Climate data in action: An interactive workshop for public health

(Note that this workshop is 90 mins long instead of the usual 60 mins.)

Abstract

The climate is changing, and public health impacts are already affecting Canadians. Increasingly, communities are confronting challenges related to extreme heat events, forest fire smoke, vector-borne diseases, and changing precipitation patterns.

Today’s public health professionals are among those at the forefront of climate risk. Future climate data supports public health professionals as they build resilience, whether they are planning for long-term operations or communicating about impacts and risks of climate change.  

This interactive workshop guides public health professionals through core climate concepts and provides a step-by-step walkthrough of Canada’s new and improved national climate data hub, ClimateData.ca. Through break-out groups, participants will gain experience accessing, downloading, and applying climate data in a public health context.

Participants will leave the workshop with a stronger ability to:

• Recognize climate variables that relate to public health
• Understand how future climate data can be visualized and interpreted using ClimateData.ca
• Create customized climate data downloads
• Apply climate data to public health contexts

Workshop Presenters/Facilitators

Elaine Barrow has a PhD in Environmental Sciences from the University of East Anglia, UK, and over thirty years’ experience working in climate change research, from the development of climate change scenarios for agricultural applications in Europe to exploring uncertainty in climate projections in the western Canadian Prairies. Elaine joined the Canadian Centre for Climate Services as a Senior Advisor in 2019 and since then has been closely involved in the development of the web portal ClimateData.ca. Elaine also helps develop and deliver training materials to support the use of climate information in decision making. She has called the Prairies home since 1999.

Ryan Smith is a climate scientist and climate service specialist with the Canadian Centre for Climate Services. Ryan works in the outreach and engagement team and contributes to the development of the CCCS’ online data services, including ClimateData.ca. Ryan’s been working in the climate services space for the past 15 years and joins us today from his home office in Winnipeg, Manitoba.