Climate change brings more extreme weather, and healthcare systems around the world are stepping up to tackle a growing health issue: waterborne diseases. Heavy rainfall, floods, and droughts are becoming more common, and with them, diseases like diarrhoea are on the rise, especially in vulnerable areas with poor sanitation and ageing water systems.
The SPRINGS project aims to improve collaboration between healthcare professionals, climate scientists, and water management experts to predict and address health threats caused by climate change, particularly waterborne diseases.
One key approach is combining climate data with health surveillance. By tracking weather patterns and climate hazards like floods, hospitals and health authorities can better predict the risk of disease outbreaks. This helps them prepare by establishing contingency plans, stocking up on supplies, sending out medical teams, and providing early warnings to communities.
“For example, healthcare systems can use information from climate models to anticipate what floods might contaminate water supplies with harmful bacteria. By acting quickly when such situations are forecasted, they can prevent the spread of diseases like cholera, which often spikes after extreme weather events”, says climate researcher and SPRINGS project partner Rasmus Benestad (MET Norway).
In flood-prone areas, healthcare facilities need to adapt and withstand harsh weather.
Climate researcher Rasmus Benestad thinks that future and existing hospitals need to be redesigned, with all key equipment elevated above flood levels, and emergency power systems reinforced to ensure that they can continue operating during a crisis.
"We need to ensure that healthcare systems are better equipped to adapt for a new tomorrow. This will not only help them respond more effectively to the growing number of emergencies caused by climate change, but also prepare them to meet the demands of our evolving daily lives in these changing times", he adds.
Another focus is building climate-resilient water systems. Clean drinking water is crucial in preventing waterborne diseases.
“Healthcare systems need to be working with local governments and water authorities to secure safe water sources, especially in areas most vulnerable to flooding and droughts”, says Charlotte Stark, MET Norway and project member.
Her expertise in issue management and crisis communication is being applied in the project to explore how we can collaborate across interdisciplinary fields and develop comprehensive strategies.
Stark continues, "Climate is a dimension, not an isolated issue. It touches everything and everyone. To make informed decisions, we need robust solutions that consider the full scope of its impact”.
In addition to improving infrastructure for handling the water, the authorities and healthcare need to use new ways to not only inform the public and help them to be prepared for a possible outbreak and prevent the spread of diseases, but also to have a platform to monitor and manage outbreaks and health issues, especially in remote areas.
The platform will then allow people and healthcare providers to report symptoms and receive advice in real time, helping authorities stop the spread of infections before they get out of control.
Health workers also need additional special training to handle climate-related health emergencies, particularly in low-income regions.
“This will ensure that they are better equipped to treat diseases like diarrhoea, which often follow extreme weather events in areas with poor access to clean water and sanitation”, says Benestad.
The fight against waterborne diseases caused by climate change is not something healthcare systems can tackle alone.
By working together in the project SPRINGS, such different disciplines can better predict and respond to health threats, making sure healthcare systems are better prepared for whatever the future holds.
In the face of climate change, healthcare systems are evolving, using new tools and strategies to protect public health. As extreme weather events become more common, the healthcare sector needs to be at the front line - ready to combat the growing threat of waterborne diseases like diarrhoea and dehydration, and keep communities safe.