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University of Bristol staff and students also have the option to attend this event in-person. Please see internal event advert.
The Cabot Institute for the Environment and the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research invite you to the first of our second series of Climate Change and Health seminars.
In this seminar, Dr Anisha Nijhawan and Professor Guy Howard will discuss their research on water quality, climate change and the impact on public health.
Dr Anisha Nijhawan - Vulnerability of water and sanitation to climate change and implications for community health
Anisha Nijhawan is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol with a background in water and sanitation engineering. Anisha’s work in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa focuses on developing solutions to improve access to safe water and sanitation in regions facing public health and climate challenges. She is especially interested in risk assessments and monitoring for evidence-based planning.
Abstract
Water supplies and sanitation services are vulnerable to extreme climate events. Erratic rainfall patterns are causing flooding, drought and coastal windstorms to become more unpredictable. It is crucial that authorities and service providers involved in provision of drinking water and sanitation prepare for climate hazards to safeguard communities.
This talk will draw on experiences from Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria and Sierra Leone on what makes water and sanitation services vulnerable to climate extremes and the implications for the physical safety and health of communities.
Professor Guy Howard - Water quality under a changing climate
Guy Howard is the Director of the Cabot Institute for the Environment at the University of Bristol and is a Professor of Infrastructure and Environmental Resilience. Professor Howard’s research focuses on climate resilience of water and sanitation services and health systems; climate change and water quality; environmental engineering interventions for neglected tropical diseases; and health effects of adaptation to low-cost housing to increasing heat. Before joining the University of Bristol, Professor Howard spent 16 years at the UK Department for International Development (DFID), including Deputy Head of Human Development Policy Department UKAID policy lead for water and sanitation.
Abstract
Climate change is already impacting water quality. This will increase as the world heats up and pose increasing threats to public health. A heating world will change the likely persistence, and potentially virulence, of some pathogens, may increase exposure to toxic chemicals, and will make water treatment more difficult. This talk will draw on reviews and research undertaken around the world and in the UK to show how these threats are changing and to highlight where more work is needed on issues such as chemical cocktails, wildfire impacts, opportunistic pathogens, and threats to small water supplies.