Climate Change Impacts on Water and Health

How does climate change affect water quality and quantity, and thus human health and well-being? What adaptation measures can be taken to avoid or reduce the negative consequences? How can we use the best available information and tools to make informed decisions?

These questions are at the heart of a new project, carried out by Ecologic Institute together with partners from Ramboll, Climate Analytics, EREDA Consultants and OIeau. The project supports the European Climate and Health Observatory, a partnership between the European Commission and the European Environment Agency. The Observatory is part of the European Platform for Adaptation Knowledge (Climate-ADAPT), which aims to share knowledge on climate change adaptation.

The project consists of three main tasks:

• Conducting literature reviews on specific topics related to climate-induced impacts on human health and well-being through changes in water quality and quantity. Considered topics are droughts and water scarcity, harmful algal blooms, permafrost thawing, sea level rise and coastal erosion, chemical hazards and landslides. Ecologic Institute delivers the review on droughts and water scarcity.
• Studying historical data from almost all EU bathing waters to determine how meteorological and hydrological factors affect inland and coastal bathing water quality. Ecologic is leading this task, which analyses almost 20 years of Bathing Water Directive water quality monitoring data for water quality deterioration associated with extreme weather events.
• Developing case studies on addressing or preventing health impacts from climate-induced changes in water quality and quantity in different European regions, involving success stories, challenges and lessons learned. Ecologic Institute supports implementation of the case studies.

The results of all tasks will be published in dedicated online sections of the Observatory and feed into an upcoming report on the water-climate-health nexus.