Slovic Anne Dorothée, Indvik Katherine, Soriano Martins Lucas, Kephart Josiah L, Swanson Sandra, Alex Quistberg D, Moran Mika, Bakhtsiyarava Maryia, Zavaleta-Cortijo Carol, Gouveia Nelson, Diez Roux Ana V
School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Clim Risk Manag. 2024;45:100625. doi: 10.1016/j.crm.2024.100625.
Climate hazards threaten the health and wellbeing of people living in urban areas. This study characterized reported climate hazards, adaptation action, and barriers to adaptation in 124 Latin American cities, and associations of climate hazards with urban social and built environment characteristics. We examined cities that responded to a global environmental disclosure system and that were included in the Urban Health in Latin America (SALURBAL) Project database. The cities studied reported a median of three climate hazards. The most reported hazards were storms (61%) water scarcity (57%) extreme temperature (52%) and wildfires (51%). Thirty-eight percent of cities reported four or more distinct types of hazards. City size, density, GDP, and greenness were related to hazard reports, and although most cities reported taking actions to reduce vulnerability to climate change, 23% reported no actions at all. The most frequently reported actions were hazard mapping and modeling (47%) and increasing vegetation or greenspace coverage (45%). Other actions, such as air quality initiatives and urban planning, were much less common (8% and 3%, respectively). In terms of challenges in adapting to climate change, 35% of cities reported no challenges. The most frequently reported challenges were urban environment and development (43%) and living conditions (35%). Access to data, migration, public health, and safety/security were rarely reported as challenges. Our results suggest that climate hazards are recognized, but that adaptation responses are limited and that many important challenges to response action are not fully recognized. This study contributes to understanding of local priorities, ongoing actions, and required support for urban climate vulnerability assessment and adaptation responses. Findings suggest the need for future research documenting local perceptions of climate hazards and comparison with documented climate hazards.
气候灾害威胁着城市地区居民的健康和福祉。本研究描述了124个拉丁美洲城市报告的气候灾害、适应行动以及适应的障碍，以及气候灾害与城市社会和建筑环境特征之间的关联。我们考察了对全球环境披露系统做出回应且被纳入拉丁美洲城市健康（SALURBAL）项目数据库的城市。所研究的城市报告的气候灾害中位数为三种。报告最多的灾害是风暴（61%）、缺水（57%）、极端温度（52%）和野火（51%）。38%的城市报告了四种或更多不同类型的灾害。城市规模、密度、国内生产总值和绿化程度与灾害报告有关，尽管大多数城市报告采取了行动来降低对气候变化的脆弱性，但23%的城市报告根本没有采取任何行动。最常报告的行动是灾害绘图和建模（47%）以及增加植被或绿地覆盖率（45%）。其他行动，如空气质量倡议和城市规划，则要少见得多（分别为8%和3%）。在适应气候变化方面的挑战方面，35%的城市报告没有挑战。最常报告的挑战是城市环境与发展（43%）和生活条件（35%）。获取数据、移民、公共卫生以及安全保障很少被报告为挑战。我们的结果表明，气候灾害已得到认识，但适应措施有限，而且应对行动面临的许多重要挑战尚未得到充分认识。本研究有助于理解当地的优先事项、正在开展的行动以及城市气候脆弱性评估和适应措施所需的支持。研究结果表明，未来需要开展研究，记录当地对气候灾害的认知，并与记录在案的气候灾害进行比较。
