Carbon Brief
- Daisy Dunne
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Women and children collect drinking water from a water logged area
in Dhaka, Bangladesh, June 2017.
Credit: Mehedi Hasan/Alamy Stock Photo.
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From
supercharging extreme weather events
to
boosting the spread of infectious diseases, climate change is already having a huge impact on human health across the
world.
But this impact is not being felt equally. A
growing body of research
suggests that the world’s most disadvantaged people are also the most vulnerable
to the health impacts of climate change and the least likely to be able to
adapt.
Gender is just one of many factors that can influence a person’s standing in
society. This in-depth explainer looks into how climate change can have
differing impacts on the health of men and women around the world.
An analysis of 130 peer-reviewed studies – visualised below on an
interactive map – finds that women and girls often face disproportionately
high health risks from the impacts of climate change when compared to men and
boys.
The analysis shows that 68% (89) of the 130 studies found that women were more
affected by health impacts associated with climate change than men.
For example, it shows women and girls are more likely to die in heatwaves in
France, China and India and in tropical cyclones in Bangladesh and the
Philippines. In many world regions, women are more likely than men to suffer
poor mental health, partner violence and food insecurity following extreme
weather events.
However, in some cases, men can face higher risks. For example, several studies
suggest men face a higher risk of suicide following extreme weather events and
are more at risk of certain health issues associated with working outdoors.
Mapped
The map below displays 130 studies that investigate how the health of men
and women is affected by impacts associated with climate change. These impacts
include: death and injury from extreme weather; food insecurity; infectious
disease; mental illness; and poor reproductive and maternal health.
On the map, each icon represents one study. The colour of the icon indicates
whether the study finds that women (orange) or men (purple) are most affected by
the climate change impact. (Grey indicates there is no difference between men
and women.)
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IMAGE ONLY
The interactive map displays 130 studies that investigate
how men and women are affected by climate change.
Data source: Global Gender and Climate Alliance (2016). Additional analysis by Carbon Brief. Map by Joe Goodman for
Carbon Brief.
[The software used to make the map currently only works with
a Web Mercator projection (as used by virtually all major online map providers).
It is worth noting that this – like all map projections –
offers a somewhat distorted view of the world.]
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The data comes from a 2016 research report on gender and climate change authored by Dr Sam Sellers, a climate change and health researcher formerly based at the University of Washington. The report itself was
commissioned by the
Global Gender and Climate Alliance, a UN-NGO alliance focused on gender and climate change. (The report focuses
on the social construct of
gender, rather than biological sex.)
To collect the data, Sellers carried out an extensive literature review to find
any study mentioning gender alongside climate change or its associated health
impacts from 2005-16. For this article, relevant papers published since 2016
have also been added to the review.
The review also includes studies that do not specifically reference climate
change, but investigate impacts that are known to be affected by it.
This includes, for example, a
study
finding that women were more likely to have died than men in a 2010 heatwave in
Ahmedabad, India. (Though the study does not specifically cite climate change as
the cause of death, it is known that heatwaves are becoming
more likely and intense
as a result of warming.)
Pie chart displaying the findings of 130 studies on climate change and
health: 89 studies found women were more affected than men, 30 found men
were more affected than women and 11 found no difference in how men and
women were affected. Rounding errors mean the proportions may not add up to
exactly 100%.
Data source:
Global Gender and Climate Alliance (2016). Additional analysis by Carbon Brief. Out of the 130 climate and health studies analysed, around
68% (89) found that women were more affected than men.
Across the world, women are more likely than men to be affected by
climate-related food insecurity and are also more likely to suffer from mental
illness or partner violence following extreme weather events.
Bar chart showing the proportion of men and women affected by climate
change impacts, including: death and injury from extreme weather; food
insecurity; infectious disease; mental illness; and poor reproductive and
maternal health.
Data source:
Global Gender and Climate Alliance (2016). Additional analysis by Carbon Brief.The heightened risks faced by women most often reflect their
standing in societies around the world – rather than a physiological difference
between men and women, explains
Kim Van Daalen, a PhD student in global public health at the
University of Cambridge. (In February, Van Daalen wrote a letter to the
Lancet
on how women can face disproportionate health risks from climate change.) She
tells Carbon Brief:
“It has more to do with societal roles rather than physiological
differences. I tend to say climate change is exacerbating existing
inequalities, be that gender or other inequalities.”
