensive Strategy. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2017 Nov/Dec;23(6):618-626. https://doi.org/10.1097/PHH.0000000000000550.   
  7. Wright CY, Naidoo N, Anand N, Kapwata T, Webster C. "SCALE-up" - a new framework to assess the effectiveness of climate change adaptation interventions for human health and health systems. BMC Public Health. 2025 Jul 2;25(1):2247. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23358-z.  
  8. Wright CY, Naidoo N, Anand N, Kapwata T, Webster C. "SCALE-up" - a new framework to assess the effectiveness of climate change adaptation interventions for human health and health systems. BMC Public Health. 2025 Jul 2;25(1):2247. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23358-z.  
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