Climate WASH Toolkit
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The Climate-WASH Toolbox brings together practical tools, guidance, and resources to help WASH practitioners understand and respond to the impacts of climate change. It is designed for field teams, programme managers, and technical advisors working to make WASH systems more resilient, inclusive, and adaptive in both humanitarian and development settings.
The toolbox includes a climate index that maps links between hazards, vulnerabilities, and interventions; a series of chapters on specific climate-related risks such as floods and droughts; and a set of technology pages aligned with different phases of response. It is not intended to be exhaustive, but offers a practical starting point for integrating climate risk into WASH programming.
Chapter 1
1. Climate Index
This index outlines key climate-related hazards that may impact WASH programming. It’s not exhaustive but can help identify potential risks in your context and guide preparedness planning. Click below to explore different hazard types and associated events.
| Main Category | Subcategory | Example Events |
|---|---|---|
| Meteorological | Precipitation | Rain storm, Monsoon, Heavy snow, Tornado, Snowstorm/Blizzard, Dust storm/Sandstorm, Extratropical cyclone |
| Wind | Cyclone (Hurricane/Typhoon), Tropical storm | |
| Lightning | Electrical storm, Lightning/Thunderstorm | |
| Fog | Fog | |
| Extreme Temperature | Cold | Ice, Hail, Freezing rain, Cold snap, Frost, Cold days, Extreme winter conditions, Cold wave, Extreme cold weather | |
| Extreme Temperature | Hot | Heat wave, Hot days, Extreme hot weather | |
| Climatological | Water Scarcity | Drought, Lack of precipitation and seasonal melt (snow, glacial) |
| Wildfire | Forest fire, Land fire, Bush fire, Grass fire, Pasture fire, Scrub fire | |
| Hydrological | Flood | Flash/Surface flood, Glacial lake outburst, River flood, Coastal flood, Groundwater flood, Waterlogging |
| Wave Action | Seiche, Storm surge | |
| Chemical Change | Salt water intrusion, Ocean acidification | |
| Geophysical | Mass Movement | Landslide, Lahar, Mud flow, Debris flow, Avalanche, Debris avalanche, Rockfall, Subsidence, Sinkhole |
| Biological | Insects and Micro-organisms | Water-borne disease (e.g. Cholera, Typhoid, Legionnaires’ disease); Vector-borne disease (e.g. Malaria, Dengue, Yellow Fever, West Nile Virus, Bubonic Plague); Air-borne disease (e.g. Pneumonic Plague, Influenza); Insect infestation (e.g. Pine beetles, Killer bees, Termites) |
Chapter 2
Climate Hazards: Floods
Hazard Type: Shock
Floods occur when water overflows or soaks land that is normally dry. Climate change is accelerating the severity and intensity of flooding worldwide. There are three common flood types:
- Fluvial floods, or river floods: occur when the water level in a river, lake or stream rises and overflows onto the neighbouring land. The water level rise of the river could be due to excessive rain or snowmelt. To determine the probability of river flooding, models consider past precipitation, forecasted precipitation, current river levels, as well as soil and terrain conditions.
- Pluvial floods: occur when an extreme snow or rainfall event creates a flood independent of an overflowing water body. Pluvial flooding can happen in any location, urban or rural, even in areas with no nearby bodies of water. There are two common types of pluvial flooding:
- Surface water floods occur when an urban drainage system is overwhelmed, and water flows out into streets and nearby structures. It creates no immediate threat to lives but may cause significant economic damage.
- Flash floods are characterized by an intense, high velocity torrent of water. They are triggered by torrential rain falling within a short amount of time. Flash floods can also be caused by a sudden release of water from an upstream levee or a dam. They can be destructive because of the force of the water and the hurtling debris that is often swept up in the flow.
- Coastal floods, which are often called storm surge: Coastal flooding is the inundation of land along the coast by seawater. It is usually caused by intense windstorm events – particularly when they coincide with high tide – that create a storm surge. But coastal flooding can also be caused by tsunamis.
Each type of flood occurs and is forecast in different ways. The impacts of each type of flood are also different and so are the actions needed to take to avoid or minimize flooding damage.
Risk / Impacts
Flooding can disable sanitation facilities and contaminate water supplies, creating breeding grounds for deadly waterborne diseases. Without adequate supply, sewage systems fail and there is insufficient water for basic hygiene needs. Access to safe water to maintain proper hygiene and sanitation is critical.
Intervention Focus
Mitigation Measures
- Disaster Preparedness: Developing comprehensive disaster preparedness and response plans to protect both human and environmental health.
