Impacts on health of climate extremes

Abstract

Extreme climate events are expected to become more frequent as a result of climate change. Climate extremes can have devastating effects on human societies. History records widespread disasters, famines and disease outbreaks triggered by droughts and floods. These complex, large-scale disruptions exert their worst effects in poor countries but even the richest industrial societies are not immune. Extreme weather events are, by definition, rare stochastic events. There are two categories (1):