THE RECORD
THE HEAT IS ON
Two new professors cross disciplines to understand our climate .
BY ROBERT MONROE
Jennifer Vanos Bioclimatologist , Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the School of Medicine
Tarik Benmarhnia Epidemiologist , Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the School of Medicine
Most people think of the weather in terms of what to wear for the day . Yet with a summer of record high temperatures shutting down airports and sending many to the hospital , two new UC San Diego professors are focused on how weather will affect how we live in the future . With joint appointments at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the School of Medicine , bioclimatologist Jennifer Vanos and epidemiologist Tarik Benmarhnia are connecting weather and climate to human health — and helping us figure how we ’ ll respond , adapt and thrive on our planet .
Why does the public need to care about climate and human health ? JV : Right now , heat waves are affecting us . Air pollution is affecting us . These issues have been longstanding concerns , so regardless of whether climate change factors into the equation , people still die of heat and air pollution exposure . Yet we also know that climate change is exacerbating these effects and that they are likely to get worse , so preparation is important .
TB : And as soon as we see climate-related exposures are killing people or sending people to the hospital , it is quite important to inform the public about the aspects that are affecting them and will be exacerbated in the
future , and work toward finding solutions to mitigate these conditions .
Who is most at risk from the climate and health ? JV : By far , the poor — those who may be deciding whether they can afford water or air conditioning , as well as those who work outside and those in developing countries . In jobs with high heat exposure — whether indoors with no AC or outdoors — oftentimes workers will not get paid if they have to stop due to overheating , so they might continue working , which can be a serious health concern . By following established guidelines , employers must provide longer breaks , which results in lost money to the business . Policy and economics are a large factor in these kinds of behavioral heat adaptation discussions .
TB : It depends on the exposure of interest , but in general , the elderly and children are vulnerable for physiological reasons — a lower capacity for thermoregulation , for instance . In addition , low socioeconomic communities affected by other social determinants of health , like unemployment , lack of material resources , for example , can also be more vulnerable with regard to environmental exposures .
16 TRITON | FALL 2017