- Floodplain Management: Implementing land-use planning and zoning regulations to reduce development in flood-prone areas.
- Continuity Plans for Education: Implementing flexible and remote learning options to ensure continuity of education during and after floods.
- Equitable Resource Allocation: Ensuring fair distribution of resources for recovery and rebuilding, with a focus on the most vulnerable populations.
- Effective Evacuation Procedures: Ensuring timely and efficient evacuation of at-risk populations.
- Natural Barriers: Restoring wetlands, riparian buffers, and other natural barriers to absorb floodwaters and reduce their impact.
- Sustainable Agriculture: Promoting sustainable agricultural practices to prevent soil erosion and degradation.
- Investment in Resilient Infrastructure: Building flood-resistant schools and homes and improving drainage systems.
- Provision of Clean Water and Sanitation: Ensuring access to clean water, adequate sanitation, and hygiene supplies in flood-affected areas.
- Water Quality Monitoring: Enhancing water quality monitoring and management to detect and mitigate contamination.
- Healthcare Services: Maintaining and quickly restoring healthcare services, including mobile health units and emergency medical supplies.
- Disease Surveillance and Control: Strengthening disease surveillance systems and ensuring rapid response to outbreaks.
- Community Education: Educating communities on flood risks and protective behaviours.
Anticipatory Flood Response Actions
- Public warnings to treat drinking water before consumption.
- Distribution of water treatment technologies and safe water storage receptacles to low-income households ahead of the wet season.
- Public advice to ensure water sources are properly sealed and first-flush devices are used on rainwater harvesting systems.
- Public warnings to store water when heavy precipitation is forecast.
- Distribution of safe water storage receptacles ahead of the wet season, particularly to vulnerable households without onsite water sources.
- Preparation of communal toilets for increased demand, including gender separation, lockable doors, and lighting.
- Public advice to ensure manholes and other containment openings are sealed ahead of flooding.
- Promotion of emptying services ahead of the wet season.
- Public advisories to avoid swimming or contact with floodwater.
- Distribution of water treatment technologies to at-risk households or communities.
- Public awareness on the health risks of unsafe discharge from containment units.
- Promotion of safe emptying services.
Legend:
P
= Preparedness
E
= Emergency
L
= Long-term
M
= Mitigation
A
= Adaptation
R
= Resilience
Technologies for Flood-Prone Areas
| Type | Technology / Tool | Phase | Action | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ||||
| Technology | River and Lake Water Intake | P | M | More info |
| Technology | Groundwater Dam | E L | M | More info |
| Technology | Protected Borehole | – | – | More info |
| Technology | Protected Dug Well | – | – | More info |
| Cross-Cutting | Area- and Situation-Specific Conditions | – | – | More info |
| Cross-Cutting | Urban Water Supply in Protracted Crises | – | – | More info |
| Sanitation | ||||
| Technology | Single Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) | – | – | More info |
| Technology | Twin Pit Dry System | – | – | More info |
| Technology | Raised Latrine | – | – | More info |
| Technology | Drainage Systems | – | – | More info |
| Cross-Cutting | Resilience and Preparedness | – | – | More info |
| Hygiene Promotion | ||||
| Tool | Transmission Routes and Barriers (F-Diagram) | – | – | More info |
| Tool | Community Cleaning Campaigns | – | – | More info |
| Tool | Community Education: Awareness Campaigns | – | – | More info |
| Advocacy & Policy | ||||
| Advocacy | Advocacy for Climate Change Mitigation | – | – | – |
Intervention Focus
Mitigation Measures
- Disaster Preparedness: Developing comprehensive disaster preparedness and response plans to protect both human and environmental health.
- Floodplain Management: Implementing land-use planning and zoning regulations to reduce development in flood-prone areas.
- Continuity Plans for Education: Implementing flexible and remote learning options to ensure continuity of education during and after floods.
- Equitable Resource Allocation: Ensuring fair distribution of resources for recovery and rebuilding, with a focus on the most vulnerable populations.
- Effective Evacuation Procedures: Ensuring timely and efficient evacuation of at-risk populations.
- Natural Barriers: Restoring wetlands, riparian buffers, and other natural barriers to absorb floodwaters and reduce their impact.
- Sustainable Agriculture: Promoting sustainable agricultural practices to prevent soil erosion and degradation.
- Investment in Resilient Infrastructure: Building flood-resistant schools and homes and improving drainage systems.
