THE EFFECTS of climate change will have a trickle-down effect on the quantity and quality of water, as well as on the quality of life of those who will make up the elderly population in about ten years’ time.
And representatives from the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology and CERMES are urging today’s young and middle-aged sections of the population to become active and vocal in the fight to arrest climate change.
CERMES’ Dr Adrian Cashman, one of the participants at yesterday’s panel discussion on climate change, held as part of research week at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies, explained that a change in climate would affect hours of sunshine, humidity, ambient temperatures and, in essence, “comfort levels”.
He said that as temperatures rose, there would be a tendency to use more water and “it has been shown that older people use more water than younger people”.
And pointing to predictions that the island will have a larger elderly population by 2025, he said this would have implications for the amount of water that had to be supplied.
“We may well be challenged as to whether we can supply that and the reason I say that is that it has been pointed out that if overall rainfall is decreasing, if the time between rainfall events is increasing, then it is going to have implications for the volumes of water that will get into the water table,” he said.
Cashman added that increasing temperatures might also cause soil stress, which could lead to an increased leakage and burst mains.
“To paint a doomsday scenario, if we have decreasing resources there are going to be some hard choices that have to be made between who gets that water.
“We may be getting to intermittent supplies and if we have intermittent supplies then that has implications for water quality,” he said.
Cashman added that the island and the world were already feeling some of the effect of climate change and “we are finding it difficult to manage”.
Also speaking at the panel discussion was Dr David Farrell of the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, who said there was evidence that the elderly were among those most vulnerable to the negative effects of heat and higher temperatures.
“As your body ages you will suffer, and it is critical that you understand now and become active in addressing the issues of climate change. It is time for younger people to become extremely vocal and active as we start planning for the future,” Farrell told members of the audience.
