Identifying At-Risk Populations in Rural Communities

Though climate change is anticipated to have consequences for all BC communities, some rural areas may face disproportionately negative impacts as a result of climate change. Evidence has found that rural communities may be more vulnerable to climate disruptions, such as extreme weather events, as these communities often lack the resources and infrastructure required to aid and protect residents in dire situations.¹⁰ In the event of flooding, for example, many rural communities may lack flood control infrastructure, such as dams, or lack the financial resources to construct the necessary tools.

As climate change progresses, climate disruption is becoming more frequent and more intense, resulting in rural communities being unable to keep up with not only prevention, but also disaster relief. Further, many of these climate change risks not only disrupt environmental health, but also seriously endanger human health. For example, rising temperatures and the resulting increase in forest fires have destroyed large swaths of forest across BC and affected the habitats of many species, such as the mountain pine beetle.¹¹ While the increase in forest fires has been massively destructive to forest ecosystems, it also has serious health implications for humans as exposure to forest fire smoke increases the risk of respiratory illnesses for people living in affected areas. Rural residents are often those most affected by these environmental and health impacts due to their close proximity to the natural world.

Additionally, rural community residents are further at risk as rural livelihoods are often very closely tied to natural resource industries. As climate change continues to harm natural environments and their vital resources, stressors like economic decline, social disruption, and population displacement contribute to further harm of rural community well-being and the social determinants of health.¹² All of these negative social impacts, particularly economic hardship caused by climate disruptions, may have serious effects on the mental health of rural populations. In fact, research shows that mental health outcomes are worse in rural areas compared to urban centres, pointing to differences not only in hardship experience, but also in access to healthcare.¹³

Indigenous and Northern Communities

Climate change poses a serious risk to the health and well-being of Indigenous communities across BC. Culturally and spiritually, Indigenous peoples hold very close relations with the land and depend heavily on natural resources for both their traditions and livelihoods. Indigenous peoples possess a deep knowledge of our natural environment and resources, known as Traditional Ecological Knowledge, which has been passed down from generation to generation, allowing them to live off of the land and live closely and in harmony with nature for millennia. As climate change threatens the health of the land, Indigenous communities too, are threatened.

Socioeconomic stressors such as poverty, discrimination, and loss of land hinder the ability of Indigenous populations to adapt to a rapidly changing environment.¹⁴ For instance, due to the historical and ongoing negative impacts of colonialism, such as socio-economic inequity within Canadian systems, Indigenous peoples face a disproportionately high burden of health risks.¹⁵ Rural Indigenous populations, for example, face a higher risk of heat-related morbidity and mortality.¹⁴ In order to solve the socioeconomic and health issues facing Indigenous populations, cooperation between Indigenous communities and governments is vital. Moreover, research has found that community-based approaches for mitigating the impacts of climate change on Indigenous populations have been identified as critical for fostering climate-resilience among Indigenous populations and it is crucial to involve Indigenous community members in policy-making processes.^15,16,17,18 

Elderly, Child, and Infant Populations in Rural Areas

Age is a significant risk factor for almost all climate change-related health conditions. These risks are further exacerbated when underlying health conditions are present, which are common in older patients or those with compromised immune systems. Underlying health conditions commonly include respiratory, cardiovascular, and nervous system-related vulnerabilities or illnesses.^19,20 There is evidence that heat waves and increased humidity are associated with higher all-cause mortality rates in individuals of 65+ years.¹⁹

Research shows that elderly populations living alone or in nursing homes are at a greater risk of heat-related mortality as they often are unable to cool their spaces due to lack of available or accessible cooling apparatuses or reduced physical mobility. As heat waves become more frequent due to climate change, elderly populations will face greater risks.^19,20  In recent years, the aging population in BC has increased more in rural areas than urban areas leaving rural elderly populations at a greater risk due to comparatively lower access to resourced healthcare services.

Infants and young children are also especially vulnerable to climate change-related health effects due to their underdeveloped physiology and longer lifetime exposure to negative environmental conditions such as increased heat, air pollutants, and UV radiation.²¹ In fact, research shows that infant mortality rates are significantly increased with higher temperatures and projected to further increase as the effects of climate change progress.²⁰ Similarly, increased life-time accumulation of UV exposure, particularly in children of Northern BC, heightens their risk of melanoma.²²