Solomon Islands

 

The 65 million people residing in small island nations face severe health risks due to climate breakdown, according to experts behind a Lancet Countdown report.

The escalating impacts of heatwaves, droughts, insect-borne diseases, and extreme weather events threaten lives and livelihoods in these regions, the report found. This is the first comprehensive analysis of the intersection between climate change and health in small island developing states (SIDS).

Over a million residents in low-lying areas across the Pacific, Caribbean, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and South China Sea are at risk of displacement as sea levels rise. The Lancet Countdown Centre for Small Island Developing States highlighted the destabilisation of marine ecosystems, which could lead to food insecurity and an increase in chronic health conditions like diabetes and obesity.

Tackling the problem “requires international action from high-income countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”, the centre said in its report, published in the Lancet Global Health, noting that Sids themselves collectively have low emissions.

“One of the main challenges is heat,” said the centre’s director, Georgiana Gordon-Strachan, based at the University of the West Indies, who led the team of 35 authors. “It affects health physiologically, but it also affects the marine environment, which is a big part of the Sids culture [and] diet; it affects extreme weather events, because once the oceans are warm, that heat energy feeds into more monster storms and storms that develop very, very quickly.”

Rising heat is also impacting labor capacity, with extreme temperatures in 2023 alone potentially causing the loss of 4.4 billion work hours across these states—71% more than the average from 1991 to 2000.

The islands are facing “an exacerbation of an already dire situation” said Gordon-Strachan, “where heat is becoming more intense and all the ramifications of a warming world are affecting us in a serious way, from extreme events to loss of homes, loss of lives and livelihoods”.

The potential loss of entire islands due to rising sea levels underscores the gravity of the situation.

Gordon-Strachan called it “a clarion call for action to protect and promote health from the foreboding consequences of climate change that have already reached our shores. What are we waiting for?”

At the Cop29 environmental summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, frustrations ran high, with SIDS negotiators temporarily walking out of discussions, highlighting the lack of meaningful progress for developing nations.

Another author, Roannie Ng Shiu of the University of Auckland, added: “The concerning trajectory of these findings warns us that the loss and damage already felt as a result of climate change will worsen to the point of catastrophe without concerted and ambitious action.”

Climate changes in temperature, rainfall, and humidity have increased the risk of dengue transmission by a third since the 1950s. Additionally, disruptions in agriculture and fishing have led to a reliance on import-dependent, processed diets, exacerbating health issues such as obesity. Rising heat levels further limit opportunities for outdoor exercise, worsening health outcomes.

SIDS have been among the most vocal advocates for addressing the health-climate nexus. At the 2022 UN General Assembly, 64% of statements on the topic came from their leaders. Despite their advocacy, the report warned that the health systems in these nations remain ill-equipped to cope with climate impacts. Of the 59 countries studied, only eight had a national climate and health strategy, and most lacked climate projections necessary for vulnerability assessments.

The authors also highlighted the lack of high-quality data in SIDS, which hampers efforts to track progress and identify at-risk populations. Tracking mental health impacts, in particular, has proven challenging. Addressing these data gaps is crucial for improving resilience and mitigating the health consequences of climate breakdown in small island nations.

 

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