There is high confidence that increasing temperatures threaten the health and well-being of people living in the U.S. Caribbean, especially in high-density urban areas where the UHI effect places further stress on city populations.
' contributors: [] evidence: 'In warm tropical areas like Puerto Rico and the USVI, higher summertime temperatures mean more energy is needed to cool buildings and homes, increasing the demand for energy. Heat episodes are becoming more common worldwide, including in tropical regions like the U.S. Caribbean. Higher frequency, duration, and intensity of heat episodes are triggering serious public health issues in San Juan. Heat poses a greater threat to health and well-being in high-density urban areas. Land use and land cover have affected local climate directly and indirectly, facilitating the urban heat island (UHI) effect, with potential effects on heat-related morbidity and mortality among urban populations.
' files: [] gcmd_keywords: - definition: '(Also called hot wave, warm wave.) A period of abnormally and uncomfortably hot and usually humid weather. To be a heat wave such a period should last at least one day, but conventionally it lasts from several days to several weeks. In 1900, A. T. Burrows more rigidly defined a "hot wave" as a spell of three or more days on each of which the maximum shade temperature reaches or exceeds 90°F. More realistically, the comfort criteria for any one region are dependent upon the normal conditions of that region. In the eastern United States, heat waves generally build up with southerly winds on the western flank of an anticyclone centered over the southeastern states, the air being warmed by passage over a land surface heated by the sun.' href: https://data.globalchange.gov/gcmd_keyword/ca820557-401e-4e5e-ac32-29fdbc0628b3.yaml identifier: ca820557-401e-4e5e-ac32-29fdbc0628b3 label: HEAT WAVE parent_identifier: b7d562cf-9b9b-4461-900b-50423a8c4d29 uri: /gcmd_keyword/ca820557-401e-4e5e-ac32-29fdbc0628b3 - definition: A measure of temperature at different levels of the Earth's atmosphere. href: https://data.globalchange.gov/gcmd_keyword/35e1f93b-99b3-4430-b477-0ecafa80d67a.yaml identifier: 35e1f93b-99b3-4430-b477-0ecafa80d67a label: ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE parent_identifier: c47f6052-634e-40ef-a5ac-13f69f6f4c2a uri: /gcmd_keyword/35e1f93b-99b3-4430-b477-0ecafa80d67a - definition: 'An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment (things like air, water and mineral soil), interacting as a system. These biotic and abiotic components are regarded as linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. As ecosystems are defined by the network of interactions among organisms, and between organisms and their environment, they can be of any size but usually encompass specific, limited spaces. (although some scientists say that the entire planet is an ecosystem.' href: https://data.globalchange.gov/gcmd_keyword/f1a25060-330c-4f84-9633-ed59ae8c64bf.yaml identifier: f1a25060-330c-4f84-9633-ed59ae8c64bf label: ECOSYSTEMS parent_identifier: 91c64c46-d040-4daa-b26c-61952fdfaf50 uri: /gcmd_keyword/f1a25060-330c-4f84-9633-ed59ae8c64bf - definition: 'The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals.' href: https://data.globalchange.gov/gcmd_keyword/da2c70fd-d92b-45be-b159-b2c10cb387c6.yaml identifier: da2c70fd-d92b-45be-b159-b2c10cb387c6 label: PUBLIC HEALTH parent_identifier: fb93d937-c17c-45d0-a9e3-ca5c8a800ca8 uri: /gcmd_keyword/da2c70fd-d92b-45be-b159-b2c10cb387c6 - definition: 'The science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock and in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting products cleared the land to use it for agriculture.' href: https://data.globalchange.gov/gcmd_keyword/a956d045-3b12-441c-8a18-fac7d33b2b4e.yaml identifier: a956d045-3b12-441c-8a18-fac7d33b2b4e label: AGRICULTURE parent_identifier: e9f67a66-e9fc-435c-b720-ae32a2c3d8f5 uri: /gcmd_keyword/a956d045-3b12-441c-8a18-fac7d33b2b4e href: https://data.globalchange.gov/report/nca4/chapter/us-caribbean/finding/key-message-20-4.yaml identifier: key-message-20-4 ordinal: 4 parents: [] process: 'The majority of our Key Messages were developed over the course of two separate author meetings. The first occurred March 9–10, 2017, and the second on May 3, 2017. Both meetings were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico; however, people were also able to join remotely from Washington, DC, Raleigh, North Carolina, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). In addition, the author team held weekly conference calls and organized separate Key Message calls and meetings to review and draft information that was integral to our chapter. To develop the Key Messages, the team also deliberated with outside experts who are acknowledged as our technical contributors.
Natural and social systems adapt to the temperatures under which they evolve and operate. Changes to average and extreme temperatures have direct and indirect effects on organisms and strong interactions with hydrological cycles, resulting in a variety of impacts. Continued increases in average temperatures will likely lead to decreases in agricultural productivity, changes in habitats and wildlife distributions, and risks to human health, especially in vulnerable populations. As maximum and minimum temperatures increase, there are likely to be fewer cool nights and more frequent hot days, which will likely affect the quality of life in the U.S. Caribbean. (High Confidence)
' uncertainties: "Warming is evident. A remaining scientific question is how ecological and social systems that have established themselves in a particular location can adapt to higher average temperatures.{{< tbib '170' 'fd10f97c-39c6-4f3a-8306-aead1a368908' >}} Islands such as Puerto Rico are particularly vulnerable because of heat events associated with changes in both terrestrial and marine conditions. Although there is evidence suggesting that mortality relative to risk increases in San Juan due to extreme heat,{{< tbib '12' 'cb5c02d3-6e9e-4dc5-8eaa-b87f57030bbf' >}} this association is not completely understood on tropical islands like Puerto Rico and the USVI. Addressing such hazards can benefit from new strategies that seek to determine linkages between human health, rapid and synoptic environmental monitoring, and the research that helps improve the forecast of hazardous conditions for particular human population segments or for other organisms.
" uri: /report/nca4/chapter/us-caribbean/finding/key-message-20-4 url: ~