One exception to this is climate change’s impact on maternal health, she says.
The review shows that pregnant women often experience heightened health risks
and reduced access to reproductive and maternal care services as a result of
climate change impacts.
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A pregnant woman is evacuated from her home by rescue workers
during a flood in Malaysia.
Credit: Reuters / Alamy Stock Photo.
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Meanwhile, 30 of the climate and health studies included in the review found
that men were more affected than women.
According to the review, men are more likely than women to face a higher risk of
suicide following extreme weather events and, in some regions, are more likely
to be killed in floods and during wildfires. Van Daalen says:
“In some places, boys and men face increased risks to the climate change
impacts on health – and that is particularly, for example, in regions
where they may be exposed to extreme weather events because they are
working outside.”
In addition, 11 studies found there to be no difference between how men and
women were affected.
Overall, there has been little research into the gendered impacts of climate
change – making it difficult to draw firm conclusions, says Van Daalen:
“Most of the studies that are being done are based in low- and
middle-income countries. But I think there hasn’t been enough research to
assume that gender inequalities are higher for low- and middle-income
countries. I think the gender differences are definitely there in
high-income countries, we just haven’t researched them enough.”
In addition, there has been even less research into the health impacts of
climate change for
non-binary and transgender
people, she adds:
“For non-binary people, there’s literally no data on that and I think
that’s quite problematic.”
Extreme weatherAcross the world, climate change is causing
many extreme weather events to become
severe and more likely
to occur.
This is particularly true for heatwaves. For example, research finds that this
year’s long-lasting Arctic heatwave was made
600 times
more likely by climate change. Research also shows that the northern
hemisphere’s unprecedented 2018 heatwave would have been
impossible
without climate change.
There is growing evidence, too, to suggest climate change is playing an
increasingly large role in more complex extreme weather events, such as
hurricanes,
droughts
and
wildfires.
The analysis includes 53 studies that examine rates of death and injury for men
and women during extreme weather events.
Pie chart displaying the findings of 53 studies examining the rate of death
and injury from extreme weather events: 32 found women were more likely to
suffer death or injury from extreme weather than men, 12 concluded that men
were more likely than women and six found no gender difference. Rounding
errors mean the proportions may not add up to exactly 100%.
Data source:
Global Gender and Climate Alliance (2016). Additional analysis by Carbon Brief.
Almost two-thirds (34) of these studies found that women were
more likely to suffer death or injury from extreme weather than men, 13
concluded that men were more likely than women and six found no gender
difference.
The factors behind who is most likely to die in extreme weather events vary from
country to country, says Van Daalen:
“In a lot of regions, women and girls are more impacted – but in other
regions, it’s actually boys and men that are more impacted. It’s very
regionally specific and dependent on the roles people take up in society
in each region.”
In many low- and middle-income countries, women’s lower societal status can put
them at greater risk of dying during extreme events, she says.
For example, some research suggests that, in Bangladesh, social expectations
placed upon women could lessen their ability to survive tropical cyclones and
flooding events.
According to one
study
conducted in Bangladesh, cultural expectations for women to wear the sari
– a long dress that can restrict movement – could make it more difficult
for women to escape from floodwaters.
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Women walking on a flooded footpath in Bogura, Bangladesh.
Credit: SOPA Images Limited / Alamy Stock Photo.
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Another
study
found that, after a 1998 flood in Dhaka, women were less likely than men to
leave their homes to seek medical help. The researchers suggest that this was
likely linked to cultural norms that restrict women from leaving their homes
without a male chaperone.
In addition, a
study
published in 2016 drawing on data from 85 low- and middle-income countries over
two decades found that women were more likely to be killed by extreme weather
events in countries where their socioeconomic status was below that of men.
However, other studies suggest that women in high-income countries could also be
more at risk than men of dying in certain extreme events.
For example, a
string
of
research
papers
have found that women are more likely to die than men in heatwaves in France.
