1. Surface Urban Heat Island Effect in Central Sydney
2. Neonates in Ahmedabad, India, During the 2010 Heat Wave
3. Economic Impact Assessment, Climate Change & Key Sectors
4. Technologies: Climate Change Adaptation
5. Heatwave Preparedness and Health Promotion – A Guide
6. 5th International Disaster and Risk Conference
Surface Urban Heat Island Effect in Central Sydney
The City of Sydney is increasingly experiencing the UHI (Urban Heat Island) effect due to its numerous urban development projects and changes in climate. In this context, the paper explores the most heat resilient urban features at precinct scale. It covers five high density precincts (based on a nocturnal remote-sensing thermal image) in central Sydney. The paper argues that the higher UHI effect in precinct scale correlates with more hard-landscaped public space plot ratio, more street network intensity and less urban greenery plot ratio.
Comparative Analysis of Surface Urban Heat Island Effect in Central Sydney, Ehsan Sharifi & Steffen Lehmann, Journal of Sustainable Development; vol. 7, no. 3 (2014)
Neonates in Ahmedabad, India, During the 2010 Heat Wave
This study compares neonatal morbidity in a non-air-conditioned hospital during the 2010 heat wave in Ahmedabad (India) to morbidity in the prior and subsequent years. It supports the hypothesis that neonatal morbidity increases in non-climate-controlled settings during periods of extreme high ambient temperatures. The paper demonstrates the importance of simple surveillance measures in motivating a hospital policy change toward climate change adaptation.
Research Article: Neonates in Ahmedabad, India, During the 2010 Heat Wave: A Climate Change Adaptation Study, Khyati Kakkad et al., Journal of Environmental and Public Health, vol. 2014, article ID 946875, 8 pages, 2014
Economic Impact Assessment, Climate Change & Key Sectors
The report estimates the potential impacts and economic costs of climate change for three major risk areas (agriculture, hydroelectricity, water-induced disasters) and identifies climate compatible development options in response to these risks. The report develops an iterative climate change adaptation pathway that starts with current climate variability and then considers future climate change and uncertainty.
Economic Impact Assessment of Climate Change for Key Sectors in Nepal, Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment (MoSTE), Government of Nepal, April 2014 (1.88 MB, PDF]
Technologies: Climate Change Adaptation
Technologies and methods for climate change adaptation are important to manage the implications of rising sea levels and more frequent and powerful rainfall. Therefore, a new online catalogue/resource of adaptation technologies has been developed, which includes practical, applied examples of climate change adaptation in three categories: normal/extreme rainfall, sea level rise and preparedness.
Technologies: Climate Change Adaptation, Danish Ministry of the Environment/Danish Nature Agency, Copenhagen, 2014
Heatwave Preparedness and Health Promotion – A Guide
Heatwaves in Australia result in considerable mortality and morbidity. This study develops a ‘tool’ to map population vulnerability to extreme heat events in large urban areas. It aims at assisting emergency managers and public health authorities, so that they may develop adaptation strategies to cope with extreme heat and provide a decision-making framework to guide future adaptation planning.
Identifying Vulnerable Populations in Subtropical Brisbane, Australia: A Guide for Heatwave Preparedness and Health Promotion, Margaret Loughnan, Nigel Tapper, and Thu Phan, vol. 2014, Article ID 821759, pp. 12, 2014 [2.54 MB, PDF]
5th International Disaster and Risk Conference
5th International Disaster and Risk Conference (integrative risk management – the role of science, technology & practice) will take place in Davos, Switzerland from 24-28 September 2014. Focusing on a multi-sectors, multi-stakeholders and multi-disciplines approach, the conference aims to build stronger ties with adequate public-private partnership models among risk management communities and sectors, enabling a move towards a truly integrative way of thinking about disasters and risks.
5th International Disaster and Risk Conference, Global Risk Forum (GRF), International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Davos, Switzerland, September 24-28, 2014
For further information, please contact the editor, Dr. Saleem Janjua: muhammadsaleem.janjua@rmit.edu.au
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Professor Darryn McEvoy, Program Leader, RMIT University Climate Change Adaptation Programme
Professor Peter Hayes, Co-founder and Executive Director of Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability
Dr. Saleem Janjua, Editor, AdaptNet
AdaptNet is a free fortnightly report produced by RMIT University Global Cities Research Institute’s Climate Change Adaptation Programme, Melbourne, Australia. It is published in partnership with the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability.