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Health and Wellbeing impacts of Climate Change Monitoring Tool

Climate change has been identified as one of the most important health threats of the century. It is bringing warmer, wetter winters, hotter, drier summers and more extreme weather to the West Midlands. We know these changes will impact health outcomes and our ability to provide for and safeguard the health and well-being of the West Midlands’ population. We also know that more frequent extreme weather events are likely to exacerbate existing health inequalities in the WMCA area. Under the proposed new health duty for Strategic Authorities the WMCA will be responsible for ensuring its work contributes to reducing health inequalities. Therefore, an awareness of how climate change impacts on health outcomes, and health inequalities in our region is going to be increasingly important to understand across both policy, infrastructure development and service delivery.

The WMCA commissioned the Centre for Thriving Places (CTP) to produce regional Climate and Health Indicator Framework – the beginnings of a functional and easy to use tool for decision makers to access data relating to the impacts of climate change on health systems and outcomes. The effects of high temperatures, flood events, storms and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns will have a profound impact on the region’s most vulnerable communities. Monitoring these impacts can help justify and promote a collaborative approach to planning for future warming scenarios across the West Midlands.

This project produced an initial reference resource of key metadata, categories, contextual insights and data source information. Data listed in the resource is categorised as ‘core’ (highly relevant), ‘available’ (where source data is available) and whether data is about health outcomes or service provision. This forms the foundation for a monitoring framework that could be refined and expanded in future stages through further stakeholder engagement and system alignment.

Recommended next steps for the WMCA

  1. Conduct an initial data sourcing exercise based on the list of prioritised core indicators for one pilot West Midlands local authority.
  2. Bring climate and health experts across the West Midlands together in a workshop to promote greater alignment. For example, ensuring those working in clinical settings are aware of NHS Green Plan obligations and those in sustainability roles are across frontline A&E targets.
  3. Create an academic steering group potentially comprised of University of Birmingham academics and those working on Policy Modelling for Health (PHI-UK) to develop innovative data-led solutions to fulfil key policy objectives.
  4. Convene grassroots and community organisations to help to identify and produce data with sample sizes representative of the demographic profile of the West Midlands to help to identify vulnerabilities in the region.

Approach

The Centre for Thriving Places (CTP) were commissioned by the WMCA to complete the first phase of a Climate and Health Indicator Framework. The indicators compiled in this file are the result of a systematic review of relevant literature, datasets, and expert engagement, identifying metrics that can help track climate risks, health outcomes, and system-wide impacts over time. The framework’s overarching aim is to enable ongoing monitoring and evaluation of progress toward climate adaptation, resilience and addressing climate change as a wider determinant of health. This is underpinned by the following objectives:

  1. Understand the current and future health impacts of climate change.
  2. Identify and address health inequalities and system pressures exacerbated by extreme weather and climate change.
  3. Support the integration of adaptation into planning, investment, and decision-making.
  4. Facilitate cross-sectoral alignment by connecting evidence across policy domains.

Evidence gap analysis

The work carried out identified several causal and outcome themes pertaining to climate & health in the West Midlands. Here, we were able to identify a) where data already exists relating to different elements of climate and health, b) the quality of the data already available and c) what future work is required to obtain more robust and reliable data that can better inform the work of policymakers and leaders in the region.

The causal themes that are currently most developed for climate and health are related to extreme heat and air quality. For the former, these indicators are typically well developed and straightforward to source, typically associated with the outcome themes of heat related illness, mental health and infrastructure disruption. The indicators associated with the latter are also largely straightforward to source and align with measures around respiratory conditions which can be exacerbated by poor air quality. It was also alluded to by stakeholders that when air quality deteriorates in the region there is typically an increase in presentations especially for those with respiratory conditions i.e. asthma at Accident & Emergency.

For emergent risks, developing monitoring systems for infectious diseases & ecology is something to be advocated for and potentially trialled both locally and nationally through discussions with key stakeholders including academics. Lyme disease aside, there is currently very little tracking associated with mosquito bites, food-borne diseases and new and emergent threats that may develop across the West Midlands. Climate adaptation & public health management is also in more of an embryonic phase and engagement with NHS colleagues would help to identify priorities for the development of monitoring systems particularly relating to system planning and risk management. In turn, the economic outcomes from the impact of climate on health is yet to be moulded into a coherent set of indicators. However, through liaison with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and greater collaboration between stakeholders from the different professions may not be far off.

If you are interested or have any questions about the Climate Change Monitoring Tool please feel free to contact HealthandCommunities@wmca.org.uk