2.4: People & Communities
Healthy people and communities due to improved air and water quality services Other Information:
Poor air quality causes people to suffer from chronic respiratory illnesses and is responsible for up to 60,000 premature
deaths in the U.S. each year, while access to clean, safe water is a growing concern for communities and ecosystems. Our rivers
and estuaries—and the species living in them—are affected by changing water temperatures and increases in salinity, nutrients,
and other pollutants. Such pollutants impact fish and shellfish populations and lead to harmful algal blooms, expansive dead
zones, and increased incidence of human illness. NOAA is in a unique position to combine predictive weather information with
its understanding of water, climate, oceans, and coasts to develop integrated environmental predictions and analyses that
can improve the health of ecosystems and communities. This objective is closely linked with the objective to improve coastal
water quality in the Resilient Coastal Communities and Economies goal, but is broader in scope as it includes water quality
for inland waterways. Many of the same activities and requirements will help to achieve both objectives. To achieve this objective,
NOAA will develop and deploy a suite of integrated, nationwide health- and ecosystem-based weather, water, and climate services
to address regional and urban needs. Critical to the success of this objective will be partnerships with public health officials,
educators, and the media to help inform and educate people on the dangers of poor air and water quality. Key requirements
include high-resolution ozone, smoke, dust, and other particulate matter forecasts; data on extreme temperatures; and expanded
predictive capabilities that include water quality. The ability to predict water quality will allow resource managers and
public health officials to plan better and minimize risk to the environment and to people who rely on coasts, rivers, lakes
and estuaries for recreation and commercial activities. Enabling this objective are strong, collaborative partnerships with
local, State, tribal, and national health, water, and environmental managers. NOAA scientists and partners will conduct research
and develop health- and ecological-based predictions, scenarios, and projections for multiple time and space scales. Observations
will be expanded in partnership with public health agencies to support environmental monitoring. NOAA will improve modeling
and prediction capabilities within an Earth system framework for air and water quality and initiate development of an ecological
forecasting system, coupling air, land, water, and sea with biological, geological, chemical, and ecosystem processes. A key
use of this data will be to inform national environmental planning policies. Over the next five years, evidence of progress
toward this objective will include: * Improved information on the linkages among human health, weather, water and climate
for decision makers; * Fewer adverse health impacts attributable to air pollution; and * Positive economic and ecological
impacts from improved water quality forecasts.
Indicator(s):
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