- Provision of Clean Water and Sanitation: Ensuring access to clean water, adequate sanitation, and hygiene supplies in flood-affected areas.
- Water Quality Monitoring: Enhancing water quality monitoring and management to detect and mitigate contamination.
- Healthcare Services: Maintaining and quickly restoring healthcare services, including mobile health units and emergency medical supplies.
- Disease Surveillance and Control: Strengthening disease surveillance systems and ensuring rapid response to outbreaks.
- Community Education: Educating communities on flood risks and protective behaviours.
Anticipatory Flood Response Actions
- Public warnings to treat drinking water before consumption.
- Distribution of water treatment technologies and safe water storage receptacles to low-income households ahead of the wet season.
- Public advice to ensure water sources are properly sealed and first-flush devices are used on rainwater harvesting systems.
- Public warnings to store water when heavy precipitation is forecast.
- Distribution of safe water storage receptacles ahead of the wet season, particularly to vulnerable households without onsite water sources.
- Preparation of communal toilets for increased demand, including gender separation, lockable doors, and lighting.
- Public advice to ensure manholes and other containment openings are sealed ahead of flooding.
- Promotion of emptying services ahead of the wet season.
- Public advisories to avoid swimming or contact with floodwater.
- Distribution of water treatment technologies to at-risk households or communities.
- Public awareness on the health risks of unsafe discharge from containment units.
- Promotion of safe emptying services.
Actions for Monitoring Flooding Risks to WASH
Possible Indicators
Resources
Resources
1 resource
Chapter 3
Climate Hazards: Water Scarcity
Hazard Type: Slow onset
Water scarcity occurs when the available supply of freshwater is insufficient to meet human and environmental demands. Climate change is amplifying this problem by altering rainfall patterns, increasing evapotranspiration, and reducing snow and ice storage. The frequency, duration, and severity of droughts are increasing globally, placing additional stress on already water-stressed regions.
- Hydrological drought: Occurs when rivers, lakes, and groundwater levels fall below average, often as a result of prolonged meteorological drought. This reduces water availability for domestic, agricultural, and industrial use.
- Meteorological drought: Defined by a prolonged period of below-average precipitation, leading to reduced soil moisture and declining surface water storage. These conditions often precede hydrological droughts.
- Agricultural drought: Occurs when soil moisture becomes insufficient to support crops and pastures, threatening food security and livelihoods.
- Socioeconomic drought: Happens when water scarcity begins to impact people, industries, and economies, limiting access to water for domestic consumption, hygiene, and production.
Water scarcity is often chronic but may also emerge suddenly during periods of extreme heat or rainfall deficit. The impacts are wide-ranging—affecting health, livelihoods, education, and ecosystems—and require integrated WASH, environmental, and policy responses to enhance water security and resilience.
Risk / Impacts
Drought can lead to decreased water quantity and quality, increased incidence of illness or disease, increased mortality rates, and adverse mental health outcomes as livelihoods are challenged. Drought acute and chronic health effects, include: malnutrition due to reduced access to food, increased risk of infectious diseases, such as cholera, diarrhoea, and pneumonia, due to acute malnutrition, lack of water and sanitation, and displacement; psycho-social stress and mental health disorders; disruption of local health services, disruption of education services, increased protection risks.
Ensuring continuous access to clean and sufficient water through proper water management and public health promotion is essential to mitigate health risks.
- Respiratory issues due to increased dust and air pollutants.
- Waterborne and water-washed diseases linked to limited water supply, poor sanitation, and hygiene.
- Heat-related illnesses from higher temperatures and prolonged heatwaves.
- Mental health problems such as stress and anxiety from water scarcity and economic losses.
- Malnutrition due to reduced agricultural output and food shortages.
- Vector-borne diseases as changes in water availability affect insect habitats.
Improved water management, diversified crops, better irrigation techniques, investment in forecasting technologies, and enhanced storage and distribution can reduce economic impacts.
- Agricultural losses from reduced crop yields and livestock productivity.
- Higher costs for sourcing, treating, and distributing water.
- Reduced energy production where hydropower or cooling water is affected.
- Business disruptions in industries reliant on water.
- Increased risk of wildfires leading to property damage and further economic loss.
Reliable access to safe water and sanitation is crucial to maintain education continuity and reduce social tensions, with targeted support needed for the most vulnerable.
- Lower school attendance, especially for girls, due to increased water collection and illness.
- Poor health and nutrition undermining learning and concentration.
- Increased gender inequality as care and water-fetching burdens fall on women and girls.
- Financial stress affecting households’ ability to afford school-related costs.