One
study, published in 2012, found that female deaths were more likely in nine European
cities, including London, Paris and Rome.
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A woman shelters from the sun in downtown Rome as a heatwave hits
Italy. Credit: Reuters / Alamy Stock Photo.
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The reasons why women in Europe could be more at risk from heatwaves are
not yet fully understood. However,
several
research
papers
suggest that older women with underlying health conditions could be particularly
vulnerable to increasing heat in Europe.
By contrast,
several
studies
in the US and Australia have found that men are more likely to die in heatwaves
than women.
For example, a US
national health report
found that, from 2006-10, the death rate from extreme heat was 2.6 times higher
for men than women across the country.
One reason men could be more at risk from heat in the US is the country has a
high proportion of socially-isolated elderly men, Sellers says in his review:
“In the US, the vulnerability of males to heatwave deaths is attributed in
part to the social isolation that many elderly men experience.”
Another reason could be that, in the US and other high-income countries, men
more frequently work and spend leisure time outside and so could be more exposed
to increases in heat, says says
Prof Kristie Ebi, a researcher in public health and climate change from the
University of Washington. She tells Carbon Brief:
“Retired men can be in the category of people more at risk from heat.
Often they go out in the afternoon, sit in the park and spend time
outdoors – and so have higher heat exposure than women who stay indoors.”
A
study
published in 2018 found that, across 50 different US cities, men faced a higher
risk of outdoor heat exposure than women.
Men in the US, Australia and China can also face a higher risk than women of
dying in floods, according to
several
studies. One reason for this could be that men are more likely to assist in rescue
efforts,
research
suggests.
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Two men are rescued by the National Guard after their canoe tips
over in the flooded streets of Guernville, California.
Credit: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo.
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In addition to raising the risk of death, extreme weather events can also raise
the risk of injury and personal safety issues. The review finds that women are
often disproportionately affected by many of these health impacts.
For example, after Hurricane Katrina struck the US city of New Orleans and its
surrounding areas in 2005, researchers found that women faced higher rates of
partner violence
and
sexual assault.
Further
research
in New Zealand found that cases of domestic violence increased after flooding in
2004. A
study
for ActionAid Bangladesh also observed an increase in violence against women
after flooding in 2007.
Food insecurity
Climate change is affecting food insecurity
across the world
in a number of ways. Rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns are
affecting
crop yields, while extreme weather events, such as droughts, are causing unpredictable
harvest losses.
In low- and middle-income countries, food insecurity can be
strongly linked
to poor health.
The review finds that, in low- and middle-income countries, climate-driven food
insecurity can have a disproportionately large effect on the health of women.
Pie chart displaying the findings of 14 studies examining the links between
climate change, food insecurity and health: 11 found women were more likely
to suffer food insecurity than men, two concluded that men were more likely
than women and one found no gender difference. Rounding errors mean the
proportions may not add up to exactly 100%.
Data source:
Global Gender and Climate Alliance (2016). Additional analysis by Carbon Brief.
Out of 14 studies examining links between climate change, food
insecurity and health, 79% (11) found that women were more affected than men.
(Two studies found men were more affected than women and one found no difference
in the impact on men and women.)
Understanding why women are more affected by climate-driven food insecurity
requires an understanding of historic social hierarchies in many low- and
middle-income countries, says
Dr Raman Preet, a global health researcher at
Umeå University
in Sweden. She tells Carbon Brief:
“If there is less food available, then who gets to eat more food? In a lot
of cases, it’s men. That’s not new, these gender roles have been around
for thousands of years.”
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Girl returning from a days work on a large farm in Niger, West
Africa.
Credit: Mike Goldwater / Alamy Stock Photo.
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Studies show that, during times of climate-driven food insecurity, women were
more likely than men to forgo food in
India,
Iran,
South Africa,
Ghana
and
Nicaragua.
In many regions, female children are also more likely than male children to go
without food, says Preet:
“There’s always a preference for how you feed. This has gone on for
centuries. Are we ready to accept that if there’s food insecurity then the
girl child gets lower priority?”
For example, a
study
in the Philippines found that, in the months following typhoons, female children
face a greater risk of infant mortality, whereas male children do not face a
heightened risk. The researchers attribute this to the preferential feeding of
male children when resources are scarce.
