Climate change and the effects of urban heat islands on health: analysis of the situation and development of a strategic decision-support action plan to mitigate the heat island phenomenon in the Abidjan urban area.
Understanding urban heat islands (UHI) in Côte d’Ivoire
While the phenomenon has been well known elsewhere for decades, it remains largely unrecognized and undocumented in Côte d’Ivoire, and consequently projects or interventions to combat climate change rarely take into account the impact of UHIs on the health and well-being of the population. However, according to SODEXAM (Société d’exploitation de développement aéroportuaire aéronautique météo), the Abidjan urban area has seen an increase in the frequency and amplitude of heat waves over the past 10 years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirms this. It estimates that rising temperatures in Côte d’Ivoire will increase the number and severity of heat waves, particularly in urban areas (IPCC, 2014).
A phenomenon accentuated by rising temperatures
Heat waves are set to worsen in Africa, particularly in Côte d’Ivoire. The harmful effects of heat waves such as urban heat islands (UHIs) on health are real, especially for vulnerable populations, as several studies have shown. The phenomenon remains little studied. As a result, there is no convincing evidence to support the preparation of emergency action plans for social or humanitarian actors in the event of heatwaves. With climate models predicting a warming climate and an increase in the frequency of extreme heat events in Côte d’Ivoire in the coming years, it is imperative to understand this urban phenomenon, which will become a threat and represent a real health risk for urban populations, especially the city’s indigenous populations. This research, the first of its kind in Côte d’Ivoire, will produce and make available evidence-based data on heat islands (origin, cause, etc.) and their impact on the health of vulnerable populations in Abidjan.
Biography
Maimouna Ymba holds a PhD in health geography and a post-graduate diploma (DESS) in geomatics applied to the environment from the Université de Sherbrooke. A teacher-researcher at the Institute of Tropical Geography, her early research focused on access to healthcare and the social determinants of health in urban areas. She then focused on the relationship between environmental risk factors and the health of urban populations. To this end, Ms. Ymba took part in several projects with researchers from the University of Bongor in Chad on the impact of climate change on the health of populations in Africa. It is with a view to continuity and to understanding the influence of extreme heat on health in the Ivorian context that she is presenting this project to the French Red Cross Foundation.