Minnesota Assesses Climate Risk to Public Health
Minnesota’s Strategic Adaptation Plan (2010) identifies public health threats from climate change and states the necessity of improving its public health system’s capacity to respond to these threats, particularly for vulnerable populations. Minnesota’s health department worked with CDC’s Building Resilience Against Climate Effects program to develop a vulnerability assessment (VA) to better understand (e.g., where health conditions might worsen due to climate change) and characterize the state’s composite climate hazard risk. The assessment enabled the state to identify the counties facing the most significant climate risks based upon threats from extreme heat, outdoor air quality, vector borne diseases, as well as water quality and quantity concerns.
The assessment also led the state to downscale vulnerability and other climate information to make it more accessible and applicable for regional use. To facilitate local action within vulnerable regions, Minnesota provides tools and resources to local municipalities to better prepare residents and reduce the climate-related public health threat. Minnesota’s resiliency tools, some examples of which are the “Extreme Heat Toolkit” and a Climate 101 Training, are available to increase the adaptive capacity within vulnerable counties as they anticipate and prepare for the future. Through such resources and actions noted above, Minnesota is helping its public health system -- public health professionals, healthcare providers, and other health officials -- better anticipate and prepare for future climate risk and reduce projected vulnerabilities.
- The Minnesota Climate and Health Strategic Plan (PDF) (15 pp, 343 K) Exit
- CDC’s Building Resilience Against Climate Effects Program
How did they do it? |
Applicable EPA Tools |
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Developed a public health Strategic Adaptation Plan
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Use the National Climate Assessment to better understand the range of projected climate threats to each region and inform adaptation plans. |
Developed a risk map showing both vulnerable populations and county threat prevalence
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CDC's Assessing Health Vulnerability to Climate Change helps identify the most at risk populations, including the elderly, infirm, and communities dealing with public health and environmental justice challenges. Assessing Health Vulnerability to Climate Change (PDF) (24 pp, 4.3 MB) * (This is a non-EPA resource from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.) |
Provided tools for community use and recognized additional need for community level information
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The US Climate Resilience Toolkit Health Vulnerability: Climate Change Guide For Health Departments can help support local preparedness measures. Health Vulnerability: Climate Change Guide For Health Departments |
Similar Cases and More Information
Remember, public health concerns can disproportionately affect at-risk or vulnerable communities. To view a case study that identifies and actively engaged vulnerable communities in adaptation planning for heat events, view Chicago Heat Emergency Response. To see how a community has used green infrastructure to both reduce the impact of future extreme heat events -- and reduce stormwater runoff during extreme precipitation events-- view Chicago Green Infrastructure to Reduce Heat. Or for another case on assessing vulnerability to public health and air concerns, view the Massachusetts Indoor Air Survey.
- Chicago Heat Emergency Response
- Chicago Green Infrastructure to Reduce Heat
- Massachusetts Indoor Air Survey