Though women are often more affected by food insecurity, there are certain cases
where men can bear the brunt of the impacts.
A
study
in South Greenland found that men are finding it more difficult to hunt Arctic
prey as a result of population declines linked to climate change. According to
the study, this is increasing men’s economic reliance on their female partners.
(However, the study also found that hunting failures were linked to increases in
domestic violence.)
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Sealer transporting two dead seals on his dog sledge,
Greenland. Credit: Blickwinkel / Alamy Stock Photo.
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Infectious diseaseRising temperatures are
causing wildlife and the diseases they carry to move into new areas. This, in
turn, is heightening the susceptibility to some vector-borne and other
infectious diseases.
For example,
research
published in 2019 found one billion more people could become exposed to
mosquito-borne diseases by 2080 as result of rising temperatures.
In May,
Carbon Brief
reported on how warming temperatures could also heighten exposure to thousands
of novel animal-borne – or “zoonotic” – diseases. (Covid-19 is an example of
such a disease.)
In addition,
research
shows that
sea level rise
could also play a role in heightening exposure to infectious diseases.
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Young man in water as low lying island Funafuti Atoll is flooded by
sea water.
Credit: Nature Picture Library / Alamy Stock Photo
.
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This is because some infectious bacteria thrive in slightly salty – or
“brackish” – water. Sea level rise is causing brackish water to move
closer to where people live, heightening their exposure to disease.
Ocean warming could also aid the spread of marine bacteria,
research
shows.
The review looks at how several infectious diseases that are known to be
affected by climate change are currently impacting men and women.
Pie chart displaying the findings of 14 studies examining how infectious
diseases currently impact men and women: nine found men were more likely to
suffer from infectious diseases than women; four concluded that women were
more likely than men; and one found no gender difference. Rounding errors
mean the proportions may not add up to exactly 100%.
Data source:
Global Gender and Climate Alliance (2016). Additional analysis by Carbon Brief. Out of 14 studies, 64% (9) found that men faced a higher
risk than women of contracting infectious diseases. (Four studies found women
faced a higher risk, whereas one study found no difference between the genders.)
Men are often at a greater risk of being exposed to infectious diseases because
they more frequently work and spend leisure time outdoors, Sellers says in his
review:
“There is some evidence that males are at greater risk of schistosomiasis
infection than females, particularly at younger ages as boys tend to spend
more time playing near water where the disease is transmitted.”
Schistosomiasis –
also known as “bilharzia” – is a debilitating disease caused by parasitic worms
that pass from person to person in contaminated water. It mostly affects
tropical Africa.
Research
shows that rising temperatures are likely to increase transmission of
schistosomiasis.
Several
studies
in North America have also found that men are at a greater risk of suffering
from
Lyme disease, a bacterial infection spread through tick bites. One reason for this is
because men spend more time working outdoors in wild environments and so are
more likely to come into contact with ticks.
Research
finds that Lyme disease exposure could “substantially increase” further
northwards in the US and Canada as a result of warming temperatures.
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A tick embedded into human skin.
Credit: Chris Robbins / Alamy Stock Photo.
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While men face a heightened risk of disease when outside, women can face
heightened risks at home, the review shows.
Several
studies
have found that women face a greater risk of malaria than men. One reason for
this is that, in low- and middle-income countries, women can come into contact
with contaminated water sources in and around the home, says Van Daalen:
“If you are surrounded by a lot of stagnant water sources, you are more
likely to be exposed to the mosquitoes that carry malaria.”
Mental illnessThe links between climate change and poor mental health are
complex. Research suggests that extreme weather events can aggravate the risk of
mental illness through bereavement, injury and economic losses.
Prof Helen Berry, inaugural professor of climate change and mental health at the
University of Sydney, explained the links in a
guest post
for Carbon Brief in 2018. She said:
“Climate change is increasing the frequency and ferocity of
weather-related extremes year-on-year. More people are being exposed – or,
worse still, the same people are exposed more frequently – to injury, loss
of homes and businesses, environmental damage and even loss of lives.
“All of these have profound, often long-term effects on mental
health. Yet there remains relatively little research on this topic and
even less commitment to doing anything about it.”