- Social tensions and conflicts over limited water resources.
Addressing environmental risks requires policy measures, community action, and sustainable land and water management practices to protect ecosystems and enhance resilience.
- Vegetation stress, reduced growth, and increased plant mortality.
- Higher likelihood and severity of wildfires.
- Soil degradation and erosion due to lack of moisture.
- Deteriorating water quality as pollutants become more concentrated.
- Ecosystem changes and shifts in species composition and function.
- Loss of aquatic habitats as rivers, wetlands, and ponds shrink or dry out.
Intervention Focus
Mitigation Measures
|
Anticipatory Drought Response Actions
|
Legend:
P
= Preparedness
E
= Emergency
L
= Long-term
M
= Mitigation
A
= Adaptation
R
= Resilience
Technologies for Water-Scarcity-Prone Areas
| Type | Technology / Tool | Phase | Action | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ||||
| Technology | Rainwater Harvesting Units |
P L |
M A |
More info |
| Technology | Groundwater Dam |
P L |
M | More info |
| Technology | Ponds, Lakes and Reservoirs |
E P L |
A | More info |
| Sanitation | ||||
| Technology | Twin Pit Dry System |
P L |
M | More info |
Actions for Monitoring Water Scarcity Risks to WASH
Conduct KAP or other surveys on practices and access to assess water availability, seasonal usage patterns, and demand to identify trends and potential shortages.
Monitor groundwater levels, river flows, and other water sources (e.g. via data loggers or deep meters) to quantify availability and detect changes in water resources.
Use meteorological data and climate forecasts (e.g. from WMO) to anticipate droughts and rainfall patterns that could affect water supply.
Involve local communities in monitoring efforts to gather local data and evidence while raising awareness on water conservation and scarcity risks.
Refer to existing, and where needed develop, early warning systems for drought and water scarcity to trigger anticipatory actions and early interventions.
Train local stakeholders and humanitarian workers on water management, risk assessment, and the use of monitoring tools and data.
Coordinate with governments, NGOs, and international organisations to align monitoring efforts and develop joint drought and water-scarcity strategies.
Promote technology and innovation such as remote sensing and IoT devices for real-time monitoring of water sources and usage.
Possible Indicators
Resources
1 resource
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Chapter 4
TEST Cross-cutting approaches
Chapter 5
Climate WASH - Page x - Annex - DRAFT
This glossary provides definitions for key terms used throughout the Climate-WASH Toolbox. It is intended to support WASH colleagues with clear and consistent language related to climate resilience and emergency preparedness.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Adaptation | Adjustments in WASH systems to minimize harm from climate-related hazards. |
| Anticipatory Action | Pre-planned activities taken in advance of a hazard to mitigate its impact. |
| Chlorination | A disinfection process that uses chlorine to kill pathogens in water. |
| Disability Inclusion | Ensuring WASH facilities and services are accessible to people with disabilities and their needs are considered in planning and response. |
| Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) | Efforts to reduce damage caused by natural hazards through preparedness and mitigation. |
| Electro-Chlorination | A process of producing chlorine on-site by passing electricity through a saltwater solution. |
| Filtration | The physical removal of particles and pathogens from water using various filter media. |
| Gender-Responsive | WASH services and policies that account for the specific needs and roles of different genders. |
| Greywater Reuse | The treatment and reuse of wastewater from sinks, showers, and laundry for non-potable purposes. |
| Hygiene Promotion | Activities aimed at improving behaviors to reduce the spread of disease through improved hygiene practices. |
| Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) | Access to menstrual products, privacy, and adequate sanitation facilities for menstruating individuals. |
| Mitigation | Efforts to reduce or prevent the impact of climate-related hazards on WASH systems. |
| Ozonation | Water treatment method that uses ozone gas to disinfect and remove contaminants. |
| Preparedness | Planning and activities conducted before a hazard strikes to reduce its impact. |
| Resilience | The capacity of WASH systems and communities to recover quickly from climate shocks and stressors. |
| Slow Sand Filtration | A water treatment method that uses a bed of sand to remove contaminants slowly and naturally. |
| Surveillance Systems | Monitoring mechanisms that track disease incidence or environmental indicators to inform timely responses. |
| UV Treatment | A method of water disinfection using ultraviolet light to inactivate pathogens. |
| Vector-Borne Diseases | Illnesses caused by pathogens transmitted through insects such as mosquitoes or ticks. |
| Water Safety Plans | A comprehensive risk assessment and management approach to ensure safe drinking water. |