Stress testing is an approach for evaluating the extent to which health systems are prepared for a future different from today . These desk-based exercises identify a desirable future outcome, such as successfully managing an extreme heatwave, flood or storm with characteristics outside the range of recent experiences. The exercises move beyond identifying likely challenges from hazardous exposures to specifying policies and measures that could be successful under a different climate and development pathway. The exercises consider socioeconomic and political factors that can influence the extent of health system vulnerability and other factors that can affect health system demands by impacting population health. Stress testing is designed to identify conditions under which it would be difficult for the health system to maintain its essential functions and to identify interventions that could maintain essential system functions despite climate-related shocks and stresses.
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report