title: Climate change, food, water and population health in China.
abstract: Anthropogenic climate change appears to be increasing the frequency, duration and intensity of extreme weather events. Such events have already had substantial impacts on socioeconomic development and population health. Climate change's most profound impacts are likely to be on food, health systems and water. This paper explores how climate change will affect food, human health and water in China. Projections indicate that the overall effects of climate change, land conversion and reduced water availability could reduce Chinese food production substantially - although uncertainty is inevitable in such projections. Climate change will probably have substantial impacts on water resources - e.g. changes in rainfall patterns and increases in the frequencies of droughts and floods in some areas of China. Such impacts would undoubtedly threaten population health and well-being in many communities. In the short-term, population health in China is likely to be adversely affected by increases in air temperatures and pollution. In the medium to long term, however, the indirect impacts of climate change - e.g. changes in the availability of food, shelter and water, decreased mental health and well-being and changes in the distribution and seasonality of infectious diseases - are likely to grow in importance. The potentially catastrophic consequences of climate change can only be avoided if all countries work together towards a substantial reduction in the emission of so-called greenhouse gases and a substantial increase in the global population's resilience to the risks of climate variability and change.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Social Work, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland 4159, Australia .
authors.forename: Shilu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia .
authors.forename: Helen L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, United States of America .
authors.forename: Kristie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ebi
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia .
authors.forename: Hilary
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bambrick
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Social Work, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland 4159, Australia .
authors.forename: Wenbiao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia .
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia .
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hanna
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia .
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia .
authors.forename: Colin D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Butler
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D057231:Climate Change; D005523:Food Supply / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005544:Forecasting; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D011640:Public Policy; D014881:Water Supply / Q000706:statistics & numerical data