Impact of Climate Change on Health

Impact of Climate Change on Health
Context 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28)
Source
  • The Hindu 22-11-2023 editorial
  • WHO report 12-10-2023
Relevance Prelims:
  • Environment
Mains:
  • GS 2: Governance – Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/ Services relating to Health
GS 3:
  • Environment
Extreme weather events:
  1. Heatwaves
  2. Wildfires
  3. Floods
  4. Tropical storms
  5. Hurricanes
Key facts
  1. Climate change is directly contributing to humanitarian emergencies.
  2. Around 3.6 billion people already live in areas highly susceptible to climate change.
  3. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 2,50,000 additional deaths per year, from undernutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress alone.
  4. The direct damage costs to health is estimated to be between US$ 2–4 billion per year by 2030.
  5. Areas with weak health infrastructure – mostly in developing countries – will be the least able to cope without assistance to prepare and respond.
  6. Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases through better transport, food and energy consumption can result in very large gains for health, particularly through reduced air pollution.
Climate change impacts on health: According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) –
  1. Climate risks are appearing faster and will become more severe sooner than previously expected
  2. It will be harder to adapt with increased global heating.
  3. In vulnerable regions, the death rate from extreme weather events in the last decade was 15 times higher than in less vulnerable ones.
  4. Around 2 billion people lack safe drinking water
  5. At least 600 million suffer from foodborne illnesses annually
  6. Children under 5 bearing 30% of foodborne fatalities.
  7. In 2020, 770 million faced hunger, predominantly in Africa and Asia. Climate change affects food availability, quality and diversity, exacerbating food and nutrition crises.
èClimate change is impacting health in a myriad of ways, including by leading to death and illness from increasingly frequent
People vulnerable to the climatic changes
  1. Women
  2. Children
  3. Ethnic minorities
  4. Poor communities
  5. Migrants
  6. Refugees
  7. Displaced persons
  8. Older populations
What is affected by climatic changes
  1. Livelihoods
  2. Equality
  3. Access to health care
  4. Social support structures.
Indirect impact:
  1. Affects nutrition
  2. Reduces working hours
  3. Increases climate-induced stress.
  4. Growth of vectors such as mosquitoes, sandflies, ticks, and as yet unknown ones
  5. Changes the seasonality of infection through changes in their life cycle.
  6. Introduction of vectors and pathogens into areas where they did not exist before, such as mosquitoes in the Himalayan States.
  7. Reduced availability of food and water
  8. Decrease in nutritional value of food
  9. Epidemics commonly occur after floods,
  10. Extended warm periods promote the proliferation of water and food-borne pathogens and diseases.
èAll this increases vulnerability to diseases.
Diseases caused by climatic changes:  Climatic change will cause a.      Communicable diseases b.     Non – communicable diseases.
Communicable diseases
  1. Zoonotic diseases
  2. Food and water borne diseases
  3. Vector – borne diseases
 
Non communicable diseases caused
  • Heart attacks
  • Brain strokes
  • Diabetes
  • Kidney problems
  • Psychological depression
Consequences of Impact of climatic changes on health –    
  1. Heat, physical exertion, and dehydration, a constant state for labour, could lead to kidney injuries
  2. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases are exacerbated by increased and extended episodes of air pollution.
  3. The risk of dying from pulmonary disease increases by 1.8–8.2% during a heat wave
  4. Hospitalization rates will go up by 8% for every 1% increase in temperature above 29°C.
  5. Depression, aggravated by stress generated by the change in weather conditions
  6. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder invariably accompany a climate emergency.
 
Urbanisation and climate change: Urban areas are warmer than surrounding rural areas, especially at night. Climatic conditions in urban areas worse due to the following factors –
  1. Rapid urbanization
  2. Unplanned urbanisation
  3. Inadequate urban greenery and open spaces
  4. Asphalt roads
  5. Heat-retaining buildings that physically block air circulation
è It all result in climate change due to the urban heat island effect.
Consequences of urban climate changes on public health
  1. Pressure on the urban primary health system
  2. Urban planning that discourages physical activity; and work-related and cultural stress.
  3. Mitigation efforts begin with understanding the direct and indirect pathways by which climate change impacts health and assessing the burden.
  4. The impact is accentuated by socio-economic conditions
  5. Absence of water conservation efforts
Action to control climate change:  
  • Measures must be taken at global, regional, and local levels to control the climate change.
  • Recognise climate change and its impact on health as a problem that can be and needs to be addressed.
  • Researchers who work in this area need to come up with policy options for action.
Three pronged strategy should be undertaken – a.      Problematization b.     Policy action c.      Political decision
Measures suggested by the WHO:
  1. Promote actions that both reduce carbon emissions and improve health
  2. Build better, more climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable health systems
  3. Partnering with major health agencies, health professionals and civil society, WHO strives to embed climate change in health priorities like UHC and target carbon neutrality by 2030.
  4. Capacity Building and Country Support: Through WHO offices, support is given to ministries of health, focusing on collaboration across sectors, updated guidance, hands-on training, and support for project preparation and execution as well as for securing climate and health funding.
Conclusion WHO leads the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH), bringing together a range of health and development partners, to support countries in achieving their commitments to climate-resilient and low carbon health systems.
Model Question for Mains
  • Climate change may affect our health and wellbeing through the extreme weather events. In this context explain how climatic change can impact the public health? Suggest measures to deal with
Model Answer Introduction:
  • Climate change is directly contributing to humanitarian emergencies.
Main body:
  • Explain what are the extreme weather events.
  • Impact of climatic change on communicable and non communicable diseases.
  • Suggest measures recommended by the WHO.
Conclusion: Mention about the WHO’s ATACH strategy.
   
Scroll to Top