Health vulnerabilities to climate change are not evenly distributed. Climate change disproportionally impacts socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, further exacerbating health inequalities. This project examines the effects of climate change and extreme weather events on health inequalities and will create an area-based social vulnerability index measuring social factors affecting the vulnerability of human health to climate change. This vulnerability mapping will provide a basis for identifying communities most at risk, enhancing community preparedness, and designing disaster risk reduction and adaptation planning that accounts for vulnerability and social inequalities.
Climate change can compound or create new vulnerabilities within communities. Identifying communities most at risks will enable greater community preparedness and the design of tailored responses from local planning and public health decision makers in order to protect vulnerable populations and increase the capacity for adaptation towards a sustainable society.