The review includes 28 studies that examine links between climate change, mental
illness and gender.
Pie chart displaying the findings of 28 studies examining the links between
climate change and mental illness: 19 found women were more likely to suffer
from mental illness than men; six concluded that men were more likely than
women; and three found no gender difference. Rounding errors mean the
proportions may not add up to exactly 100%.
Data source:
Global Gender and Climate Alliance (2016). Additional analysis by Carbon Brief. Out of these studies, 68% (19) found that women are more
affected than men. Meanwhile, six studies found men were more affected than
women and three studies found no gender difference.
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A woman stands at the wreckage of her home, in Banshkhali,
Bangladesh. Credit: Majority World CIC / Alamy Stock Photo.
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Studies show that women faced a greater risk than men of suffering from
post-traumatic stress disorder (
PTSD) following tropical cyclones in the
US,
Australia
and
Myanmar, and following flooding in the
UK
and
China.
The reasons why women tend to be more likely than men to suffer from PTSD after
extreme weather events are not fully understood.
The
World Health Organization
notes that women are the largest single group of people to be affected by PTSD –
and that this is linked to a high prevelance of sexual violence worldwide.
Studies
show that the risk of sexual violence can rise during and after extreme weather
events (see:
Extreme weather).
In addition to PTSD,
studies
also
show
that women tend to face a higher risk of depression and emotional distress
following extreme weather events.
By contrast,
several
research
papers
have found that men can face a higher risk of suicide than women following
extreme weather events.
Research in both
India
and
rural Australia
suggests that male farmers could be at a particularly high risk of suicide after
events such as droughts, which can cause rapid crop failures.
For example, one
study
in Australia found that the risks facing male farmers could in part be
attributed to “a dominant form of masculine hegemony that lauds stoicism in the
face of adversity”. A
study
in India, meanwhile, found the risks facing male farmers were linked to
unfavourable cash-crop prices and debt.
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Farmer stands over his failed wheat crop on his farm near the town
of West Wyalong, Australia.
Credit: Reuters / Alamy Stock Photo.
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In addition,
research
in South Korea found that increases in daily temperature were associated with
increases in suicide rates for men from 2001-5.
Across the world, the suicide rate for men is
twice
as high as for women.
(In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans
can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In
the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Other international hotlines are also available.)
Reproductive and maternal healthWomen and others that carry children are uniquely threatened by climate change’s
impact on reproductive and maternal health.
Climate change threatens reproductive and maternal health in two main ways.
First, it can raise the health risks for expecting mothers and foetuses. Second,
it can limit access to reproductive and maternal health services, explains Van
Daleen:
“Climate change is increasingly putting strains on healthcare systems.
It can quite directly
destroy hospitals through
extreme weather events, but it can also just indirectly put more strain
on healthcare services.
“When this happens, what we generally see
is that reproductive and maternity health services are most impacted
because they are already undervalued in comparison to other services and
so not prioritised.”
The review includes 21 studies that explore how climate change can affect
reproductive and maternal health.
Studies show that exposure to extreme weather events can heighten health risks
for expecting mothers and their foetuses.
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Pregnant woman sitting in the shade under water vaporisers on a hot
day. Credit: Davide Zanin / Alamy Stock Photo.
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For example, maternal and newborn health problems have been linked to hurricane
exposure in
Texas
and
Florida
and heatwave exposure across
19 African countries,
Italy
and
Spain.
The exposure of expectant mothers to heat, in particular, is known to have an
impact on newborns, says Ebi:
“We do know there’s an impact on the growing foetus from
studies
that are showing that there is an increased incidence of problems such as
low birth weight.”
In addition, studies in
Haiti
and
Thailand
show that exposure of pregnant women to infectious diseases, such as malaria,
could heighten the risk of miscarriage and other serious maternal health
issues.
(
Malaria
is a mosquito-borne disease that is being boosted by climate change in some
regions. See:
Infectious diseases.)
A
study
published in 2007 found that young women struggled to access reproductive health
services following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
However, further research into how climate change could affect access to
reproductive healthcare is so far lacking, Sellers says in his review.
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